The Best Operational Briefcase: American 180 & Laser Sight
Forgotten Weapons
•
7m 5s
The “American 180 Security Briefcase” is the best execution of the operational briefcase concept that I have yet seen. The idea is simple; hide a submachine gun inside an ordinary looking briefcase so that it can be carried in the open by VIP security without arousing attention. Sometimes this is done strictly for stowage (see the Uzi coming out of a Secret Service briefcase during the attempted Reagan assassination) and sometimes it is designed to fire from within the case (see the H&K MP5 operational case). This one is meant for firing.
Unlike virtually all other such cases, this one includes a sight, a helium-neon laser. That allows the gun to be actually aimed - what an idea! The firing mechanism is also well thought out, with a manual safety switch that powers the laser and firing solenoid, then a constant-pressure witch for the laser and a pressure pad for the gun. I don’t know who made this, but it was a commercially available product…and a very cool one at that!
Up Next in Forgotten Weapons
-
Potato Digger at War: Marlin Model 19...
John Browning’s first machine gun design was a gas operated system that used a swinging lever instead of a linear piston. He presented the first prototype to Colt in 1890, and it went into production in 1895. The US Navy bought a couple hundred, but the Army opted not to adopt it (much to Colt’s ...
-
Knife-Gun Monday: Sigaud-Barnerias 5m...
Jacques Sigaud-Barnerias ran a business in Theirs, France (in the south, east of Lyon) making a variety of cutlery and associated products. Among his various table knives, pruning knives, corkscrews, and pock knives he also sold some pinfire revolver knives. The revolver element was made under co...
-
Soviet World War Two 50mm Light Morta...
The Soviet Union decided to adopt a 50mm light mortar in 1937 as a company-level armament. The first such weapon they used was the RM-38, introduced in 1938. It was a complex design, with a gas venting system to adjust range (200m - 800m), a bipod specifically set to either 45 or 75 degrees, and ...
