Machines | General Liu's Chinese Semiauto Rifle from WWI
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https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/69/1442 Cool Forgotten Weapons Merch! http://shop.bbtv.com/collections/forgotten-weapons The General Liu rifle (named for its designer – it never received an official designation that we know of) was China’s closest approach to an indigenous self-loading infantry rifle before World War II. Mechanically it used the same principles as the Danish Bang rifle – a muzzle cup captured some of the gases from firing and was pulled forward, moving a cam and lever that cycled the bolt. Liu was appointed head of the Hanyang Arsenal, and used the opportunity to put a new semiautomatic rifle into production. The Pratt & Whitney company of Hartford was contracted to supply the machinery to mass-produce the rifle, and about a dozen sample rifles were built by P&W. They were tested in China and met with general approval, and the machinery was loaded up and shipped to Shanghai. Unfortunately, General Liu suffered a stroke and either died or was incapacitated (sources differ on this) before the tooling arrived, and it ended up sitting on the docks for years, as the rifle project foundered and never cam to fruition without Liu’s supervision. The tools were eventually sent to an arsenal and repurposed for producing other guns. English and Chinese testing reports are here: http://www.forgottenweapons.com/early-semiauto-rifles/general-liu-rifle/ http://www.patreon.com/ForgottenWeapons Related: Gas-Trap M1 Garand: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBAqqRiJRLQ Gewehr 41(Mauser): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehLg3n9_ruM Pedersen GX & GY: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWF1x1fXIcg
Comments
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almost getting an M1 vibe from this
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the manufacturer's marking
陸軍漢陽兵工廠製
陸軍 = Army
漢陽 = Han Yang (location)
兵工廠 = arsenal
製 = made
made by army Han Yang arsenal
the word on the cap is
自 = Self (I think they want to denote 自動, which means "move by itself" or auto)
普 = Normal -
I'd love a repro omg
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looks a tiny bit like a mosin, SKS mix
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too bad this gun was never made in huge numbers this gun looks awesome.
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can you shoot it ?
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can you shoot it ?
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thanks. any chance u can test fire it and compare it with the Garand?
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How many people got hit in the face?
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Now a reason to put China in the game too, it same like we are gonna waist a lot of money in DLC guys. XD
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so everytime you pulled the trigger, the whole receiver comes flying back towards your face? was there anything that would have stopped you from placing your head too far forward whilst trying to get a good sight picture?
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How many bullets does it load?
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That is beautifully machined.
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I love how whoever was editing the video actually used the right Chinese national flag in 1910s :D
good work -
Imagine what might have happened during the Japanese invasion if China had gotten this into production and all their troops had been armed with it.
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What else are you going to find, a Chinese rifle made in CT! A truly unique piece I will give you that. I enjoyed the video and you did a good job filming it, Thanks.
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hey Ian have you ever taken a gun apart and not been able to put it back together?
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A clever design. Had the stars been in the right place it looks like it would have been successful.
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neat story.
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Seems like a very solid gun