Vast Variety of Violence - Part 12

Following World War One, Poland, after 123 years, regained its independence. As part of the effort to build up a formal military there was a need to standardize weaponry, as the Polish arsenal was a mixed mess following the war. To solve this they standardized on the 7.92mm Mauser cartridge. The choice of caliber was a consequence of the dismantling and acquiring of the "Königliche Gewehrfabrik" arms factory in Danzig following the war.

In 1924 the Polish Army set up a procurement trial for light machine guns. The winner was the "Browning Automatic Rifle, M1924", supplied by FN of Belgium, who had a license agreement with John Browning for European sales.

Shortly after, the Poles purchased the improved "BAR M1925", which differed from the American M1918 BAR - most notably by introducing a pistol grip. The Polish Army also requested an AA-sight and different bipod legs and rear sights.

In 1927, the Polish Army contracted FN to manufacture 10.000 BARs, designating them the "Ręczny karabin maszynowy "Browning" wz. 28". In 1929, FN delivered the first batch of wz.28s. With most suffering from technical errors, only 8.342 were accepted. The Poles now demanded the technical documentation from FN in Belgium - accidentally revealing a large deception. FN had illegally sold production licenses on behalf of "Colt", and the companies were now on bad terms. Colt being the intended producers of the wz.28 now refused the task, leading to FN pushing out a rushed production run themselves - with predictable results.

To avoid a scandal, the Poles paid FN out-of-court and set up domestic production of the wz.28 with blessings from Colt. This production introduced a flash hider and the iconic "fish tail" buttstock.

The wz.28 saw action during the Spanish Civil War and the 1939 invasion of Poland. Captured wz.28s were also used by the Germans, referred to as the "Maschinengewehr 28(p)". Approximately 14.000 were produced until 1939. Ours was made by Ashton and RedRogueXIII.

We also wanted to share with you a new machinima made by our amazing community members :

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