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Description

    After the FSG MK III Trench Gun was issued to troops in Europe during the Great War, numerous weapons were handed in with some interesting modifications. Troops that were assigned to climb over the trenches and charge into No Man’s Land had modified their MK IIIs to fire in full automatic and had taken two to three of the eight-round box magazines and welded them together. Compensators were also fabricated and attached to the end of the barrel (most of these were nicknames "pipe compensators" because they were quite literally pieces of pipe with compensator cuts sawed into them) due to the climb produced by the 8.7x45mm Bulgarian being fired at full-auto. The result was an automatic assault rifle with a twenty- to thirty-round ammunition capacity that was devastating in the close-range combat between the trenches.

    The capacity and rate-of-fire varied as each example was made by a different person in a different trench, but enough were made that 1) you could distinguish each weapon’s maker and origin by its toolings, and 2) FSG pursued the design.

    The full-auto rifle, dubbed the MK IV, had a select-fire action with a ROF of around 700RPM in the full-automatic setting. The construction of the weapon had to be updated as well with higher-strength metals, as the original material was not strong enough for the intense strain on the weapon (field-made models were seen with significant wear on the barrel and action). The magazine could hold thirty rounds, but had a tendency to jam when they were fully loaded. Iron sights were also added as opposed to the normal target sights seen on the original model rifle.

Forello & Saint Grode MK IV Automatic Rifle

Cartridge: 8.7x45mm Bulgarian

Magazine: 30-round detachable box

Effective Range: 570 yards semi-auto, 420 yards full-auto

Barrel Length: 14 in.

Pictured Above:

Field-converted MK III Trench Gun (Origin: Southern Poland, identified by three magazines welded together, “pipe” compensator, and removal of the target sights)

Factory-built MK IV Automatic Rifle

Description

    After the FSG MK III Trench Gun was issued to troops in Europe during the Great War, numerous weapons were handed in with some interesting modifications. Troops that were assigned to climb over the trenches and charge into No Man’s Land had modified their MK IIIs to fire in full automatic and had taken two to three of the eight-round box magazines and welded them together. Compensators were also fabricated and attached to the end of the barrel (most of these were nicknames "pipe compensators" because they were quite literally pieces of pipe with compensator cuts sawed into them) due to the climb produced by the 8.7x45mm Bulgarian being fired at full-auto. The result was an automatic assault rifle with a twenty- to thirty-round ammunition capacity that was devastating in the close-range combat between the trenches.

    The capacity and rate-of-fire varied as each example was made by a different person in a different trench, but enough were made that 1) you could distinguish each weapon’s maker and origin by its toolings, and 2) FSG pursued the design.

    The full-auto rifle, dubbed the MK IV, had a select-fire action with a ROF of around 700RPM in the full-automatic setting. The construction of the weapon had to be updated as well with higher-strength metals, as the original material was not strong enough for the intense strain on the weapon (field-made models were seen with significant wear on the barrel and action). The magazine could hold thirty rounds, but had a tendency to jam when they were fully loaded. Iron sights were also added as opposed to the normal target sights seen on the original model rifle.

Forello & Saint Grode MK IV Automatic Rifle

Cartridge: 8.7x45mm Bulgarian

Magazine: 30-round detachable box

Effective Range: 570 yards semi-auto, 420 yards full-auto

Barrel Length: 14 in.

Pictured Above:

Field-converted MK III Trench Gun (Origin: Southern Poland, identified by three magazines welded together, “pipe” compensator, and removal of the target sights)

Factory-built MK IV Automatic Rifle