Dutch Mannlicher Plus Lewis Gun Bolt Equals Semiauto...?

[@AussieFanXCIV]

“It’s a Semiautomatic Conversion of a turn bolt rifle ... Beyond that nobody really knows” Oh Boy, it’s gonna be one of my favorite type of videos, the “Just what in the hell was the inventor/engineer thinking when he Frankensteined this thing into existence” kind of rifle.

[@Red-ur5xj]

AussieFanXCIV yea it's kinda cool tho

[@AussieFanXCIV]

I wasn’t saying that it wasn’t, I think these one-off crude prototypes are the coolest rifles. They allow a glimpse into the mind of an inventor trying to figure out a successful way of implementing an innovation at the very forefront of technological progress. Most of the time I look at these and say “yeah that looks like the kind of solution I’d come up with in that situation.”

[@RaeSyngKane]

Same, most of them don't work, some of them do, and some seem to work in spite of themselves. But they're always made with very different thinking than the usual in gunsmithing.

[@andrewholdaway813]

AussieFanXCIV I wouldn't call it even a prototype, more a proof of concept.

[@Lazarus7000]

I know, you just gotta love the mystery; who made it, for what purpose? Did he mean it a prototype, a conversion for existing guns, or just something he threw together for the sheer hell of it, since he had the bits to begin with? Probably missing parts because it went back in the pile after it broke, the experiment obviously not panning out.

[@TTMR1986]

Looks like the product of a competent machinist who couldn't weld

[@Williestyle-RobotechxMacross-x]

At 2:23 we can see this fairly close up and clearly - definitely not a fully competent "welder".

[@binbashbuddy]

I think two people made that. One guy was a dandy machinist with a nice mill, the other guy reminds me of my good friend Sparky, rest his soul. There was nothing he couldn't use putty to fix, and when it eventually failed he'd shrug and walk away and that stuff looked like what he'd have done if he could (kinda) braze/weld. That 90 degree bend at the muzzle end was actually a standard commercial gas fitting still used today.

[@tibbs7620]

Leaked weapons for Metro:Exodus

[@Tr4wnet]

Can't wait.

[@robin6469]

This would be badass

[@teknikulrighter8454]

I went to the NMM while I was in Amsterdam earlier this year on your recommendation. Thanks so much, Ian!

[@Emdee5632]

The Dutch Nationaal Miltair Museum is between 45 and 60 minutes driving from Schiphol (Amsterdam Airport). Using public transport, it's about 90 to 120 minutes, depending on the mode of transport. Of course this is without traffic jams or other delays...

[@Hypastpist]

Post apocalyptic games should make use of crude conversions like this

[@amperzand9162]

Just a whole variety of weird improvised shit, yeah.

[@Skyhawk1998]

Hypastpist this is the exact sort of limited craftsmanship and mashing of parts that I'd expect from a gun made in the post apocalypse.

[@Pcm979]

I'm with you, Ian: Semiauto conversions are both fascinating and frequently entertaining. I was just thinking about that Steyr straight pull conversion last night, actually.

[@ineednochannelyoutube5384]

Might be the only one that is actually viable.

[@tomaspabon2484]

​@@ineednochannelyoutube5384 Hey what about the Turner conversion of the SMLE? That's a pretty slick design

[@realityshotgun]

Yes of course, sitting there, ready for bed, thoughts of straight-pull steyrs dancing in your head. Average forgotten weapons subscriber

[@Pcm979]

@@realityshotgun Joke's on you, I'm an insomniac!

[@realityshotgun]

@Pcm979 never ready for bed then. I feel you on that

[@ThumpertTheFascistCottontail]

Weld your best and grind the rest.

[@Jeremiah90526]

Grinding and paint make me the welder I ain't.

[@jaxxgianni1008]

Dunno if you guys gives a shit but if you guys are bored like me during the covid times you can watch pretty much all of the latest movies and series on Instaflixxer. Been binge watching with my girlfriend for the last few days =)

[@kaisondamon1461]

@Jaxx Gianni Yea, have been using Instaflixxer for years myself :D

[@gavinhirt5231]

That looked like my first welding test

[@bungtunger5345]

Welding test? That sounds like a very interesting test.

[@dutchman2205]

This is a typical example of an "after 5 o'clock" experiment of an engineer of the Dutch state factory. The engineers of the Dutch state factory where we'll known for their weird own build creations and the freedom they get from the directors to create stuff like this. They kept doing thing and experiments likes this with AR10'S and FAL'S till the factory closed. They also made an mag fed Garand in the after hours (AR10 mags used) that really did well. In the same line with the Berreta BM59. It's after shame this craftsmanship and freedom to experiment is lost forever in Holland

[@astridvallati4762]

The Netherlands in the early 20s was also adopting a 6,5x53R Lewis gun, ( BSA or Hembrug Made??? Next MG to review, Ian). Since the Bolt Face and Magazine Pans were basically the Same dimensions for the 6,5 as for the .303, only the Barrel had to be a New Part. The KNL Lewis had a taller Mag than the .303 Lewis Infantry ( 60-80 rounds?) But not as big as the 97 Air Service Mag. ( AFAIK) The Germans used them on the Atlantic Wall ( as well as M95 Rifles, and even made Steel cased 6,5 ammo for them during the war.) After 1945, they seemed to have disappeared. Replaced by Brens, Vickers, SMLE etc in .303. DocAV

[@johnjuiceshipper4963]

Whoo! More Dutch videos! The Nationaal Militair Museum is an amazing museum, really worth a visit. Lovely to see more of the footage you recorded there!

[@tacomancers12356789]

Sounds like a cost effective method to use a Lewis bolt to make a semiauto conversion, if only it was made by someone who passed shop class.

[@D3faulted1]

Looks like that rear piece was made from a casting. If it's cast iron it's not a surprise the weld broke. Cast iron doesn't really like to play nice with welding unless you jump through a few hoops and the purple squirel runs under the ladder.

[@AgamemnonTWC]

D3faulted1 I learned this the hard way. Broke a yoke on an axle (bit the driveshaft bolts to, essentially), but it wasn't *too* broken, so I tack welded the u joint cap on and called it good. About a week later, I dropped a gear and hit the gas on the highway and suddenly the Jeep started vibrating and not accelerating. Pulled over, sure enough, welding to cast was a stupid idea, the weld broke and the u joint was in pieces for a mile behind me.

[@D3faulted1]

My preferred for cast is to braze it. Heat the whole piece up to around 500 degrees or so braze it and let it cool slowly wrapped up in some welding blankets.

[@koenvangeleuken2853]

@@D3faulted1 this crappy looking end cap is in fact brazed!(brazen?) with a ton of brass...

[@TheIdahoanShow]

Did they add a disconnect to the trigger mechanism? Without extensive redesign of the trigger, it seems like this would have converted the bolt action to full-auto, not semi-auto (that is, if it worked at all) since the firing pin strikes whenever the bolt closes.

[@bungtunger5345]

I doubt they even got that far haha. They probably shot the thing to see if it would cycle at all and then it broke and they probably stuck it back in storage. Or maybe they just wanted all their soldiers to be able to empty a couple rounds really quickly into the enemy.

[@brianreddeman951]

TheIdahoanShow Thinking the same thing. I watched the video again, didn't see anything that hinted it was semi-auto... But parts are missing and I think we can all agree it probably never made it past firing a couple of rounds at most. Too bad there isn't more history; the cheap welds looks like a contraption I would have made. :)

[@mrb692]

I wonder if that's not a disconnecter at 4:35

[@omardumbrell435]

That would explain the crack.

[@AsbestosMuffins]

TheIdahoanShow ya with a fixed firing pin it does look like its just a full auto conversion with no real way to stop. they were probably well aware of that and probably only used a couple rounds at a time if that, proof of concept really.

[@1fanger]

Looks like someone got interrupted in the middle of a pretty neat conversion and the thing just went in a closet and became a forgotten weapon.

[@CrescentGuard]

We've seen worse ideas for a semi-auto conversion than this, but... jeeze, Cobray's looking at that build quality and shaking their head.

[@HALO-2304]

Wow! Looks like a cat welded it. He laid down some shit and then tried to cover it up!

[@highlandoutsider]

That screams squadie with a free weekend and an idea lol. love it.

[@wtfhaveidone6589]

Interesting proof of concept mule. Thank you for bringing it to our attention.

[@BorderlinePathetic]

Awesome to see a dutch weapon on this show!

[@Antigonus.]

I didn't know Raven Arms made rifles.

[@vincentwassen7883]

Dutch Mannlicher Plus Lewis Gun Bolt Equals Semiauto...? Now you have my attention!

[@ekscalybur]

I'm totally getting a Pipe guns from FallOut4 vibe from this.

[@Feiora]

Not really, I suspect that breakage means this turns into a giant club and the raiders will swiss you and laugh as you fall to the ground in a big bloody mess... I'd take a piper in .45 auto over this... >.

[@Feiora]

Eww! bolt action?! WHY?! Pipers are more useful as automatics, regardless the caliber! ^.^

[@insiainutorrt259]

Those pipe guns are hilariously badly designed and unrealistic....no use comparing it to a real weapon Just slap those pipes together watch the raiders come apart and smirk ;)

[@Feiora]

I disagree, on more than one occasion have people built pipe guns IRL and they worked for the intended function... Also, on more than one occasion, a pipe gun saved my freshly minted Living Relic from a gruesome fate and having to restart! XD I would be interested to know the inner mechanics of the fallout pipe gun though, since its like a crude flintlock in several ways... ... Also pipe guns are easier to manage when arming settlement security guards til you have enough proper guns to hand out...

[@Kargush]

Perhaps a proof of concept model, to show interested parties that making a semi-auto conversion is not only possible, but also cheaper than making them from scratch?

[@Pocahonkers]

This thing walks on a very fine line between "wonky" and "elegant"

[@robashton8606]

Wow. Captain Kludge was well and truly at the controls when that got built. Cool.

[@angryelvis9779]

looks like some kid's metal shop project from back in the day lol very interesting! thanks for the cool video!

[@Drrolfski]

Every time my local military museum comes up on this channel, I kinda feel ashamed that I have yet to visit it.

[@doraran5158]

Basically a first manifestation of an idea, the crudeness was more for expediency and to see if concept was even workable. Likely if this had any future a better machined/fabricated conversion prototype would have been made. The crudeness, when kept in perspective, actually adds to interest.

[@ZGryphon]

That gas system looks like it came from Home Depot, and was originally meant to connect the hot water tap on one of those fancy bathroom sinks that's designed to look like a mixing bowl sitting on a coffee table. :)

[@jballew2239]

It's a very modified Lewis gas-piston/carrier ( assuming it is one), as it's lacking the gear rack for the return spring and it's gear . It may have been influenced from the unusual Lewis "Shock Action" rifle that made the rounds in 1921/1922..

[@MarinusMakesStuff]

Nice, finally something from my homeland. I hope to see more from the Nationaal Militair Museum soon :)

[@kenhelmers2603]

That's just a scary "welding" job! Thanks Ian :)

[@Sheerwater909]

Without knowing if that cast receiver extension failed after one round or 5,000, it's sad that we'll never know if it was a (nearly) viable conversion.

[@chinesesparrows]

John Brooks You cant cock this gun.

[@Sheerwater909]

Maybe not now but perhaps the cocking handle/lever is one of the missing bits. :)

[@thorvaldrvargeblod4603]

For everybody who thinks this gun has a post-apocalyptic vibe to it, let me explain. Living in the Netherlands is post-apocalyptic! With the Germans in the east and an everlasting threat of the sea to the west; With the rebellious province of Belgium in the south and the stubborn Frisians and Groningers to the north. There is no rest here, we have to make-do-and-mend with whatever we have! This gun is a perfect representation of The Netherlands: Half broken, improvised, but still doing it's best to keep going!

[@sergeykluchnikov4408]

reminds me Howell Automatic Rifle

[@williamgarred438]

You should do some vlogs from your trip Ian! Awesome reviews btw. Enjoyed the Danish vids

[@LaterMeansBrick]

This thing has the specific Khyber pass vibe going for it.

[@dereks6636]

It looks like someone took a hydraulic and made it fire rounds

[@KageMinowara]

The next BF1 Medic rifle, ladies and gentlemen!

[@harrychung433]

Frankenstein lives as a Mannlicher rifle. Would not be surprised if it emptied the whole magazine on one squeeze of the trigger. If nothing else, you can use the parts to make a still.

[@mauricematla1215]

Fun one againn Oh i miss the days this museum was quite literaly a stone throw from my dads workplace many a rainy afternoon well spent we used to sneak in though today i strongly suspect moms home made baking made some folks there have a case of selective vision.

[@Tidebo1]

Had they put the gas piston on top or below, with some actual nice machining, and a semi auto trigger, this may have worked! The basic Lewis system is very nice, the FG 42 uses it as well.

[@amperzand9162]

It seems like the gloves were a good idea in this case, not to protect the gun, but to protect Ian.

[@tommyfred6180]

this is clearly a proof of concept gun. I wonder why the thing is still in the inventory? it would be interesting to find out what the history of the project was.

[@Yorgar]

Crude is being polite

[@tombogan03884]

Looks like a proof of concept . If it had gone any further the would have purpose made parts instead of cludging stuff from the parts box .

[@Swat_Dennis]

I want to work here in 5 years, I am doing a education about how to work in a museum and I want to work in the NMM when I have graduated!

[@rotwang2000]

This Mannlicher gave up all its tomorrows for the sake of becoming a Forgotten Weapon.

[@thisismebram]

😮 you went to the nmm. I love that place

[@FireStormHR]

Is this the last gun to be 'produced'/'designed' by the dutch?

[@ee003]

Well that was an interesting advert

[@mikecheeseman97]

Looks like something that I would knock up in the back of my garage very rough home made.

[@51WCDodge]

Is this the mueum at Overloon? If so , book at least two days, and you wouldn't get bored after two weeks.

[@koenvangeleuken2853]

er,guys, please don¡t think this is typical dutch workmanship!

[@intoxicatedlobster]

That museum has a G11 too. Will you do a video on it?

[@peterkroger7112]

It is always great to see how your get around.

[@cooliobob1274]

You don't think anyone would want to fire that thing anyway, eh? HA! Hold ma beer and gimme that rifle.

[@steveman1982]

That museum is 10 km from my house :)

[@seculartapes]

I often wonder if Ian has ever accidentally broken anything while disassembling it.

[@americanpatriot2310]

this reminds me of a late war German rifle,what needs to be nice is nice what doesn't need to be isn't

[@myramadd6651]

Why does this remind me of a poor man's Pedersen device?

[@farmerboy916]

Myra Madd The pedersen device may actually be more practical than this thing in full auto like it seems to be, in actual use

[@Tuton25]

In theory this should work, and it doesn't look like that big of a cudgel. Given a little more development my guess this would have been the 'best of breed' as far as semi-auto conversions go....

[@michaelcoulter1114]

An open-bolt rifle, firing a full power rifle cartridge? Well, I guess that the danger of having a gun fire when dropped is probably the safest part of this design, I didn't think an open-bolt system would be safe firing a full power cartridge.

[@JosiahSiegel]

I find this gun incredibly disturbing for some reason, and I can't really put my finger on any particular detail. It feels like I'm looking at two skeletons that are fused together, and I can only imagine the terrible pain that somebody must have gone through. Cool idea, though.

[@Usinghealer099]

Oh hey more Dutch weaponry, über cool

[@revision29]

Looks like something Royal Nonesuch would make.

[@asmo1313]

you are currenty in the netherlands? welkom in Nederland Ian, veel plezier hier

[@willcaputo1]

If I had to guess, I'd imagine that they used a messed up rifle as the base weapon

[@sjoormen1]

So, in which part of face does those thins fly exactly?

[@dunconstarfire3141]

hello i have to ask about a gun that i have ive looked everywhere and tried to find proof that it was made but can it is a kruppstahl semiauto shotgun that my grandfather took from a catured weapons bin

[@markaplier1261]

Is that the facility close to utrecht, next to the military base? I have been there in January, and having seen your videos I was looking for interesting guns. Unfortunately the guns that where at display where pretty normal onces. I heard they have a kind of storage unit with more guns, which are a little more interesting, but unfortunately they are not disponable for visitors. How did you get access to those guns?

[@BeasBotBonanza]

Despite the number of lewis guns that would be loosing their op systems, I think that of ALL the semi auto conversions I have seen so far in this channel, this one seems the most likely to have actually worked if it went further into testing! What do you think? I know the likes of the pedersen device were actually more successful than this obviously but this seems like a much easier and cheaper way to do it.

[@aurorawhorealis]

Nope, not with a gas trap. Gas trap was quickly abandoned for a reason

[@FoxbatSVK]

So is this an actual instance of two guns having a baby?

[@leighrate]

Proof of concept possibly? Someone was trying to manufacture an equivalent of a BAR or LSW out of existing parts?

[@Galona223]

Hey Ian do you know what happened to Chris Bartocci ?

[@williamsager805]

And the best part is, it's already broken so there is no way to test if it would of worked, even with proper welding.

[@Equiluxe1]

Looks like it was done in someones garage with a mate doing the machine work.

[@user-tc9vg5jc1z]

More dutch videos please!

[@wuppieigor]

I was at the NMM yesterday, there wasn't really a location inside that looks like this, Archive's building?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Yup.

[@LeV7Spanjer]

Forgotten Weapons have you seen the Indonesian guerrila fighters conversion of the M95 ( shortend stock and barrel nationalistic markings on the stock ) a bit different then the 303 conversion off the M95 that you are maybe still looking for :) ?

[@nylkul9933]

how to hold it? where does the right hand go?

[@admiralpercy]

D'you think this was a homegamer? Seems like the Royal Nonesuch of the pre-1930 era.

[@RalphReagan]

Who else was surprised to see this rifle? Not! Lol

[@okaro6595]

Were any semi-auto conversions ever widely adopted?

[@VegasCyclingFreak]

I wonder if this was some kind of proof of concept gun...

[@chinesesparrows]

Dutch ManLicker plus Lewis's Gun Bolt sound oh so raunchy

[@bitfreakazoid]

I've seen a few other videos of bolt-action conversions, I'm curious about how often something like this was done. Did a lot of countries experiment with this idea?

[@aurorawhorealis]

Most countries that didn't get into true ground up semi autos early on tried it. For a while it was thought that a conversion would be cheaper than a brand new gun, but by the 30's or so most everyone realized it wasn't gonna happen and either stuck with their bolt actions till after WWII or went straight to working on legit semi autos.

[@Tripp426]

What caliber is this in? I'm assuming .303 British.

[@George_Doc]

This is not SemiAuto or SMG-this is new type of firing system,whos name OMG :D

[@Beowulfis1]

How do you load it, no charging handle??

[@Like_Luke]

I live in the netherlands and I Didnt even know we had our own guns?

[@ADRay1999]

I worried that if someone was shooting this weapon and that there is a potential of the gun blowing up in the shooter’s face

[@luisecobian3691]

We got our top engineer to work on this Isn't that right bubba.

[@LeV7Spanjer]

Bubba is very busy working on mosin conversions at the moment.

[@lachlanmoore9619]

I know you already covered a semi automatic conversion for a straight pull bolt action but was there other conversions for say the K31 or the Ross rifle?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

The Ross, yes - I am not aware of one done on the K31.

[@janwacawik7432]

Lachlan Moore There was a machine gun coversion of the Ross - Huot Automatic Rifle.

[@jaroslavstava3704]

I for one would like to see it fire. I would like that very much.

[@The2808erik]

We have a Really awesome Military Museum in Dresden Germany, it’s one of the biggest in Europe. You should maybe visit it sometime, when you are in Europe or Germany. It is only 4€ for the whole day.

[@miketenny5201]

Sadly, I am more curious about the gloves that you have.

[@elektro3000]

Semi automatic means you pull the trigger once, it fires, you release the trigger and pull it again, it fires a second time. If you pull the trigger, it fires, and it breaks, doesn't that qualify as a single shot firearm? ;)

[@amperzand9162]

Semi-automatic breakage. It only needs a little of your help to break immediately.

[@angeliquevanduuren1458]

Voor volk en vaderland (for the people and the homeland) 🇳🇱🇳🇱🇳🇱