Farquhar Hill: Britain's WW1 Semiauto Rifle

The Farquhar-Hill was a semiauto rifle developed in Britain prior to World War 1. It was the idea of Birmingham gunsmith Arthur Hill, and financed by Aberdeen industrialist Mowbray Farquhar. The design began as a long-recoil system, but that was replaced with a unique spring-buffered gas operated mechanism before and production began.
Basically, a gas port in the barrel taps gas off to a piston, which moved about 3 inches rearward and was then caught and held by a latch. At that point, the other end of the spring would be released to move backward, pushing on the bolt and bolt carrier, unlocking and cycling the action. This gave the rifle a very light felt recoil impulse, and also buffered the bolt from potential over-pressure cartridges.
The Farquhar-Hill was chambered for the .303 British cartridge, and in its military form fed from 19-round drum magazines. A large order for 100,000 rifles was placed by the British military, but cancelled when WW1 ended. A small number of the rifles were sold in the military pattern as well as in box magazines fed sporting patterns, but Farquhar was more interested in pursuing military contracts, and would continue to work with machine gun designs going into the 1920s.
Thanks to the Institute of Military Technology for giving me access to these two rifles: www.instmiltech...
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[@HikoSeijuroXIII]

Moubray G. Farquhar. Even his name sounds expensive.

[@FirstDagger]

Moubray Gore Farquhar

[@isaacsteele7986]

HikoSeijuroXIII Farquad

[@killerskillet]

That's because dude bought up all the vowels.

[@cabinfever7262]

Sounds like the dude in Shrek !

[@SpinoGamingYT]

José Heggs did you know they got that guys name by the word fuck wad lol

[@b.hagedash7973]

Farquhar and Hill where unquestionably two innovative farquhars.

[@garynew9637]

Har har

[@Blei1986]

i wonder what happend to them after they prepared for massproduction and then it was all abandoned :-/

[@no.7893]

@@Blei1986 they weren't laughing to the bank that's for sure

[@varietywiarrior]

Ah yes, the Farquad rifle. Bane of ogres. Destroyer of onions.

[@onebritishboi9892]

WHAT ARE YA DOIN IN MEH SWAMP

[@MrNacho453]

You made laugh really hard 😂

[@gamecubekingdevon3]

if destroyers of onions, does is also destroy ogres? i mean, ogres are like onions: they got layers.

[@gamecubekingdevon3]

@JordyAfterHeroin it's a reference from "schrek"

[@YouTubeViolates1A]

Hell yeah dude...

[@Taolan8472]

Its a shame this never went into serious production. That operating mechanism is really interesting. Would like to see what modern engineering and materials could do with that kind of mediated piston system.

[@jackspade5316]

I'm wondering how useful it would have been as an early automatic rifle, like the BAR. Probably would have been at least as controllable, and much lighter.

[@RockSolitude]

@@off6848 easy to do

[@terriblycharismaticduck2717]

"People of Duloc! I give you, our new champion!"

[@doctormantistoboggan2339]

Somebody once told me

[@varenheath9282]

Hey know your a rockstar get your game go play

[@masonsykes2240]

@@doctormantistoboggan2339 That rick was gonna roll me

[@retakrew]

Actually a pretty ingenious mechanism, with multiple benefits. Complicated, but the complexity is there for reasons. This probably would have gotten a lot of fame if it was used in combat.

[@georfemeyer5664]

1

[@michaelsanford3937]

2

[@jordanryan2497]

@@michaelsanford3937 3

[@nanismeelasla]

4

[@connorcolquhou5845]

5

[@Ashfielder]

My favourite firearm ever, hands down. I think it has an interesting operation, interesting history, and interesting physical appearance. A beautiful gun.

[@TodayLifeIsGoood]

I must say, this gun was far ahead of its time! A little more development into the magazine would have made it really viable for WW2.

[@tranq45]

Nice re-visit! This is another I'd love to see reproduced. Funky operating system, quite unique - and for once "unique" does not mean "fail."

[@scribejackhammar]

Kinda want a reproduction of this rifle.

[@willrogers3793]

Yeah, that would be sweet. And if I understood Ian’s description of the mechanism properly, you could even (theoretically) make a reproduction scaled up to an even larger caliber and it would still work just fine. Not sure *why* someone would want one of these in, say, .50 BMG, but I think it could be done.

[@hokanh579]

@@willrogers3793 when it is done, other militaries will start adopting it because no more soldier will complain about heavy recoil🤣

[@McShazer]

If you somehow join the British SAS the army would have to make one for you

[@dv2712]

This thing is straight out of Borderlands

[@westofreaches]

This would have been cool had the British adopted this fully going into World War 2. I'm guessing they would have modified or changed the magazine entirely to be a lot less complicated. Probably even making it compatible with the Lee-Enfield or Bren mags.

[@kendon81]

westofreaches i was just thinking the same thing about the bren gun magazine.

[@Sheerwater909]

Might have obviated the need to move to the FN SLR too with a re-barrel to 7.62 Nato.

[@DemonDevistation]

This is honestly a really complex design which is both expensive and fragile.

[@feraligatorade99]

+Dylan Lammi It really doesn't look that fragile. The Mauser Selbstlader was much more complicated. Plus, this gun looks like it'd be extremely resilient to dirt, as it is pretty closed in the locked pisition

[@feraligatorade99]

+Feraligatorade 1999 *position

[@theunoriginaljess]

beautiful gun, this is why i love this chanel, it introduces me to so many cool weapons

[@KenworthW900HG]

No.5 is my favourite Chanel

[@deadeye521]

KenworthW900HG damn I was going to use that joke haha

[@KusagariBlues]

You're joking. When I think of beautiful guns, I think of the M1911, the M1897, the Auto 5, the Henry Repeater, the Hi-Power, the Python, the Thompson, the Garand, the Sturmgewhr, the K98k, the MP40, (unpoplar opinion here) the FAMAS F1, and my past self can't believe I'm saying this, the Kalashnikov; for it's strange, rugged look that I've come to admire. I certainly don't think of the Farquhar Hill, especially with that goofy, kitchen-appliance-looking foregrip. Unique, but not beautiful.

[@theunoriginaljess]

Kusagari Blues i mean i sorta get the python, its nicesh i guess, but the M1911 and thompson are hidiouse guns

[@KusagariBlues]

If you think the M1911 and Thompson are hideous, you need to get your eyes checked. I don't even want to know what you consider an attractive firearm. If beauty wasn't purely subjective, I'd call you a fucking idiot.

[@chattenmetchad]

I feel dice will add this soon to battlefield 1

[@mayoto7361]

They should hire Ian already

[@szymonkmita6802]

chattenmetchad they took a few ideas from his website, Ian once was talking about it

[@boznizzle6667]

Schmidt Rubin but verdun is cool for historical accuracy but it's so fun. Nobody plays it.

[@MushroomCloudGaming]

Schmidt Rubin What is a joke is people not researching what the battlefield games are and expecting a red orchestra esque realism elements. If anything BF1 is more interesting to me considering I have been a fan of rare historic firearms as evident from my 5 year subscription to this channel.

[@QuantumLeclerc]

Schmidt Rubin And if I don't?

[@macbrown99]

I need a gif of Ian pulling the magazine out and looking down at all the cartridges on the ground.

[@williamchamberlain2263]

Keep spamming this link: 9:20

[@OliverHirstsLife]

YES! Ian i've been waiting for a much newer video on this... Loved the video years back.

[@M139NG]

I have never owned a gun and don't plan to yet i love watching these videos. It's so interesting to see ingenuity that goes into building these things. So many different solutions to similar mechanical problems. One of my favorite youtube channels right here:)

[@M139NG]

I didn't say never. Maybe if i took up hunting i would. But right now, i have no reason to. Target shooting with a firearm does not really attract me. I target shot with a bow and get a lot of enjoyment out of that:) I also live in a relatively safe country so i feel no need to arm myself for self defence.

[@HamidKarzai]

pulpnonfiction owning a firearm increases the risk of successfully committing suicide significantly. As someone who's tried to kill themselves in the past I'm thankful I didn't own one.

[@tombogan03884]

So don't watch gun vids mental case.

[@phuckyou8270]

Enter a name here im curious...what country do you reside in? Im not trying to chastise you or call you names im just honestly curious what country makes u feel you can fully trust to get to u and your family if someone is in your home trying to hurt or kill you and/or ur loved ones. If u enjoy these vids so much you would love owning your own and being able to get hands on experience of the mechanisms and craftsmanship of your favorite weapons.

[@RushBuzzing]

This being said, perhaps you would enjoy watching the development of motorcycles or automobiles over the decades. You may be an incipient engineer or inventor who would benefit from achievable enlightenment.

[@Calvin_Coolage]

It looks like something from an alternate history video game. I love it.

[@pondmonserfox]

I love these old experimental Autoloading rifles from WW1. Thank you for preserving and presenting the history of firearms in an enjoyable manner. I've learned more from these videos than I would've otherwise.

[@gionncaomhinmorpheagh4791]

A fascinating weapon. However, having served many years in the British Army, I have a feeling that it's not quite as "squaddie-proof" as it should be, but extremely interesting all the same. MsG

[@AM-hf9kk]

Hmm, another instance where the worse rifle won out because of insufficient training? Reminds me of InRangeTV's Lever Gun series where the US decided to go with the 1873 Trapdoor over any of the far more advanced Lever Actions available.

[@Apeing510]

@@AM-hf9kk I don't think it's a matter of training as much as people accidentally damaging things, losing things etc.

[@RockSolitude]

This isn't a mature design. With a bit more refinement and some army trials and eventual adoption, you'd be facing a much more mature gun that has been made more durable and army-proof. Though nothing is completely army-proof.

[@webtoedman]

@@RockSolitude It was sufficiently mature for the Army to order 100,000 in 1918, just before hostilities ended.

[@milgeekmedia]

It makes you wonder what might have been! Imagine, Britain going into WW2 with a version of the Farquar-Hill. Obviously, it would have been nice to have seen a shorter version, and a 10 round box magazine (with the feed lips on the mag), but that is hindsight speaking. It's easy to be clever in hindsight. I think that would have given the M1 a run for it's money. :)

[@phoenixwyvern355]

No I think it would've just been like yeah Brits have a rifle but nah I don't think it would've give the M1 a run for it's money seein as the rounds tend to jump out of the mag without warning

[@IceWolfLoki]

@@phoenixwyvern355 you missed the bit that by WW the mag would likely have been reworked into more conventional box mag with integral feedlips. The cam track would also likely have been sealed up in later iterations sealing the gun up when the bolt was closed.

[@arthurfisher1857]

@@phoenixwyvern355 you honestly don't think improvements would be made in the 21 years between the 2 wars? I get it, you're a proud American, U.S.A.! U.S.A.! And all that jazz. But it's ok to admit that another country made a good gun. One that might even have been as good as an American one!! Don't worry, it doesn't mean you're not still the Bestest Country Ever.

[@ctgslayer]

I mean I don’t think it’d give the Garand a run for it’s money. Could it have been a nice rifle? Perhaps. But I don’t really think it’d have any substantial benefits over a Garand honestly.

[@marcusborderlands6177]

@@ctgslayer detachable mags my dude

[@attilarischt2851]

Posted only a few minutes ago, already a dislike. I'm curious why someone clicks on a video just to dislike it.

[@anhk_yt]

Attila Rischt Ian's internet nemesis of course, bring him down one dislike at a time

[@spamcannon5917]

Attila Rischt -Gun Satan?

[@thegoldencaulk2742]

Who gives a shit anyway? Does the like bar dictate how much you enjoy a video? Let em dislike all they want, it makes no bloody difference to me.

[@colinsmyth9211]

Attila Rischt KZbin just cares about reactions. Good or bad it doesn't matter.

[@Jorvard]

?

[@SinnerBeta]

I love how weapons designed around looking drums look - the drum partially going into the gun look very cool.

[@bmp130]

I remember when the original video came out, one of my favorite guns you've shown. Very satisfying to finally see what that dual spring system was all about. Thank Ian!

[@elektro3000]

I love how cleverly the self-limiting gas system regulates the impulse on the mechanism. It's sort of a lot of parts, but it might have been a nice addition to the 1950s era battle rifles.

[@LuGer212]

9:00 craaazy how dice remembered that in their reload animation. great vid as usual!

[@MeowMeowDeathRay]

That drum and rifle really have a Fall out vibe to it. Super cool.

[@Ginrummy33]

That bit about the gas piston compressing a spring and then locking to prevent over-pressure is fascinating to me. Genius before it's time.

[@Titan_TM]

It looks like a Steampunk's gun

[@maciejpociecha6357]

HanzFeelsGood Diesel Punk is the cringy label for this kind of style. SP is more ornate and well finished, with lots of craftsmanship and soft metals like brass and good. The complicated mass produced steel look is DP.

[@TJbrena]

Maciej Pociecha I always saw Dieselpunk as more WW2 to mid-60s era, with lots of stamped guns, and computers in the setting, if any, are pre-IC. I always saw the Walther MPL as dieselpunk.

[@Molop87]

Just call yourselves weirdos and be done with it

[@JvS1711]

They're both fairly cringey labels.

[@wierdalien1]

@@JvS1711 why?

[@fingersmcgillicuddy]

Watching it operate in slow motion is visual poetry

[@forwarduntodawn1000]

In years to come this guys channel is gonna be the only way to remmber some of these

[@aalhard]

I loved the revisit of older footage. So glad you got this chance to do a detailed look

[@kellyhill430]

I'm not a gun owner not have I ever been into guns or shooting. Don't get me wrong I'm not here to bash gun owners . Well over the past few weeks I've started watching your channel,I find the engineering and historical aspect of them so interesting. Ian the way you explain the inner workings of them is fantastic you would make a great teacher. My opinion towards guns in the past has always been neutral. But through your knowledge I've become a huge fan of them and am currently looking for a 1911 pistol to purchase. I find that to be a beautiful piece of engineering as well as a piece of American history. So thank you for taking the time to produce such insightful videos. You have created a new fan of guns and the history surrounding them. Keep up the fantastic work and I'll keep watching looking for the next piece of American history that I could possibly own myself.

[@yo10057]

Farq, whart? what a farqing cool gun aye

[@robertgiggie6366]

this is so brilliant!what a perfect way to make a soft cycling magnum or high calibre rifle!

[@AIHurrell]

That is hands down one of the coolest and most clever designs I've come across since joining your channel. Can you think of any reason the recoil system was not replicated or reproduced in later guns?

[@Dourkan]

Probably expensive and i'm pretty sure that prone to failure. More moving parts always mean more reliability issues. And with the proper spring recoil can be quite manageable, even with a single rod.

[@Zizumia]

These videos never cease to amaze me on the true engineering that goes into firearms. Knowing systems like these were in experimental phase or maybe didn't even exist at all, and the designer came up with all these moving parts is just awesome.

[@jackson6812]

when I read the name I thought of Lord Farquad from shrek

[@masonsykes2240]

SomeBODY ONCE

[@YouTubeViolates1A]

Great...Now I'm not gonna be able to say it the right way.

[@lewiscliffe434]

@@masonsykes2240 told Me

[@masonsykes2240]

@@lewiscliffe434 The world was gonna roll me

[@Gordons1888]

I live in the town Farquhar was from, his house is now an old folks home and I always think of shrek whenever I see it. Which is all the time as it's such a large building

[@smolboyi]

the footage of you dropping all the carts out of the mag was priceless, thank you

[@HSMiyamoto]

Ian is right, this is an amazing rifle, considering it is 100 years old, and decades older than the M1. Conservatively engineered and produced with care.

[@lukestoneham2187]

Boy am I glad to see a better video on this incredibly interesting rifle. With so many videos on other early semi-automatic rifles from other nations, I was beginning to feel sorry for this poor old thing being left out~

[@zombiegandhi8405]

I just love the sound of the rifle being fired. That sharp powerful crack.

[@chriswhitwam721]

So jealous in Australia we can't even own a slingshot

[@isosev]

F

[@theturkey1523]

Get a nice plot of land in QL and start farming. Then say that you have a wild hog problem. Bing-bong you get a semi auto AR-15

[@dolebludger]

Kind of appreciate those restrictions when you see what it's gotten us

[@isosev]

@@dolebludger Im sorry but did you just say that the gun restrictions are right?

[@dolebludger]

@@isosev yes. Australian gun restrictions are good

[@SlowerIsFaster139]

This is my favorite channel on KZbin. I learn so much about firearms and history

[@IrontMesdent]

I thought the gun was named Farquhad Hill. I've seen too much Shrek memes

[@LukeT390]

Why are semi auto ww1 rifles so interesting? Every time he uploads a video about old semi auto's I immediately click on them.

[@youngn9na92]

It was just as funny this time, as it was last time, watching all those rounds dump out. Not to be rude, or critical, Ian is obviously a 10/10 guy. It's just something that I would do.

[@rambokills2750]

the dam thing is OP in battlefield 1

[@thetexan1011]

Ikr.

[@Moondog66602]

so glad you came back to the Farquhar hill

[@ScottKenny1978]

That looks a whole lot like a Mauser bolt and extractor with a big roller added to make it semi-auto. Fascinating.

[@earendilthemariner5546]

Not gonna lie, im here from Turning Tides

[@AlfaPegasii]

Love that bolt release

[@perunahanhi6789]

this rifle will be in the 3rd BF1 DLC

[@bryancastillo8335]

Deadass wtf

[@BinaryHe1ix]

SO glad you did an updated video on this. Such a cool design. Thanks Ian!

[@joshuaredhorse4030]

Well shit. Some old-world Brit done gone beat me to my own idea for a buffered low-recoil gas system for semi or full automatic firearms......I have a series of concept sketches in a notebook somewhere from back in late high-school/ early community college of essentially this exact operating system. A sort of halfway amalgamation of short-stroke and long-stroke gas piston design. Well, back to the drawing board.

[@starman545]

Joshua Redhorse originality is overrated, you can make a gun with this system and no one would call you out for this gun lmao

[@TheVillainInGlasses]

Joshua Redhorse There is very little in the firearms world that is truly original. If someone designs something, chances are that someone else already used a similar idea a long time before.

[@cracklingvoice]

What a remarkable elegant design.

[@BennettIsAmazing]

Brilliant. I've been waiting for this video since your channel evolved into its current style. Excellent stuff.

[@DFX2KX]

That two spring system is ingenious.

[@R281]

why is this so soothing to watch?

[@uglierthanmemh]

Maybe another project for the guys that are making the STG-44? LOL!!!

[@stevegable2707]

Arthur Hill was the man who used his mind and hands and Farquhar was the money man.

[@derbycityproductions2148]

Quite well done for something that was barely used. Didn't get the recognition it deserved.

[@snape1464]

An adjustable foregrip, _so tactical_

[@roanvandendungen5699]

this is an verry cool weapon! *new weapon for bf1 intensifies* it just has to!

[@taistelusammakko5088]

It was never used, why make bf1 even more unrealistic?!

[@youdontneedtoknowmyname4086]

H e i s e n b e r g The Huot was never used, the Hellreigel was never used and the M1903 experimental was never used. Might as well throw in another one.

[@roanvandendungen5699]

Indeed, like why not

[@youdontneedtoknowmyname4086]

Actually it was used briefly by the air force as was the Mondragón.

[@roanvandendungen5699]

Cool!

[@bensigl3766]

God, that thing is just impossibly slick looking! Especially for WWI!!

[@tomdawson2642]

looks as smooth as a singer sewing machine amazing for its time ' my great uncle was given the lewis machine gun in WW1 he said the lewis got him out of a lot of trouble but im sure he would have used one of these if they were more readily available

[@PeacemakerTheGreat]

15:37 GOTT THAT IS SEXY

[@breakfastbacon3764]

been 3 years mate

[@josharchibald4637]

What an excellently designed weapon

[@mrkeogh]

Some great ideas on this rifle!

[@douglasfulmer5483]

YEYT! A full video on this rifle. Thank you Ian!

[@PolishCaptainC4]

Still better than the SA80 rifles

[@tommcmahon14]

Grumpy_Palpatine the a2 is made by h&k

[@MisterTingles]

one of the coolest looking drums i've seen...

[@E2xtreme]

been wanting to see more of this rifle ever since the last video, thanks!!

[@barry7608]

Awesome good to see some good British innovation

[@Lachausis]

Very fine piece of engineering.

[@yuribartieniev8364]

I like the tactical foregrip. Tacticool chech list. Vertical grip check Drum mag check Semi auto check Easy to aquire sights check Needs a muzzle break and a double stack 30 round mag and also a bipod.

[@einefreunde]

Great video. What a wonderful gun. Thank you

[@Prezmir]

I was hoping you would return to this rifle at some point. I'm glad you finally got hold of another one. Cheers.

[@TwistedKestrel]

Seems way ahead of its time

[@heikkiremes5661]

Amazing design.

[@Proman642]

Really cool gas system that appears to allow for consistent cycling of the bolt across a wider range of cartridge loads than a directly linked system. Manufacturers of the AR15 should pay attention!

[@drag1286]

Another excellent presentation. Thank you.

[@PunchCatcher]

Ok that mechanism was cool, quirky, and oddly elegant in an over-engineered kind of way.

[@misfitmike4685]

looks vary steam punkish. cool and unique 👌 great job Ian.

[@misfitmike4685]

those mags look so damn heavy!

[@Otaaaz]

Thank you

[@slowpokebr549]

Whole lotta clever went into that rifle.

[@fuyingbro]

Awesome recoil plunger system.

[@Punisher9419]

I like the operating mechanism. A bit complicated but by the sounds of it that makes it nicer to shoot.

[@Inevitablewheel]

Way cool. Thank you Ian.

[@armyboy414]

As a Farquhar, im quite proud of this.

[@charliedurham1954]

Amazing technology!

[@StopMoshin]

Very impressive for a ww1 era rifle I wish we could see more modern guns inspired by this design.

[@audaciouslife6035]

I love the history of these old fire arms. Very interesting.

[@davidstegman8147]

Cool gun. Thanks Ian.

[@WolfoftheAurora]

Ah, your original Farquhar Hill video. That's how I found your channel!

[@mhal8044]

I love the look of wonder and disappointment when Ian unloads the gun at 9:19

[@loviedebiasio8864]

I love the old guns that shot. Just so much fun

[@vincenmt]

OMG!!! I'm in love. It's so beautiful. I am a bit sad this is not in an auction.

[@andrewbeers90]

The first video was one of my favorites you did I like the detailed version too

[@chost-059]

The modular pistol grip was way ahead of its time, dont know of any other gun before the cold war era with a "rail" system like that

[@superbibibobo]

Oh damn. Your prononication of "Chauchat" is now perfect. I'm impressed.