TalesOfTheGun

The story of how the weapons of Samuel Colt, including the first revolving pistol and the M-16 rifle, helped revolutionise warfare forever.

An examination of incidents where guns were used by 20th-century assassins, including political assassinations and Charles Whitman's mass killings.

An examination of the new guns at the cutting-edge of firearm technology. They make the world safer, or more dangerous than ever before.

The development of the self-loading or automatic pistol, from the very first clumsy version made less than 100 years ago to the precision weapon it has become today.

A look at the M-16, which is the most powerful assault rifle ever made, but has an uneven reputation in combat and became a symbol for the unpopular lost war of Vietnam.

The Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947, known as the AK47, was developed in secrecy at the dawn of the Cold War. Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the AK47, discusses how he designed this influential gun.

Naval guns encourage nations to develop the concept of sea power, using weaponry to overpower the enemy at sea.

Looking at the first 800 years of gun development, from the discovery of gunpowder to the widespread use of the flintlock musket in the 19th century, and discovering how early guns became the dominant battlefield weapon.

At the turn of the 19th century, handsomely crafted pistols were used by the upper classes in Europe and America to settle points of honour.

Experts explore the evolution of bullets, the necessary item that turns guns into powerful machines, for without ammunition these triumphs of craftsmanship are of no more use than a club.

David McKenzie of Washington and Professor Merritt Smith of Massachusetts Institute of Technology discuss the composition of the gun, a most powerful and destructive device, forged from raw materials.

A look at how the gunslingers of the American Wild West, like Jesse James and Wyatt Earp, used weapons.

The history of aircraft weaponry, including interviews with Chuck Yeager, Korean ace Major Frederick Blesse and pilots from Desert Storm and Kosovo.

Bugsy Malone used foam guns, while `Pretty Boy' Floyd, `Baby Face' Nelson and Al Capone preferred Colt 45s, the tommy gun, the Whippet Gun and the Browning automatic rifle to instil fear into the heart of New York in the 1920s and '30s.

The Thompson Submachine Gun was the fastest, most powerful hand-held weapon of its time. Originally built for the military and the police, it was an instant hit with prohibition-era gangsters.

John Moses Browning created rifles, shotguns and machine guns that were used from the early 1900s through the Vietnam war.

Experts discuss the evolution of rapid-fire weapons, from the Gatling in the American Civil War, to the weapon that killed more than 4 million in World War I.

Experts explore the history of rifling, which causes bullets to spin, and its connection to the evolution of more accurate weapons.

For over 400 years, if a man could afford a gun, he chose a shotgun. First used for sport by British aristocrats, its other incarnations include hunter, protector and warrior.

Still acknowledged as one of the most successful firearms manufacturers in the world, the guns made by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company were popular with the American settlers, outlaws and lawmen alike.

A tour of the Remington Arms Company, America's oldest gun manufacturer and a supplier of guns since long before the gun law problems of today's US.

The success of Horace Smith and Daniel Baird Wesson's partnership and why the company remains at the forefront of gun development.

The history of the Luger, which began in 1900 when a German arms company introduced the "Pistole Parabellum.".

The feared and often respected weapons of the German army from 1939 to 1945, including the Schmeizer, Luger, Mauser and Karabiner K98k.

The struggles of peasants fighting oppressive governments, from Colonial America, to 1917 Russia, to Cuba in the 1950s.