Skorpion

Skorpion, originally uploaded by efroymson.

The military museum here in Copenhagen has the most extensive collection of automatic firearms I have ever seen. The building has been used to store weapons for 400 years. Originally they were intended for use, now they are just for display.

If you look closely though you will see that this gun has a trigger lock on it, so it seems to be a functional example. My copy of "Brassey's Infantry Weapons of the World" describes the Skorpion as a Polish Machine Pistol, but this example is Czech made.

I looked in the museum shop, but they did not have any available for sale. I was of course disappointed.

The museum had a number of other things in it, including cannon and flintlocks and partisans and so on. An interesting display put an old French mitrailleuse next to a 1962 American Vulcan from an F-104 starfighter. One hundred years of Gatling gun history right there.

Americans tend to think of Scandinavians as a bunch of peace loving hippy Socialists, but that ignores a lot of history. Not to mention some current events, there are a number of Danish soldiers in Iraq right now. I had a conversation with a couple of guys last night who were hanging up posters for an anti-war demonstration. They were decent fellows, in a way easier to talk to than some on the left in the US.

I liked the poster, it was calling for an end to Fogh's war. I did not get that, but it is a reference to Fogh Rasmussen, the local PM. Just like some in America refer to Iraq as "Bush's War". I started to think "Bush's war, Blair's war, Fogh's war ... it's a pretty popular war!"