Biographical note

Maxim Popenker was born in Leningrad, graduated from St Petersburg State Technical University and is a lieutenant [reserve] in the Russian Armed Forces. He is an established author of books and magazines and online articles on the subject of firearms. He is the owner and author of a leading Internet resource on small arms, the 'Modern Firearms and Ammunition' website at www.worldguns.ru. Maxim has a long-term interest in the history and technical aspects of firearms, especially those of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Anthony G Williams has a particular interest in the history and development of machine guns, and their ammunition. He is the author Rapid Fire, Assault Rifle [with Maxim Popenker] and the Flying Guns trilogy [with Dr Emmanuel Gustin], which describes the development of aircraft guns, ammunition and installations from 1914 to the present day. He maintains a website at www.quarry.nildram.co.uk