Triggers: Weapons That Changed the World

- Season 1

(2011)

It's the most admired and influential pistol of the 20th Century: the Colt M1911. Former Army Ranger and Air Force Pararescueman Wil Willis puts this legendary weapon and its ground-breaking predecessors to the test.

In combat, your rifle is your closest companion. Host Wil Willis gets into the trenches with an arsenal of historic rifles, to find out how the lowly musket evolved into a weapon that changed the world.

They are some of the most iconic and recognizable weapons in the world - the Tommy Gun, the Uzi and the Schmeisser. Host Wil Willis explores the evolution of the submachine gun, and put it greatest examples to the test.

Host Wil Willis heads to Fort Sill, Oklahoma, the U.S. Army's training ground for fire brigades to see the 428th Field Artillary Brigade launch 155 mm projectiles from the M77 Howitzer, the most widely used artillery piece by U.S. Forces.

No weapon is more feared, or more misunderstood, than the Assault Rifle. And no assault rifle has proved more successful, or more lethal, than the Soviet AK-47. Host Wil Willis tracks the history of this revolutionary firearm.

How does one man turn a tank into rubble? Find out in this explosive episode as host Wil Willis travels to Sweden and California to fire the RPG-7, the AT-4, the Carl Gustav, the SMAW and brings down high-flying aerial targets with the Stinger missile.