Matthew Moss

Silah Report on High Caliber History Podcast

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Our Khan in Chief, Miles Vining, was recently a guest on historian Logan Metesh’s High Caliber History podcast. The episode, titled “Khyber Pass Guns” is a No-No!, sees Miles and Logan discuss a whole range of subjects including the driving force behind Silah Report, Miles’ interest in MENA firearms and culture, why ‘Khyber Pass guns’ is a misnomer and Miles’ new book.

Here’s the description from Logan’s podcast:

Today’s guest is Miles Vining, one of the co-founders of Silah Report. He’s here to tell us why we should stop referring to Middle Eastern firearms copies as Khyber Pass guns, plus plenty of other great conversation!

You can buy Miles’ new book, Into Helmand with the Walking Dead, on Amazon.

Support the show on Patreon.

Snag some HCH merch or some HCH patches & stickers.

Be sure to follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

 

If you enjoy our work here at Silah Report please consider supporting us on Patreon!

Pen Guns of Kabul

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In recent weeks we’ve seen a large number of media reports stemming from an AFP report which was picked up by numerous outlets reporting on pen guns confiscated in Kabul. The clandestine nature of the pen guns no doubt amplifying international interest. AFP or Agence France-Presse is an international news agency and the story was picked up by news outlets around the world including the US, Europe, Middle East and Asia. A cache of some 48 pen guns was discovered during Afghan National Police operations.

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Britain’s WW2 PIAT Anti-Tank Weapon In Service With the Haganah In Palestine

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The Projector, Infantry, Anti-Tank or PIAT was Britain’s primary infantry anti-tank weapon during the latter half of the Second World War. Firing a 2.5lbs bomb containing a shaped charge warhead capable of penetrating armour up to 4 inches thick. During the Second World War, it equipped British and Commonwealth troops as well as arming resistance and partisan fighters behind enemy lines in Nazi-occupied Europe. Based on a spigot mortar system of operation it was largely obsolete with the refinement of rocket launched and recoilless rifle systems. Despite increasing obsolescence, it continued to see use after the war. In this article, we will examine its use by the Israeli Haganah during the 1947–49 Arab-Israeli conflict.

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Remington R4s Reach Iraq

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The US Department of Defense recently shared some photographs of a shipment of M4-pattern 5.56×45mm self-loading rifles arriving at Camp Taji, a base approximately 27km (17 mi) north of Baghdad, which is home to the Qwat al Khasah, the Iraqi Special Forces. From the photographs shared by Department of Defense the M4-pattern rifles appear to have been manufactured by Remington Defense. These rifles are designated the R4 by Remington Defense and follow the basic M4 MILSPEC pattern, with an adjustable buttstock, a quad-rail forend and are select fire.

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Silah Report on the War College Podcast

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Recently Silah Report’s co-founder Miles Vining and Adham Sharif, author and host of Silah Report’s own podcast, had the pleasure of appearing on the War College Podcast where they discussed Silah Report’s work, the cultural significance of weapons in the MENA region and just what a gold plated AK-47 can tell us about war. War … Read more

Ottoman Mauser 1903 Date and Serial Number Markings

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Our investigation into the Ottoman Mauser 1903 began sometime after C&Rsenal shared an episode of their widely respected documentary series, which examines the small arms of the First World War, focused on the Ottoman rifle. The video explores the development history of the rifle and how the Ottoman Empire came to adopt it as their standard issue arm. It saw extensive use throughout the Italian-Turkish War (1911-12), the Balkan Wars (1912-13), the First World War (1914-18) and the Turkish War of Independence (1919-1924). In the 1930s many were rechambered to 7.92×57mm.

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Akdaş AK-40GL: Turkey’s New Underbarrel Grenade Launcher

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In October 2019, the Turkish military announced that the first 500 units of the new 40×46SRmm Akdaş AK-40GL grenade launchers had completed delivery. A total of 8,000 units were ordered, with 2,500 additional launchers slated to be delivered very soon, according to the manufacturer. As with many contemporary, single-shot grenade launchers, AK-40GLs can be configured as a standalone unit with a stock and pistol grip. However, these launchers are primarily intended for use in conjunction the MPT-76 (7.62×51mm) and MPT-55 (5.56×45mm) series of self-loading rifles, produced for the Turkish military by MKEK, as an under barrel mounted system.

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A Lanchester Machine Carbine in Aleppo

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Back in November, friend of Silah Report and frequent author Analyst Mick, shared some photos of a British World War Two-era submachine gun, a Lanchester Machine Carbine. The photos placed the venerable submachine for sale in the Syrian-regime held city of Aleppo. The Lanchester was Britain’s first submachine gun, with plans for its production put in place just before the development of the STEN gun.

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Israel Suspends all Training with Micro Tavor & IMI Training Ammo

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Perry Novotny

In a dramatic step, the Firearms Licensing Department of Israel’s Ministry of Public Security (MPS) issued an order on 4 December 2019, immediately suspending all live-fire training with Micro Tavor (X95) 5.56 × 45 mm self-loading rifles and IMI training ammunition until further notice.

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