Craft Production

Kalashnikov & G3 Modifications on the Yemeni Market

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This guest article was contributed by a Yemeni enthusiast who was able to show us some of the more unique and sometimes peculiar modifications that are made to small arms in Yemen. All photographs are locally sourced unless otherwise cited.

Generally, there is only one city that is known to modify small arms extensively in Yemen: Dhamar, in North Yemen (currently Houthi-controlled). Many of these modifications are done to shorten barrels, install side-folding stocks, or ‘modernise’ older rifles.

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Syrian War Trophies of the Russian Armed Forces

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Syrian War Trophies Exhibited in Russia Yekaterinburg (1)

In late 2018, in the Russian cities of Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk, the Russian military arranged expositions of arms and equipment captured during the Syrian War. These included a huge variety of production firearms as well as craft-produced examples such as the grenade launcher shown in the header image. Let’s take a look at these pictures and identify some of the weapons that were on display.

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The Last Gunsmiths of The Khyber Pass

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Fog clings to a never-ending row of low-rise buildings down the length of a dusty road, it’s early, around eight o’clock on a cool April morning. The fog clears and voices breakthrough and you see the first glimpses of the large bazaar, sounds of shutters slamming open, doors being unlocked and people greeting each other as their day starts. The occasional chatter of gunfire can be heard as firearms are test fired nearby.

Darra Adam Khel. This bustling town is situated in modern-day Pakistan, a stone’s throw from the Pak-Afghan border. What makes it so special? You may ask and the answer lies within the myriad of myths and legends put out over the years.

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Further into the “Egyptian Thompson”

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Earlier on Silah Report we wrote about the so-called ‘Egyptian Thompson” from what little information that was gathered by Mr. Lawerence on his website devoted to submachine gun designs. Recently Mr. Lawerence contacted us regarding some updates on the “Egyptian Thompson” and has kindly provided us with some details on its fit, finish, and handling characteristics. In a separate note, while on a recent foray in Egypt, Silah Report staff learned about the possible presence of some “Egyptian Thompsons” still in the country. We’ll be looking more into them as time goes on.

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The AK Milled Faux-Stamped Receiver Types of Darra & The Khyber Pass

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An often-misunderstood topic in regards to Darra-E / ‘Khyber’ AK’s, is the type or variation of receivers that are produced in the Pak-Afghan, FATA, tribal region. Particularly noted are a variation of milled receiver that are machined and fashioned in such a sense, they imitate a standard stamped receiver so well that at a glance you would not be able tell if it was a genuine stamped receiver or not.

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The AK M4geries of Darra & the Khyber Pass

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Recently, I had the opportunity to visit some of my friends and colleagues in Darra, nestled in the mountains of the Pak-Afghan borders tribal territories during a visit in April and May of 2019. I was fortunate enough to handle, film and test-fire a few of the firearms I encountered (and they urged me try out as many as I wanted) on my trip so this is the first of a few that are to come. I am sure that a lot of you have glimpsed images of this outstanding bit of engineering and creativity previously but this video is a closer look with a little more detail and background information in an easier to digest package, of course in English.

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Book Review: Desert Sniper by Ed Nash

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Desert Sniper follows British citizen turned YPG/SDF foreign fighter volunteer through his experiences fighting with the SDF in Syria during 2015-2016. Ed was motivated by his desire to go and fight an enemy that none of the world seemed to care too much about fighting, which at that was the so-called Islamic State. Once he got into northeastern land mass in Syria known as Rojava, he actually became a sniper for the SDF, supporting SDF infantrymen in such campaigns as Hasaka, Shidaddi, and finally in Minbij where he ended his service in Syria.

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Shotgun Pistol: Criminals’ Favorite Silah in Egypt

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 It’s cheap and easy to manufacture, it’s relatively concealable (different sizes exist), and it allows you to carry a machete or any other melee weapon in the other hand, how practical!  The iconic DIY shotgun pistol of Egypt since the 25th January Revolution became extremely popular among the poor, the violent activists and of course, criminals.

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(Palestinian Yassin RPG) السلاح الفلسطيني قاذف الصواريخ ياسين

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This is an article translated into Arabic about the locally produced Yassin RPG in use by Hamas in the Gaza strip. The English version can be accessed here.

بسبب الحروب العربية الاسرائيلية, اهتم الجناح العسكري لمنظمة “حماس” الا وهي  “الوية عز الدين القسام” , بالتصنيع العسكري حتى  تحصل على اكتفاء ذاتي  لتقلل فعالية و تاثير الحظر الاقتصادي التي تفرضها اسرائيل على “غزة” من حين لاخر.

هذه المقالة  تسلط الاضواء على  احد الصناعات العسكرية المثيرة للانتباه وهي صناعة قواذف الصواريخ من نوع “ياسين” في غزة في منشئات انتاجية تحت الارض  حتى لا يتم استهدافها من قبل سلاح الطياران و المدافع الاسرائيلية.  هذا القاذف تم تصميمه و تصنيعه من قبل “حماس” و يتم توزيعه الى حركات مقاومة اخرى من ضمنها “فتح” و “الجبهة الشعبية لتحرير فلسطين”.

تاريخ السلاح

يحمل القاذف اسم  القائد الروحي و مؤسس حركة حماس الشيخ “احمد ياسين” الذي اغتيل عن طريق صاروخ من نوع “هيل فاير” من هيليكوبتر اسرائيلية نوع “اباتشي”  في الثاني و العشرين من مارس سنة 2004 وهو في عمر السابعة والستون.

مصمم السلاح هو  المهندس “عدنان الغول” والذي قتل ايضا في نفس السنة  في الواحد وعشرون من شهر اكتوبر عن طريق غارة جوية اسرائيلية.

 

موصافات السلاح

تصميم القاذف “ياسين” فريد من نوعه ولكن يشبه كثيرا القاذف الروسي القديم “ار بي جي-2” مع بعض مواصفات القاذف الاحدث “ار بي جي-7”.  اخذ السلاح تصميم الانبوب و شكل الخارجي للصاروخ من “ار بي جي-2” وايضا محرك الصاروخ , وتعتبر تصاميمها بسيطة للغاية ولكن لتحسين الاداء  اضافوا  تصميم “ار بي جي-7” للفوهة الخلفية التي تعكس الارتداد عند اطلاق الصاروخ. واضافوا ايضا معزز صاروخي للذخيرة لزيادة مدى السلاح و طوروا من الشكل الداخلي للراس المتفجر للصاروخ.

 مع انه يتم تصنيع السلاح في ورش تحت الارض باستخدام ادوات عادية وفي متناول المدنيين , ولكن  تصميم وابتاكر “الياسين” وجودة التصنيع يدل على مستوى عالي من الاحترافية و التطور مع ان تصميم السلاح يتعبر من ناحية التقنية بسيط للغاية.

ياسين” في ساحة القتال”

 يعتبر السلاح غير فعال ضد المركبات المدرعة لان اسرائيل في تطوير دائم و تحسين لها , ولكن “كتائب صلاح الدين”  و يعتبر الذراع العسكري لمنظمة “اللجنة الشعبية للمقاومة في غزة”  زعموا تدمير دبابة اسرائيلية من نوع “ميركافا مارك 3” عن طريق استهداف نقطة ضعف فيها.

مع ذلك, يعتبر السلاح فعال ضد الحصون المصنوعة من طوب و الاهداف التي تمتلك تدريع خفيف كسيارات “الهامفي” الاسرائيلية لانها تستطيع اختراق فولاذ بسماكة 21سم على بعد 150 متر.

 

التقاصيل

النوع : قاذف صاروخ (ار بي جي) ” ياسين”

المصمم: عدنان الغول

دور السلاح: مضاد للدبابات, تحصينات و الافراد

مكان التصنيع: غزة , فلسطين

فترة الخدمة : 2004- الى الان

الوزن:  7 كيلوجرم – 15 باوند

الطول: 95سم- 37″ انش

العيار: 40مم محرك الصاروخ و 85مم للراس المتفجر

سرعة الفوهة: 295 متر/ث

المدى الفعال: 300 متر

اداة التصويب:  مسددات

 

 

The “Female” Variant of the Galil

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The integration of female soldiers in IDF combat roles is a much-debated topic in Israel the last decade or so. Today we will ride on the wayback machine to a time when the place of women in military service was very different.

In the December 8 1982 issue of the IDF weekly magazine, Bamahane,  a short news piece was published with bold letters titled: “The end of discrimination! A major victory to the women’s liberation movement; a Galil assault rifle developed especially for female soldiers!”

The paper includes several pictures taken of an IDF female soldier ‘modeling’ a bent barrel Galil AR and further explanation states that the most problematic issue with designing a feminine rifle is that regular rifles keep colliding in the soldier’s breast whenever it was carried and practice in foot drills.

According to the news piece the development of the gun took two years and was tested by 350 female soldiers that were “carefully selected for their outstanding physical characteristics”

That ‘news piece’, as you might guess by now, wasn’t a real news report. It was the weekly satiric column called ‘על הגבול’ which literally means ‘On The Border’ but the more accurate translation means ‘Borderline’.

 

The prop gun was manufactured by none other than Yisrael Galil , the inventor of the Galil, for the satiric column.

The gun was a modified Galil AR with an absurdly bent barrel and vertical foregrip attached instead of the regular foregrip. The bolt carrier lacks a gas piston and there was no gas tube. All removed to achieve the described breast clearance. In one of the photos, the rifle is lacking a buttstock.

The gun was issued with a 12 round magazine, presumably to lighten the load on those top-heavy girls in uniform. The magazine is in fact a blank magazine used to propel rifle grenade.

The column summarized that since the rifles were introduced into military service they already proofed their value and the developer is flooded with purchase orders.

 

 

 

 

 

This article made possible by the courtesy of IDF & Defense Establishment Archives.

The photographer was Reuven Yehudai.