Historical

Improvised Mauser Suppressor (OIF)

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This photographs was posted on the U.S. Department of Defense Media Activity’s public domain website DVIDS along with another one featured on Silah Report. Both depict improvised suppressors captured by U.S. Infantrymen while on operations in Iraq.

The rifle appears to be a Mauser 98K with the stock sawed off just past the chamber. Because of the proximity to Iran and the incredible amount of Iranian surplus found in Iraq, it would appear from conjecture that this rifle is a Persian Mauser, manufactured in the time of the Shah in the 1940s-50s, later being replaced by the M1 Garand through U.S. Foreign Military Sales programs in the 1960s. Unlike the previous M16A1 rifle we posted about, this improvised suppressor appears to have involved much more work, with a much larger diameter pipe being welded around the actual barrel of the rifle at both the front and rear of the pipe. There is a section of much smaller diameter pipe protruding from the main one, but this doesn’t appear to be the barrel.

The scope mounted on this rifle is a Cold War era PSO-1 optic designed to mount on the optics rails usually riveted to the left side of a Kalashnikov or Dragunov receiver. It is unclear how this is mounted to the Mauser’s wood stock, unless an actual Warsaw Pact rail were somehow screwed into the wood stock itself.

Silah Report Has a New Look!

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Silah Report recently undertook a massive transformation, moving servers, changing appearances, working out the new kinks. Because this website is personally run, all this had to take place between actual jobs and other commitments. But we hope you like the new appearance, it certainly is much more professional than the previous one.

We will also update the country database. Originally we intended the country database to be an all encompassing snapshot at the small arms history within a particular country. Although ideal in theory, in practice we found out that it was far too much work. Instead, what we want to do now is to maintain the individual country pages, but ONLY concentrate on small arms exported/imported in large quantities into a country, and small arms produced domestically, either under license or designed indigenously. Essentially we want to recreate what World.Guns.Ru, which is fantastically run by Maxim Popenker, but centered around small arms from the MENA and Central Asian region.

The goal of this database is to allow researchers and future writers to be able to reference back to it, so they can historically piece together how a particular small arm came into a country, or where it might have been bought from, and especially in what time period.

Suppressed Tariq Handgun

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This image appeared on a recent propaganda video with images attributed to Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), or an Al Queda affiliate group. Among a collection of weapons seized by HTS from a Daesh cache is what appears to be a suppressed Iraqi Tariq handgun. The location of the seizure was in Idlib. The Tariq is an Iraqi … Read more

The “Carlo” of Palestine

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A fatal stoning attack against a civilian car and its driver at the Jewish New Year eve, September 13th 2015, marked the semiofficial beginning of the “Third Intifada”, also known as the “Knife Intifada” or “Stabbing Intifada” or as more accurately could be could the “Individuals’ Intifada”. Unlike previous rounds of violence led by major terror groups like Hamas or militia groups associated with the Palestinian Authority, the “Individuals’ Intifada” attacks are almost exclusively done by lone wolfs or at most pairs of attackers, unlinked to any political or armed group. Mostly those attacks committed by young men and women are motived by social media networks.

The tools of those attacks are opportunistic by nature: knives, stones, vehicle-ramming attack etc. One of those tools is the subject of this article, the Carlo sub-machinegun. The Carlo (كارلو) is a homemade sub-machine gun slightly modeled and resembling the Swedish Carl Gustav M/45 (كارلوجستاف) – a well-known sub-machinegun in the Arab world with licensed produced by Egypt under the name ‘Port-Said’ and later under ‘Akaba’ & ‘Kara’ as the simplified versions.

As a sidenote the similarity in names and appearance between the real Carl Gustav M/45 and its watered down copy create great confusion among Israeli news organizations commonly mistakably identify and report a Carlo as factory made M/45. One news outlet even reported that the Sarona-market attack terrorist’s weapon of choice was a ‘recoilless rifle’! Clearly, the reporter copy-pasted from the first item Google had to offer when searching ‘Carl Gustav’ and came up with one of the recoilless rifles under the name of ‘Carl Gustav’.       

History

Israeli police first encountered the gun at the beginning of the 2000’s in the hands of Arabs criminals in the West Bank as a self-defense gun and for celebratory gunfire. The gun, its manufacturing, and usage weren’t on the police high priority list as the phenomena seemed contained within the West Bank and as an inner Arab problem. Police operations at the West Bank also fall in the thick border line between the civilian police and the Israel Security Agency (‘Shin Bet’) areas of jurisdiction. Up until the latest Intifada, there was a minimal effort of both organizations to cooperate.

Several shooting attacks, the most notable is the June 8th 2016 attack at the Tel Aviv Sarona market where two gunmen armed with Carlos murdered four diners proved the guns efficiency at very short range attacks against unarmored people despite being inaccurate and unreliable (one of the shooters at the Sarona market attack was even caught on camera angrily throwing his Carlo after it jammed after only a few rounds).

Characteristics   

The common feature all known Carlos share is the ammunition, all known guns are chambered in 9×19mm Parabellum, which is the by far the most common pistol cartridge in Israel and used by all branches of the military, law enforce agencies, government institutions, security, private security companies and private gun owners.

The magazines used are mostly Uzi 25 rounds magazines, inserted to a magazine well in front of the pistol grip. Pistols grips appear to be high quality factory made durable plastic M16 pistol grips as well as some M16 telescopic buttstocks when the guns are stocked. The barrels are smoothbore, usually very short, barrels which are not much more than regular steel pipes.

All Carlos are full auto only fired from an open bolt, ejection port is locate on the top side of the gun and a short charging handle is locate at the gun’s right side and it reciprocating when firing. The question of why have a right side charging handle for a gun mostly used as a machine pistol? A right-handed charging port will gain no value of a charging handle at the right side he can’t easily charge with or clearing jams without buttstock and handgrip.

Since the gun’s ejection port on top a charging handle and its slot cutout could easily place left side enabling the shooter reciprocate the bolt with left hand while holding the gun right-handed. No clear answer, the first option is by trying to leech of the M/45 popularity the makers of the Carlo also copied the location of the handle scarifies functionality in order to resemble the recognized M/45.

Second option is that machine pistol concealed under a coat is best placed left of the body in order to pull it quickly (by a right-handed), having a left side handle will poke the user side so right side handle is preferable. Another source of speculations is what appear to be sort of rectangular upper hunch on the top rear part of the gun which is quite common for the higher end Carlos. Its purpose is unknown, it raised a bit the rear sight but noting that required such large protrusion. It maybe housing of some sort of crude delayed blowback mechanism, probably leaf spring, used to lower the fire rate of fire and make it more controllable gun.

Yoel M. is a contributing writer for Silah Report, and is a firearms enthusiast based out of Israel. His first report on S.R. was about the Israeli “Hitchhiker” magazine.

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

Analysis of Taliban Firing Positions in OEF

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Due to the efforts of ISAF forces during Operation Enduring Freedom, Taliban fighters had to change their tactics constantly to stay tactically ahead of coalition efforts. Because of the reliance on fire support assets and modern armament that much of ISAF could afford, the Taliban in Helmand and Kandahar provinces couldn’t sustain a protracted fight as they could against ANA or AUP positions. Thus the insurgent force had to adapt and overcome. One of the ways in which they employed small arms against ISAF forces was through their usage of compounds and firing positions. Being in Helmand or Kandahar, firing from an open position or fields is almost certainly suicide against ISAF forces because of the lack of egress routes and being cut down. Thus, many Taliban fighters adopted the technique of utilizing “murder holes” as firing positions from compounds. Most of these compounds were taken over from the families that owned them, often threatening them with death if they spoke to coalition forces about the compound’s usage.

Compound/housing structures in rural southern Afghanistan have a number of advantages for maneuver insurgent warfare. Because the walls are made from mud, they can have holes busted through them to use as firing ports, but at the same time can be extremely resistant to incoming rounds, even up to .50 BMG. These compound walls can be anywhere from six feet to twelve feet in height and easily conceal the numerous motorcycles that the Taliban used. Motorcycles are essential for the kind of “shoot n’ scoot”maneuver warfare because of the ease of transportation and the possibility of swiftly getting away from lumbering  MRAPs and MAT-Vs along twisting narrow roads. In addition, a single PKM machine gun team could be concealed and broken up among three or five motorcycle driving Talibs. One carrying the receiver, another the barrel, another the ammunition. This way, all three could move to a new firing location discreetly, and most importantly separately.

The Taliban’s worst threat was being fixed in place and destroyed. The force knew that it could not sustain a long drawn out, small arms fight even against a single ISAF patrol. Once their position has become known, the key to surviving a protracted fight is to quickly pick up, mount up, and push to another firing position to further engage the patrol, preferably from a completely different angle than the first one. The problems thus presented to the ISAF patrol were twofold. One the one hand, it would be very difficult to determine the source of the fire, especially if it was from a PKM beyond 400-600 meters. And second, even if the Taliban location was found and positive identification was made, the patrol would have to maneuver around to get into a position to return accurate rifle and light machine gun fire, by which time the PKM position would already be broken down, and repositioned at a completely different angle to the patrol. This entire scenario is also not even taking into account the IED threat that complex ambushes would often be initiated with, thereby adding another layer of complexity to the mix of that ISAF patrol maneuvering.

Firing positions themselves are very well thought out. As an example in the title photograph, typically Talib fighters will use a pre-existing “murder hole” or they will create one themselves as the other photograph shows. Using blankets, they will place them underneath the PKM, and then on the base of the murder hole as well. This way, the ground blanket will catch all the spent shells, and the murder hole blanket will prevent the PKM from leaving black residue on the caked mud. When the MG team leaves the position, all they have to do is wrap up the blanket with shells in it, then use the murder hole blanket to conceal the PKM parts in it and the firing position will appear to have been relatively unoccupied even if an ISAF patrol were to literally get to it after a firefight.

And to conclude this analysis, this a Talib fighter wearing a Marine Corps woodland digital utility jacket!

Note- The title photograph of the firing position is actually of Government ALP fighters, and not Taliban fighters. This photograph was used because it does display what the TTPs that the Taliban utilize. 

Barrel Rifling Device from Darra Adam Khel

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As you may know, Darra Adam Khel is a town in Pakistan which is famous for its indigenous firearms manufacturing. Many people living in this area are busy making guns and loading ammunition. There are some rough firearm clones made in Darra Adam Khel, but there are also really impressive ones both in terms of design and execution. Sometimes it is really unbelievable how these people manage to make firearms using only basic tools.

The top image of this article shows a local gunsmith operating a barrel rifling device. Although it is not confirmed, some sources say the picture is taken in 1902.

Note the barrel secured in the lower portion of the device and the gunsmith holding the handles of the cutting tool. The cutting tool itself has a spirally shaped shaft, which I assume runs on a guide pin so that when worked back and forth the cutting tool will do a spiral motion thus cutting the rifling at a certain twist rate.

What is even more interesting is that there are newer images from Darra Adam Khel showing an exactly identical device. So even if it is a homemade rifling tool, it should be working great to be used until modern days.

 

Sudanese AR10 in the wild, Yemen edition

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This photograph was recently found on social media and features a local Yemeni man posing with an 7.62x51mm NATO AR10 next to his friend with what appears to be a modified 7.62x39mm RPK (due to the compensator) mounted with a 45 round magazine. The AR10 in question appears to be one of the largest contracts that Armlite produced of AR10s, which was the Sudanese contract of approximately 2500 rifles in the 1950s. This inference is taken from the proximity of Sudan to Yemen, so it must be stated that this is only a guess as to it’s origins and not a complete conclusion. If we could have seen the rear sight, that would remove all doubt, depending on whether or not the graduations are in Arabic numerals.

This is a little bit about it from Wikipedia-

Firearms historians have separated AR-10 production under the A.I. license into at least three basic identifiable versions, along with various sporting, carbine, and other experimental designs and calibers. The three main variants have been termed the Sudanese model, the Transitional, and the Portuguese model AR-10. A.I. built all of these rifles, beginning with the Sudanese model AR-10. The Sudanese version derives its name from the sale of approximately 2,500 AR-10 rifles of to the government of Sudan in 1958. The Sudanese model was equipped with a very lightweight, fluted steel barrel fitted with a trim, prong-style flash suppressor, a bayonet lug, lightweight fiberglass furniture, and sight graduations in Arabic.[21][22] The Sudanese model weighed only 3.3 kg (7.3 lb) with an empty magazine.[21] The price, including cleaning kit and four magazines, was US $225 per rifle.[23] All AR-10s, whether produced by ArmaLite or by A.I., used the same Stoner-designed 20-round lightweight aluminum ‘waffle’ magazine with pressed-in, corrugated sides, intended to be discarded in combat once emptied.[24]

This particular rifle appears to be in excellent condition considering that it is most likely 60 years old and has existed in a very rough part of the world when it comes to firearms care and maintenance. The young man looks to have affixed a canvas sling to the rifle, in addition to embedding a circular metal piece in the stock, also wrapping something around the buttstock by the rear sight and charging handle.

Weight 3.29–4.05 kg (7.25–8.9 lb) w/o magazine
Length 1,050 mm (41.3 in)
Barrel length 528 mm (20.8 in)
Cartridge 7.62×51mm NATO

.308 Winchester
Action Gas-operated, rotating bolt
Rate of fire 700 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity 820 m/s (2,690 ft/s)
Effective firing range 600m/656yd (ca 700m/765 1/2yds with A.I. 3.6× telescopic sight)
Feed system 20-round detachable box magazine
Sights Adjustable aperture rear sight, fixed post front sight

 

 

More Kalashnikov Nomenclature Charts In Arabic

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Earlier on Silah Report we showcased a number of Kalashnikov and small arms nomenclature and terminology charts in use by Iraqi small arms traders and enthusiasts. Since then we’ve gathered some more material, this time much more Kalashnikov centric. These charts continue to show perceptions of the rifles in use throughout the region and what is available. Although we have similar charts in the United States the unfortunate reality is that many of those charts are tailored to the Kalashnikov civilian market. By observing what Iraqis, Syrians, or Yemenis are concerned with identifying, we can gain a better perspective on what rifles are in the region that people want to know about.

 

Commander Shafi’s AKSU

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Earlier we covered the significance of the AKSU in the hands of Rashid Dustom’s security detail, and especially with one of his favored guards. In this example, we have another case of the AKSU being utilized as a status symbol. These photographs are a memorial to Hazara Commander Shafi who was commemorated and memorialized between 2:30 and 4:30 in the afternoon, Friday, Sombole 5 1395 After Hijra (subsequently after Jummah Prayer that day as well). This would be August 26, 2016 in the Gregorian year. The photo above is advertising that the venue would be in West Kabul along an address on Martyer’s Road. The occasion is that it is the 20 year anniversary of his death in what would appear to be 1996. Very little information is available on the English internet but from the date of his death in 1996, of the year of the Taliban taking over Kabul, this commander was possibly killed while fighting the Taliban. Thus, in a post-OEF setting, it would appear to make sense that Hazaras would be celebrating the life of a famous Hazara who was fighting the ideologically same Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan that exists today.

From the original Dari-

به مناسبت بیستمین سالگرد شهادت

زمان: روز جمعه، ۵ سنبله ۱۳۹۵، ساعت ۲:۳۰ تا ۴:۳۰ بعد از ظهر

مکان: جاده شهید مزاری، گولایی مهتاب قلعه، تالار بهشت زندگی از طرف جمعی از جوانان غرب کابل

Similar with Dustom and Osama bin Laden, the symbolism of the AKSU (note especially the 45 round magazine) with this commander is especially evident through the photograph chosen to represent his life at an anniversary of his death. There might be multiple photographs taken of him but yet this one, with an AKSU was chosen. We don’t know when this was taken, but we are taking a chance that it might be after the Soviet withdraw due to the fact that many of the major players fighting each other in the 1990s were lower level commanders in the 1980s with the exception of such examples of Massoud and Hekmatyar of course. Note that this commander could have just had easily carried an AKMS that fits a similar profile of the AKSU but he didn’t.

 

How Ruger P95s and Sig P2022s Got to Iraq

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For a while now we’ve seen a number of Ruger 9x19mm NATO P95 handguns flourishing among the social media groups within Iraq. This isn’t a recent phenomena but still, the question remains over where they originated from. Daniel Watters, a noted small arms historian has provided us with some excellent context on the issue, even detailing the specific contracts that pushed 5,000 Ruger P95s, and 5,000 Sig Sauer SP2022s into Iraq.

Back in December 2004, the US Army’s Tank-Automotive & Armament Command (TACOM) posted solicitation W52H09-05-R-0067. They basically wanted 10,000 9x19mm pistols in a hurry, and were willing to place multiple contracts to fill it. Vendors were allowed to bid for as few as 100 pistols up to the full total of 10,000. The most telling portion of the solicitation was that they requested a price for the pistols to be shipped directly to Baghdad.

Before the end of the month. Ruger received contract W52H09-05-C-0058 for 5,000 P95, and SIG-Sauer received contract W52H09-05-C-0059 for 5,000 SP2022.

When outsiders saw the name Tank-Automotive & Armament Command, they assumed the pistols must be for tankers. Nothing could be further from the truth. A subordinate command of the Army Materiel Command, TACOM-Rock Island was responsible for all Army small arms procurement. It also handled orders from other US military service branches, and managed foreign military sales (FMS).
It turns out that the rush order was meant to arm Iraqi security forces ahead of the country’s first post-Saddam parliamentary elections in January 2005. Confirmation can be found in the government report “Iraqi Security Forces: Weapons Provided by the U.S. Department of Defense Using the Iraq Relief and Reconstruction Fund.

The report listed can be accessed here and lists the 5,000 P95s as being purchased for $1,271,700, and the 5,000 SP2022s being purchased for $1,756,550, both on December 12 2004. Both of these appeared to have been designated for the Ministery of Interior and the Ministery of Defense although it doesn’t specify which. We should also note that these 10,000 handguns were only a third of the 38,053 “Generic 9mm Pistols” that were on contract. What those other thirty-something thousand odd handguns were would have to take some researching.

 

Although very similar in appearance to a Sig Sauer handgun, our sources tell us that this is in fact a blank firing copy.