Egypt at one point produced clones of an incredibly rare rifle, the ZG-51, which is the older brother so to say for the better-known Czechoslovakian Vz54. The ZG-51 is a bolt action rifle that uses the 7.62×54mmR cartridge and is considered a variant of the Russian Mosin-Nagant 91/30. Indeed, the rifle is shrouded in enough obscurity that researching it online will yield very limited results, thus making the ZG-51 (and the ‘Riyadh’) one of the most mysterious firearms related to Egypt right after the crudely made “Egyptian Thompson” which we have examined in other articles. We will present here all the materials and information we managed to find on the ZG-51 and its connection to Egypt.
Rifles
Podcast V29: Michael – IDF Veteran Paratrooper of Yom Kippur War
Welcome to the 29th episode of the Silah Report Podcast! We recently had the pleasure of speaking with Michael, a former veteran paratrooper in the Israeli Defense Forces who participated in the Yom Kippur War (known in the Arab world as The October War). Michael shared his experiences in the IDF starting with his training, which had a lot of surprises hidden for us, all the way up to his role in the Yom Kippur War in 1973. We also enquired about the types and origins of firearms he encountered during his service that his Arab adversaries had used. Later on, Michael would end up serving as a firearms instructor (specializing in Warsaw Pact weaponry) and after that a firearms specialist for a private firm.
Note: The views of the individuals we interview on the Silah Report Podcast represent themselves only and not the views of Silah Report. In Silah Report, one of our core tenets is to remain apolitical and unbiased when it comes to our research. Indeed, in Silah Report we have members from different ethnicities, religions, and political views. We do not let our personal convictions affect the quality of the content we provide to our audience and we do our best to provide you with the most accurate and unbiased information available.
Miles Vining & Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons Talk Iraqi Tabuk AK Rifles
Miles joined Ian McCollum of Forgotten Weapons to discuss the series of domestically-produced Iraqi Kalashnikovs known as Tabuks. Largely based on the Yugoslav M70 they were produced from the 1980s up to the Coalition invasion of Iraq in 2003. Both rifles are provided by Two River Arms and like the original rifles both are chambered in 7.62×39mm. Iraq’s Al-Qadisiyah manufacturing facility produced these weapons as well as a less well known version of the 7.62×54mmR SVD. Miles and Ian do some shooting with the rifles, discus the Tabuks’ origins and share their thoughts on the rifles and their capabilities.
Operation Onion Truck and DNS Defense
In 2016, Serdar Özyurt, one of the founders of DNS Defense, stated in an interview that his company was accused of arms smuggling. He suggested that the reason for this was a conspiracy made by FETÖ (Source). However, it was later revealed that the smuggling involving DNS Defense was filled with highly suspicious events. It soon became clear that this company was responsible for various military ammunition that was smuggled to ISIS in Syria.
Six Day War Tactics and Equipment: Sinai Front
Israel’s infantry tactics had changed drastically since the 1955 Suez Crisis, in which Army Chief of Staff Mosha Dayan focused almost entirely on traditional infantry and airpower, neglecting armor and logistics. The British and French had significant success with armored assaults on Egyptian forces during the Crisis. This proved to Dayan that a strong mechanized infantry and armor corps would be the key to success for Israel in the inevitable future warfare over Sinai. Finkel and other commentators refer to this as the “cult of armored warfare”, which neglected defense for offensive capability entirely.[1] By the time the 6 Day War began, in 1967, Israel’s forces were better equipped but no more well trained than the army had previously been. This would prove to be a major issue.
Podcast V28: Noori, The Iraqi Gun Engraving Artisan
Welcome to the 28th episode of the Silah Report Podcast, we recently had the pleasure of speaking with Noori, an artisan who runs a business of handcrafting decorations on firearms in Iraq. We have covered Noori’s interesting work in past articles here at Silah Report. To say that the quality of his artwork is incredibly professional and its quality is extremely beautiful would be an understatement. In our interview with him, we enquired in-depth abut Iraqi gun culture, his background, how he entered the field, his business in a war-torn country, the challenges he faced and what does think the future holds for him.
Overview of Turkey’s Assortment of AR-Pattern Rifles
As covered in an earlier Silah Report article, over 65,000 5.56 x 45mm rifles have been delivered to Turkish security forces, according to the head of Turkey’s Presidential Defense Industry, İsmail Demir. With 65,000 rifles being a substantial number of AR-15 patterned rifles, it is fair to infer that this trend will continue and succeed the primary platforms currently in Turkish service like the license-built MKE HK33s and G3A3s. In this article we will examine some of the most prominently used AR-15 patterned rifles currently in use with Turkey’s police and armed forces.
Podcast V26 – Part Three: Galal Abdo Hashem – Defiance, Victory and the Dream
In our journey to uncover wartime stories from all sides during the Arab-Israeli Conflict, we managed to meet Galal Abdo Hashem, an Egyptian living in his home city of Ismalia, a city that has witnessed the horrors of war more than once during the 20th century. Galal Abdo Hashem is not a war veteran with military training, in fact, he never fired a single shot towards his enemies, but he decided to do something instead that gained him notoriety and his name written on Egypt’s Honor List. To this day he gives lectures, speaks with journalists, and appears on TV shows to speak about his experience and journey during a time when Egypt was at war with Israel. This article is the story of one of Egypt’s civilians who, despite taking up arms to defend his homeland, decided there was another way to contribute to the war effort – art.
Khyber Market Finds: The Mauser M1916 – A WWI Rarity (Part 1)
On our many travels to the gun markets and arms manufacturing hubs of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, we’ve encountered many interesting firearms, some of which are the envy of collectors the world over. The latest example of one of these finds is one of the rarer and more valuable firearms we have come across. Several examples of World War One-vintage Mauser M1916 Selbstladekarabiner (self-loading carbine) have been found.
Syrian Civil War Small Arms Symbology: Syrian Democratic Forces in Rojava
In this series we have examined Syrian armed groups from across the entire political spectrum who at one point or another during the war featured a firearm in their official crest. Our goal is to present a statistical overview of the small arms used in this military imagery and to share some interesting information I was able to deduce. You can find the first part of this series here and the second part here, the Opposition and Regime respectively.