The sun slips slowly and majestically behind the horizon, heralding the end of the Muslim fast. Yet another day on the Ramadan-calendar crossed out. Since everything in this day and age runs like clockwork, fasting Muslims glance impatiently at their watches and clocks spread throughout the house awaiting that exact time of the sun’s setting. Historically, however, there has been another, louder, more spectacular method of announcing ifṭār – the firing of a cannon.
The STEN Gun: Darra & Khyber-Pass Edition
The British STEN 9×19mm submachine gun, is one of the iconic firearms of World War Two. The weapon’s name comes from the names of the weapon’s main designers: the ST from Major Reginald V. Shepherd and Harold Turpin, with the EN from the RSAF Enfield arms factory where it was developed. With over four million, of various patterns being made during World War Two, this was once a firearm which could be easily found. It was a cheap, simple and relatively reliable design, born of necessity rather than anything else. It was such a crude and rugged piece of kit that it was famously nicknamed the ‘Plumbers nightmare’ amongst others.
V22: Hydro-Dipping Small Arms in Idlib, One Craftsman’s Experience
Welcome to the 22nd episode of the Silah Report Podcast, we recently had the pleasure of speaking with a gunsmith currently living in Idlib who has a long history fighting the SAA, not as an armed militant but as a gunsmith. Before the rebel pocket in Damascus fell to the SAA, he worked on manufacturing ammunition, weaponry, and even mortars for the resistance. He also worked on hydro-dipping rebel firearms. Currently, he resides in Idlib and had a short-lived business project hydro-dipping firearms. He agreed to be interviewed and to inform us about his journey specifically in that field, given that there are hundreds of photos of Syrian rebels with painted firearms floating throughout the internet and it is quite common now to see hydro dipped AK-pattern rifles. We at Silah Report wanted to know more about the industry and the people involved in it.
A Look Back in Time: Darra Adamkhel During The Soviet-Afghan War – 1983
The focus of this article is a video which has been around for some time, yet seems to be somewhat obscure. So far, I have yet to see it shared amongst the firearm community interested in the Pak-Afghan region’s cottage manufacturing of small-arms. A total of 37 years, as of 2020, have elapsed since it was made and although the quality isn’t great, it is a glimpse into the distant past, a look at what process are still the same and what has changed since then.
Suicide Prevention Trigger Guard in Turkish Armed Forces
On March 12, 2015, offices of the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) officially announced that rifles used in military service would be fitted with an enhanced trigger guard shell, flaring over the left and right sides of the factory trigger guard.[1] Some observers outside Turkey initially interpreted these enhanced trigger guards as an anti-riot modification or an apparatus that protects the triggers from external tampering in a struggle. The purpose of using these trigger guards, however, is darker than it appears. The concept was developed to prevent TAF soldiers from committing suicide using their G3 self-loading 7.62×51mm service rifles.
The Gun Designer that started Jordan’s JAWS: Wildey’s Here by Wildey Moore
“Wildey’s here.” Not only is this the line uttered by Charles Bronson in 1985’s Death Wish III, which served to introduce the world to the Wildey Survivor pistol, but it is also the title of Wildey Moore’s autobiography (Independently published in 2019). Some of our readers may already be aware of Wildey Moore, and his work in the firearms industry. Not only has he designed iconic pistols he was also responsible for founding Jordan’s JAWS state arms factory.
Stars and Rifles Part 1: Ottoman Hexagram Proof Marks
One of the peculiarities of a front line soldier’s life throughout the history of increasingly intense warfare is the heightened susceptibility to superstition and the supernatural, expressed through a plethora of different talismans, charms and other curious oddities. One might think of the strange British Touch Wud [wood] charms of World War I, the lucky rabbit feet worn by American soldiers in Vietnam or Japanese charm pouches worn during World War II. It is a common occurrence across all civilizations to feel shielded by the pretense of spiritual protection, as fleeting and illusory as it may seem. When the flesh is at its most vulnerable, man seeks different ways to somewhat dampen the fear for the imminent threat of death and disfigurement.
Remington R4s Reach Iraq
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.
Silah Report on the War College Podcast
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
Turkish Service Rifle Anti-Aircraft Volley Fire Techniques
A peculiar feature of recent Turkish Armed Forces (TAF, also Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri/TSK in Turkish) service rifles is a 21st century twist on the employment of small unit volley fire. To achieve this, TAF operational requirements have incorporated a rifle magazine-based schematic system that aids in low altitude anti-aircraft engagement procedures.