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.
Afghanistan
Vantage View of the Kabul Arsenal
In a post for The Firearm Blog, we were able to find a photograph of the Kabul Arsenal from the late 1800s. In trying to locate the arsenal through the photograph, we actually were able to replicate the photograph today by climbing up “Kohe-Asmayee”, the hill that lies across the Asmayee River from the Kabul Arsenal.
Afghan SOF small arms photo essay
This essay originally appeared in December of 2015 on The Firearm Blog.
This post is about the Afghan SOF community, or at least what they want to allow to show us on their official Facebook page. Apart from browsing through pictures of “Commandos” (all the red patches in the photos are their official insignia, MARSOC wore it in Helmand), I’ve worked with them in Helmand.
A Primer on Kabul Arsenal Martini Henry rifles
Jeffory is an avid reader and support of SR. This is his second guest article, the first being about a P’08 Luger found still working in Helmand province.
There was a time when anything that came out if Afghanistan was considered a “fake” Khyber Pass copy. Well, today we know this is simply not true. The British crown with the help Emir Abdur Rahman set up a modern arms and munitions factory in Kabul. Called, Mashin Khana by the locals. Today, we know it as the Kabul arsenal.
The Kabul machine works is a little-known and often very misunderstood producer of small arms. However, due to our recent involvement and presence in the region, products of this Armory are now making their way to the collectors Market in the United States. Often, when these rifles are encountered, they are Miss labeled as Khyber Pass made knock-offs and tossed aside as junk. This however could not be further from the truth. They are in fact rare and very under-appreciated firearms.
It is estimated that, between 5 and 8000 of each type of Martini-Henry variants may have been produced. Which, seven major types have been identified and classified. Extrapolating from there puts production figures between 35 and around 56,000 pieces. (V.Easley)
These figures do not take into account attrition, damaged or any rifles that were “lost.” Furthermore, these rifles were frequently scrubbed of there legitimate Kabul arsenal stamps. Then, they were re-stamped to make fake I.C.1 carbines and “Enfield” stamped Martini’s.
This was done by enterprising tribesmen for three reasons. The first being, to take advantage of the world known name and reputation of R.S.A. Enfield. The second, to take advantage of the antique rifle status of pre-1899 dated firearms. And the final, most important reason to go through all this work, to make money. More specifically, to make money off of American servicemen.
Taking these variables into account would put the number of surviving, originally produced examples somewhat lower. It is unknown at this time how many examples are currently in the United States, but one would reasonably assume far less than original production numbers. Making such examples, in my opinion, fairly rare to encounter.
(*NOTE- well these rifles have fake stamps on them to make them into “more desirable” models. They are still fully operational firearms. They are not to be confused with the poorly made and unsafe Khyber Pass knock-offs).
Afghanistan, as we might recognize it today, begin to take shape after the second Anglo-Afghan war. (1878-1880)This was a decisive British victory. From which, they installed a new, far more cooperative Emir, Abdur Rahman. He is considered to be the father of the modern state of Afghanistan. And with a modern State, you need a modern Army, and to have a modern Army so, you must have modern Small Arms. And the capability to produce them indigenously. All of which, the Emir was far too aware of.
Images credited to V. Easley Collection.
To be continued…
Small Arms Theft Kabul Edition (Again)
Tolo News has recently reported on a small arms theft from within the Interior Ministry’s headquarters compound in the northern part of Kabul by the international airport. This comes after another major small arms theft that occurred in March of this year. From the news report-
The office has received documents against 14 officials of the ministry over the loss of 105 AK-47 guns, 18 missiles, 80 mortars and 5,000 machine gun bullets.
Two of those accused employees have fled, two of them are in detention and 10 others have been released on bail, Attorney General’s Office spokesman Jamshid Rasuli told TOLOnews.
The nomenclature appears to have gone through some translation confusion when it comes to “missiles” and “mortars”. Kabuli Police certainly don’t use mortars so it would appear that missiles might mean RPG-7 launchers and mortars might be the PG-7 rockets for them. Machine gun bullets might also be a bit of a confusion because why would a thief make out with 105 AKM rifles but no 7.62x39mm ammunition to go with? If indeed these are 7.62x54mmR “Machine Gun Bullets”? Either way, on the current black market those AKMs sell for over a thousand dollars a rifle.
Two significant thefts of small arms within the Ministry of Interior are certainly not good news. It would appear that both of these might purely be financially black market driven rather than the work of an insurgent organization such as the Taliban or ISIS-K. Either way, both involved internal cooperation and were not by a forced or armed nature of attack.
A German DWM Luger in Helmand Province
This guest post was written by Jeffrey Reardon, an avid reader and supporter of Silah Report.
In the past one hundred and eighty years, Afghanistan has been the target of multiple foreign invasions. From the British, (1839-1842, 1878-1880 and 1919) Soviet (1979-1989) and United States (2001-Present) involvement in Afghanistan. As such, we have a unique opportunity to see the small arms of yesterday back in action. Let’s look at one such example today.
An American Marine of personal acquaintance was assigned to a Police Mentor Team (PMT) apart of 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines. These units were responsible for mentoring and training the Afghan National Police (ANP). The PMT duty consisted of patrolling to different ANP checkpoints. The PMT would spend a few days at each checkpoint then move on to thier next scheduled checkpoint. This Marine also happened to be an avid military surplus collector. This assignment would give him many opportunities to meet new people and see a myriad of Curio and Relics (C&R) in Afghanistan. In 2010, while in Garmsir, Helmand Province, Afghanistan, that’s exactly what happened to this Marine.
While on patrol with the ANP unit, this Marine noticed the unmistakable silhouette, of a Luger pistol that one of the ANP members was carrying. Naturally, the Marine was curious and just had to have a look at this interesting piece of military history.
In this picture, we can clearly make out the DWM rollstamp. The Deutsche Waffen- and Munitionsfabriken (German weapons and ammunition factories) was created in 1896 by, Ludwig Loewe & Company. They combined their weapons and ammunition facilities under one company. Simultaneously, Loewe transferred all shares it owned in other weapons producing companies to the newly formed DWM. These included, lesser know production facilities along with the Waffenfabrik Mauser and Fabrique National(FN). This pistols date is a little obscure in the picture. However, I was told this example is dated 1916. Just during WWI, from 1914-1918, there were approximately 2,000,000 Luger pistols made.
In this picture, another Marine poses with Luger. Here, we can see clearly see the front sight is missing. We can only guess as to what happened and how long it’s been missing. This goes along with my theory that this particular Luger is more if a badge of honour and sign if rank. Although, it would certainty get the job done in close quarters. Not having a front sight at all will put you at a disadvantage for the Marine Corps 25 meter pistol qualification.
As evident by the pictures, there is absolutely nothing left of the original finish. Which would have been a very beautiful and high gloss blue oxide on the major components. With small pieces such as the trigger and takedown lever being strawed. This process turns the metal a soft, golden colour which closely matches that of dried hay or, “straw.” In all actuality, this is exactly what one would expect. After all, it is almost a century old. Very easily a veteran of two world wars and countless other conflicts. It’s current location in southern Afghanistan, with its frequent sand storms, certainly does not help.
The Marine function tested the pistol. On a Luger, this is accomplished by grabbing the top of the toggle link and pulling up. With an empty magazine in place, the slide will stay fully locked back in then open position. I was assured that it is in operable condition. Although, the Marine did not test fire it.
There are, by this point, more than a few things I’m curious about. One question I would love to know the answer to is, to know if the ANP had the holster and spare magazine? If he didn’t, what was he using for a holster? If he wasn’t in possession of the spare magazine, was he worried about the lack of capacity?
I was told that the ANP officer was very proud of his pistol. He made it known that he was not at all interested in selling it. I often wonder, by what route did that pistol get to Afghanistan? How did that ANP officer acquire it?
Sadly, we will never know the answers to these questions. We can only be happy that our beloved military surplus small arms are still serviceable after all this time.
*Special thanks and photo credit to Timothy Arndt
70 Firearms Stolen from Kabul Police Station
A report on Television One has revealed that 70 firearms and a number of cameras capable of operating at night (possibly meaning infrared capabilities) have been stolen from a central Police armory in Kabul. The article inferred that the firearms were possibly being smuggled to Pakistan but this isn’t known as of yet.
منابع خبرداده اند که هفتاد میل جنگ افزار از یک ذخیرگاه مهمات پولیس در کابل دزدی شده است.
منابع امنیتی که نخواستند نام شان فاش شود از دزدی شدن هفتاد میل جنگ افزار و سه دوربین در ذخیرگاه های مهمات پولیس در کابل خبر داده اند.
این جنگ افزارها شامل تفنگچه ها و دوربین های شب بین بوده که از یک بخش حمایوی پولیس در کابل دزدی شده است.
بر بنیاد گفته های منابع، چندین تن از سوی وزارت داخله در پیوند به این رویداد بازداشت شده اند.
با وجود تلاش های زیاد وزارت امور داخله نخواست در این باره ابراز نظر کند، اما یک مقام وزارت داخله به تلویزیون یک این موضوع را تایید کرده گفت، بررسی ها درباره این موضوع جریان دارد.
Firearms being stolen from a central police repository is somewhat alarming, especially that observing that it has happened the day before Now-Ruz, or the Persian New Year. There is the possibility that maybe the theft was to supply a possible attack in the upcoming festivities but this is most likely not the case as the firearms stolen were mostly handguns. This is most likely a case of lax regulations right before the holiday and an insider taking advantage of them. Similar to many other attacks and thefts within the Afghan government, this was most likely an inside job possibly helped by a corrupt official.
Taliban Raid on Afghan Militia Post Reveals Modern Small Arms Inventory
Recently disclosed photographs supplied to Silah Report have suggested that the local GoIRA supported militias are armed with more than the standard Kalashnikov self-loading rifles often seen throughout the country. One example of these forces is the Afghan Local Police, or ALP. Although these forces are seen as cost-effective, many local Afghans compare them to the days of the War Lords that roamed the country in the Civil War.
The photograph below depicts five 5.56x45mm NATO M4-patterned carbines in configurations that are identical to that of the ANA Commandos. This includes the AN/PEQ-2 TPIAL mounted at the 12 o’clock position on the Picatinny rail, the Trijicon 4x RCO day optic, the MaTech BUIS, and even the spray painted rifle in the center. Also present is a 40x46mm NATO M203 UBGL mounted to the carbine at the bottom. Notice on the painted carbine the coupled STANAG magazine inverted from a usual “rounds up” position.
As indicated by this photograph, a small arms inventory such as this is consistent with what the ANSF Commandos are generally issued.
This photograph was provided by the same source and features a similar magazine coupling technique as illustrated above. What appear to be UTG rail covers and what is most likely a Harris bipod copy appear to be third party modifications from the standard issue. Myna Bird perched on the 6-inch barrel comes unissued.
MaTech BUIS as in use.
However in this angle present are Streamlight TLR Picatinny mounted weapon lights, in addition to Kalashnikov patterned rifles, which are rarely in use by ANSF Commandos, if at all. Although rare, there are some TLRs that have been spotted among the group.
Although contextual information about the photographs are scare, a source has suggested that the militia checkpoints are perhaps funded by a shadow entity with a large supply budget. Such as the “Kandahar Strike Force” that was indeed set up by the CIA. In Afghanistan, this is immediately assumed to be the “CIA”, but until we have further information, we cannot venture more into the origins of these carbines.
Krinkov: A Pashtu origin
This article was first published with The Firearm Blog on January 18th, 2016. It has been republished on Silah Report with permission of the author.
“Krinkov”, where does it come from and how have we gotten to it? There are a number of theories about it, some truer than others, but we’ll examine each one, and I will provide what I have come up with so far.
The first theory is that it is Russian. At face value, this could seem true, by simply hearing the word “Krinkov” to a non-Russian speaker, it might sound Russian. However, this is by far, not the case at all. Tim from Military Arms Channel has an excellent dialogue on this, explaining that the Russians have an entirely different nickname. I’ll take an excerpt from Maxim Popenkers site, World Guns:
Since its introduction the AKS-74U, unofficially known as a “Ksyukha” (variation of a Russian woman name) or “okurok” (cigarette stub)
In addition from Max’s book Assault Rifles, we have this entry:
Since its introduction the AKS-74U, unofficially known as a “Kysusha” (a variation of a Russian female Ksenia), “Suka” (bitch), “Suchok” (small tree branch) or “Okurok” (cigarette stub)
And this is Tim from Military Arms Channel, explaining some of that from the Russian side.
Tim is correct in his explanation of what Russians would call it, but the biggest problem I have with his explanation is that he completely dismisses the role of the Afghan Mujahaden, saying that it is a “nonsense word”. In addition, he speculates that maybe the first AKS74U taken off a Russian who was named Krinkov. The theory doesn’t hold any weight because for one, Krinkov isn’t a Russian name or in any sort of Russian vocabulary. Also, the fact that Pashtun speaking Mujahideen could speak or even read Russian is very, very rare, many of them being illiterate in their own language of Pashtu (illiteracy is an extremely large problem even in current day Afghanistan/Peshawar, and was much more so in the early 1980s). Furthermore, the circumstances of the Mujahideen capturing weapons from the Russians involved very little live prisoners. We’ll get into this in a bit as well, but for the overwhelming majority of the time, the AKS74U was issued to helicopter and armored vehicle crew members. Contrary to popular belief, the amount of Russians captured in Afghanistan during the war, and the amount of Russians fleeing to the Mujahideen side was extremely low as well. Most of the time, the only way Mujahideen could get their hands on Soviet equipment was through disabled vehicles wherein the Russian occupants would already be dead, or through the corrupt selling of Russian arms to the Mujahideen by either Russians themselves, or Afghan government troops.
The second theory is much more recent, but it originates from a gun shop in Naples, Florida. The shop was called “Krinks” and was run by a certain Paul Mahoney, who in the early 1990s was one of the first AK builders in the States to really take advantage of deactivated AKS74U kits, and put them together. The quality of them left much to be desired, but the fact of the matter is that the first mass producer of “Krink” kits in the United States was this guy Paul Mahoney with his gunshop “Krinks”. This might have certainly been one of the reasons why the name started to gain in popularity in the States, but it doesn’t help us at all in the actual etymology of the name.
My problem in the whole name origin is that we constantly see this theme of loosely attributing it to the Mujahideen, but yet there hasn’t been a single effort to get right to the source and really examine how that name might have even come about. Maybe it is ethnocentrism, maybe it is on account of laziness, maybe it is just accepting the status quo and not moving on. Either way, I’m going to present evidence that points to that fact that the name is actually a Pashtu word that has entered into our vocabulary, and is a testament to a twist in linguistics in the Pashtu language.
To begin with, we have to examine how the existence of this carbine became known about in the United States. I’ve often heard the claim that Soldier of Fortune magazine was the first entity to bring knowledge about the AKS74U, and even the AK74 to the West. I think this claim is more of a support for Soldier of Fortune’s reputation than any actual truth. Because just by looking at the facts, the famous Soldier of Fortune article that was run about the AK74 was in 1982, and the article about the AKS74U was in the July 1984 edition of the magazine. Looking at Jane’s Infantry Weapons from that era, and before, we see entries for the AKS74U, Sometimes labeling it as an AKSU 74, an AKSU and also as an “AKR”. This name most likely originates from Ian V. Hogg, as he was tied in with various intelligence circles at the time, that somehow came up with AKR. We still see this name in 1989, with Edward Ezell’s book, Small Arms Today.
But going on to who actually deserves the credit of “discovering” the AkS74U, we have a sentence from the July 1984 edition of Soldier of Fortune, in which David Isby does an entire article about reviewing this new carbine, while he and an American Army Major are in Pakistan. He claims that initial knowledge of the carbine is from Ian Hogg, who in turn heard about it from a certain Peter Jouvenal. This guy was a video journalist, who has been in and out of Afghanistan since the late 1970s, and is extremely important because he captured one of the only video shots of Taliban leader Mullah Omar in person.
Below is the text from the Soldier of Fortune article detailing the origins and name of the AKS74U.
Within the Soldier of Fortune article, David Isby takes the name from the Afghans he was with. However, he mentions two other names “Shrinkov” and “Shesakov”. These two names are also important, but because of the linguistics involved, I’ll get to that in a second.
As mentioned earlier, the difference between this article, and any other article on the internet, is that I’m going to the actual source of the name, which is from the Pashtu speaking peoples of eastern Afghanistan, and Pakistan. The name is not a “nonsense” word, it is a Pashtun word. I’ll start this off by showing a clip from a movie called Son of a Lion. Quite an interesting movie, it was made by an Australian EMT on his own dime, after 9/11, going to Peshawar and filming a storyline about a young boy who works in the arms trade but really wants to go to school to become educated. The culture and language displayed in the movie are phenomenal, but from a firearms perspective, it gives us an in-depth look at the arms trade in Peshawar. Apart from a few actors, the rest of the movie is completely shot amid the markets and daily life of the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan. There aren’t any “props” or staged settings. The locations are real, and so are the small arms portrayed. But in it, we have this one scene where the main character takes a “Krinkov” out to a customer to test fire it. He also mentions the connection with Osama bin Laden.
https://youtu.be/KzN1-M37RiY?t=17m40s
Now, to understand why the reference to Osama bin Laden was even mentioned, we have to understand a little behind why the AKS74U became prominent among first the Mujahaden, and then today among families of status. As mentioned previously, the weapon was only ever issued out to crew members of helicopters and armored vehicles. Contrary to popular belief, this wasn’t a favorite of the Spetsnaz at all, although it originally started out as a proof of concept for Soviet Special Forces. It was quickly ditched for the AKS74 because the longer barrel proved to be better in the vast distances that the Spetsnaz found themselves operating in. This from an interview that I conducted with Marco Vorobiev, a Spetsnaz Veteran of the Afghan war.
Miles Vining- I noticed in some of your talks that you don’t have much love for the AKS74U?
Marco- Well its alot of fun. Lets talk about it from a far away point here. The gun is a tool in a toolbox to complete a certain job. And the job could be a regular contact fight, lets say 500-400 meters, to include maybe clearing houses or compounds. So from that regard you want something small, maybe be able to use it in close quarter combat, something really, easy to handle, easy to maintain. Well that is fine, considering if you are a police officer going through a house. It shoots 5.45 as well, so thats good for wounding. On the other hand, as a carbine, you need to be able to hit targets out to 300 meters. You can do that with an AKS74, no problem, even with an M4. But the AKSU? You might if you spray half a magazine in that particular direction. But I even have one, I shoot it for fun, I get a big old smile on my face. It’s fun to shoot, it’s just like rrrrrrrrrrp, almost like a little toy so to speak. Mikal Kalshanikov himself told me that he loved it, although he was a very anti 5.45 guy, but he was a big fan of the AKSU for some reason. But you put yourself in an actual gunfight, with people screaming everywhere, trying to get comm up, you taste the metal of adrenaline in your mouth, and now you are trying to pick out targets in the distance… it’s really hard with that gun. We were always trying to get rid of it for the AKS74.
Thus, the weapon was strictly for crew members. And if we look at the context of the Soviet-Afghan War, the biggest hinderances for the Mujahideen, were the Hind attack helicopters, and the BMPs. In fact, if you look through Soviet photographs of the war, there is much evidence to attest to this, with helicopter crews even having thigh holsters carrying their AKS74Us. Thus, taking one of these monsters out of the fight would be one enormous victory for a small band of fighters, but more importantly, proving that you took one down would show everyone how brave or good you were. And what better way to prove it than to take a weapon that only these troops would have on them, an AKS74U? It not only proves that you were competent, but it also gives you something to defend yourself with. Even in the Soldier of Fortune article, we see just how rare and sought after these things were, even rising in price after word was passed around that an American was looking for one in Peshawar.
Now, Osama bin Laden claimed back to his Yemeni and Saudi buddies back home that he fought in the Soviet-Afghan War. But the actual truth of the matter is that he probably was never near any of the fighting, most likely staying in a rear echelon capacity, directing funds and supplies to the front (if he even did that). But, on his return to the area in the mid-1990s, we have a multitude of pictures of him, with an AKS74U by his side in the camera frame. This was very deliberate, to the point of the gun sellers in Peshawar even telling the customer that “This is the Osama gun”. Although Osama never took down a Soviet armored vehicle or Hind, the fact that he was carrying the carbine showed a status symbol, and he was able to identify much more easily with local Pashtuns who didn’t understand his Saudi background but absolutely understood his choice of weapon.
Somewhat off track, but this is important to understand how the name came to be, because even today, the AKS74U occupies a very lofty position as a status symbol in eastern Afghanistan and Peshawar.
A close Afghan contact from Jalalabad mentions two names for the AKS74U, the first one which is popular in Jalalabad, is “Kalakov” and the second one is “Krinkov”. If you hear somewhat of an “F” sound at the end of the word, that is because there isn’t any “V” consonant in Pashtu, speakers instead using an “F” or a “W” sound to simulate a “V”. Now, remember what David Isby said the other names for the carbine were? “Shrinkov” and “Shesakov”? Using a little knowledge of the Pashtu language, the names pair up to be the same word. There are two dialects of Pashtu, the southern, or Kandahari, and the eastern, or the Nangahari. So looking at this words, “Krinkov” and “Shrinkov” are actually the same word, just pronounced differently, while “Kalakov” and “Shesakov” are a little more different, but dropping the “la” sound, the words are also the same.
But how exactly did these words come about? As my friend mentioned, adding an “ov” to any word makes it Russian-ized in Pashtu. So that explains the last part of the word, and the first part is probably a bit of vocabulary added on, to signify the importance of the AKS74U as a status symbol. Because it isn’t just any old “Kalashnikov”, its a “Krinkov”, and you know I got it from that Hind I blew out of the sky a week ago. Another tidbit that my friend brought up after the camera was off, is that for some reason, in Jalalabad, the Pashtuns refers to the Kalashnikov rifle as that, a “Kalashnikof”. However, in other parts of eastern Afghanistan, the same name is actually pronounced “Krashnikof”. And this might actually be the truest jump to “Krinkof”, as going from “Kalashnikof” to “Kalakof” is very similar, as is going from “Krashnikof” to “Krinkof”. In both cases, the “L” in the first one, and the “R” sound in the second one are maintained in their nickname for the short rifle.
I hope this was an informative article and was able to really get to the point of “Why do we call it this?”. If anything, the most important part of all of this, is that the word isn’t a made up, nonsense word, but instead has very important historical and cultural attributes and an etymology that comes from a defining moment in history. There is much evidence to point to the fact that Afghanistan might just have been the straw that broke the Soviet Unions back, and this word directly came out of that struggle. In addition, it is a Pashtun invention, and is still very much alive and well in eastern Afghanistan and Peshawar.
Deciphering Colloquial Afghan Names for Popular Small Arms
Silah Report took some time to ask a native Afghan from the province of Mazar-i-Sharif to talk about various colloquial names that Afghans have for popular small arms in use by the Mujahideen and in the modern era. This interview is not verbatim and has been edited for clarification.
SR- Please explain the Dragunov?
Interviewee- So the Russian name Dragunov actually isn’t used in Dari, or in Afghanistan. Instead, we call it “Draz-nuf” (درازنف) In this case, “Draz” (دراز) Dari means long or lengthy, and that name is given to that rifle due to its overall length being longer than most small arms such the Kalashnikov, Krinkov, and Shinkov. That’s why they call it “Draz-nuf”, the “Draz” for “Lengthy” or “Long”. Likewise, with names like Krinkov, or Shinkov, these are names given to various small arms by the Mujahideen in the Soviet War. They don’t represent the actual Russian name for them.
SR- Was the “Draz-nuf”/Dragunov a special rifle among those who used it? Only choose Mujahids would use it?
Interviewee- I think so because they used it as a sniper rifle due to the optics that came with it. You can focus your target very well and then shoot it. That’s what I have seen in movies as well. But it isn’t as expensive or as sought after as the Krinkov as far as I know. Carrying a Krinkov is sort of a show-off, something a Captain, a commander, would do. Everyone would talk about how “That guy was carrying a Krinkov, or his bodyguards carry a Krinkov”. But that status symbol isn’t the same with the “Draz-nof”.
SR- What are some other names? Such as PKah, Makarov, etc…?
Interviewee- Yes, PKah, they call it by another name of “Grin-nuf”.
SR- What about the RPG?
Interviewee- This is sometimes called a “Rockeet” (راکت) or “Rockeet-Tandaz” (راکت تندز) This is because “Rockeet” is obviously the missile that is fired out of that barrel, and “Andakhtan” is the Dari verb “To Throw” (انداختن) so “Rockeet-Tandoz” is an instrument that is used to throw a “Rockeet”.
SR- What about the .303 Lee Enfield?
Interviewee- We call these “See-Sahd-See-Bor” ( سه صد سه بور) See-Sahd-See means three hundred and three in Dari, meaning the caliber .303, and “Bor” for the diameter of the barrel. I’ve seen these rifles in old people’s houses and people would say “My grandfather carried this”. And “Karabine”, is another kind of gun, but it isn’t a rifle, it is shorter, shooting single rounds instead of automatic fire. We also have “Dushka” for the DShK Heavy Machine Gun.
