In this episode, Miles, Matthew Moss (historian, author and Silah Report’s Editor) and Nate (one of our great patrons) discussed a variety of interesting firearms and equipment they noticed in SHOT Show 2020.
Syria
V19: A Volunteer from the West in the YPG Part 1
In this amazing 19th episode of the Silah Report Podcast, we were joined by our guest Rizgar, a European who volunteered with the Kurdish YPG in 2016. He gave us some insight on his journey from being your everyday civilian in Europe to a fighter battling beside the Kurds on the frontlines against ISIS militants. He shares with us some fantastic pictures he took over there and his experience with fellow Kurdish comrades and Western volunteers.
Notes on YPG/YPJ Precision Rifles from Ed Nash
Between June 2015 and July 2016, I volunteered with the Kurdish YPG militia in Syria, fighting against the so-called Islamic State in the first major counter-attacks against that entity which led to its defeat in 2019.
A Lanchester Machine Carbine in Aleppo
Back in November, friend of Silah Report and frequent author Analyst Mick, shared some photos of a British World War Two-era submachine gun, a Lanchester Machine Carbine. The photos placed the venerable submachine for sale in the Syrian-regime held city of Aleppo. The Lanchester was Britain’s first submachine gun, with plans for its production put in place just before the development of the STEN gun.
Black Aluminum in Cloth: Syrian M16/M4 Fabric Wraps
A phenomenon that has been observed with YPG/YPJ Fighters in recent years has been the practice of wrapping service rifles with fitted fabric. The extent to which rifles have been fitted goes from small pieces that might just cover the magazine or handguard to full-length covers that can sometimes enclose the entire rifle. The reason behind these wraps range from a sort of camouflage to a purely aesthetic venture. In this part of a series of posts looking at the trend we will examine the wraps seen on M16/M4-pattern rifles. You can find part one of this series here.
V16: Sniper Rifles and Tactics Against IS in Syria, a SMLE in Afghanistan, and a Counterfeit Revolver in Iran
Our guest speaker and main presenter in this week’s edition of the SR podcast is Ed Nash, author of Desert Sniper. Ed took part in the fighting against the so-called Islamic State when he travelled to Syria to fight with the Syrian Democratic Forces, ending up as a precision rifleman in the campaigns of Hasakah, Shadaddi, and eventually Minbij where he ended his tour. He covers everything from the odd tactics in use with the YPG, types of precision rifles employed, and some of the bits of kit that helped him through the fighting.
V15: Bul Armory Cherokee-Delta Defence Handgun Connection and Wacky IDF Sling Subculture
In this week’s Silah Report podcast we discuss a number of topics including a discussion surrounding one of our recent articles. Delta Defence Group is a brand of polymer frame, semi-automatic handgun that have been appearing in Iraqi and Syrian markets in the past year. But where do they come from and who makes them? Mick and Miles discuss a possible match with the Israeli arms company Bul Armory which has a handgun that is almost identical in every aspect of design.
Then we move to Israel where a new presenter, Saadia, discusses the fascinating subculture of customization among IDF soldiers when it comes to their rifle slings.
If you’d like to have your questions answered by our panel please support Silah Report on Patreon and submit questions as often as you like!
If you missed the previous episode, you can find it here.
Kalashnikov Stitched Up: Wrapping the AK Platform in Rojava
A phenomenon that has been observed with YPG/YPJ Fighters in recent years has been the practice of wrapping service rifles with fitted fabric. The extent to which rifles have been fitted goes from small pieces that might just cover the magazine or handguard to full-length covers that can sometimes enclose the entire rifle. The reason behind these wraps range from a sort of camouflage to a purely aesthetic venture.
Operation Balak: The IDF’s Star of David on Nazi Rifles
“All is fair in love and war” is an idiom in English that refers to the practice of otherwise questionable actions being considered acceptable under exceptional circumstances. When talking about weaponry in general, one example to illustrate the aforementioned saying would be the direct use of an enemy’s arms of war to forward one’s own agenda. Anti-Communist Afghan Mujahideen fighting their Soviet enemies with Soviet-made weaponry, Islamic State attacking regional adversaries with US M4’s and M16’s or the post-war US government employing former German and Japanese scientists and technologies for their fight against the Red Menace are all examples of this common practice. The Israeli Defense Forces‘ hexagram emblem on Nazi Mauser-manufactured Kar98k carbines is another interesting manifestation of this idiom.
“Delta Defence Group” Part One: The Pistol
This article is part of a two-part series about weapons from the “Delta Defence Group”.
This article examines the self-loading pistols produced by the Delta Defence Group, the full size ‘C6’ and the compact ‘C5’. Despite our research efforts it was not possible to find a “Delta Defence Group”, there is a similarly named Turkish import and export defence company, but they do not use the same name nor logo and appear to be a different company. A number of very similar pistols are produced by the Turkish company Sarsilmaz, the ‘B6’ and ‘B6C’, while the Italian company Tanfoglio produce the ‘Force’ and ‘Force Compact’ series, Israeli IMI/IWI pistols the ‘Jericho 941’ and the ‘Jericho 941 Compact’, and the Jordanian JAWS ‘JTP-9’ and the ‘JTP-9C’, but they do not match the “Delta Defence Group” pistols completely. After further research, pistols of the exact design were found, with completely different markings under the model name ‘Cherokee’ by Bul Armory – an Israeli company. The Delta Defence Group pistols correspond with the third generation Cherokee FS and Cherokee Compact. The Cherokee FS and Compact are reported to be assembled by Bul Armory, but it is likely that they do not produce the parts themselves.