The Firearm Blog

The British troops are also calling for a switch to something better than the 5.56x45mm NATO. The Telegraph reports ...

A survey of more than 50 servicemen who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan concluded that the 5.56mm calibre rounds used by British soldiers 'tailed off' after 300 metres yet half of all Helmand firefights are fought between 300 and 900 metres.

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The study, co-written by Nicholas Drummond, a strategy consultant and ex-Welsh Guards officer, described British soldiers' rifles as "not much more useful than a peashooter".

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The Ministry of Defence told the newspaper the 5.56mm calibre rounds used by United States and other Nato allies are "proven to be both accurate and powerful."

Typical government response.

Many thanks to RootMan for the link.

This Glock 17 pistol, with thumb safety, was designed by Glock for use by the British Army. It was on display at DSEi '09.

Safety in the on position (the safety is the button above the magazine release)

This is not the first Glock designed with a manual safety. Glock has previously designed a Glock 17 for the Tasmanian Police force that featured a standard 1911-style thumb safety.

This safety works differently. In order to engage the safety, it is pushed through the frame with the thumb, much like the magazine release. Disengaging the safety is done with the trigger finger.

At first I thought what a ridiculous mechanism this was until it was explained to me that the SA-80, the British Army service rifle, has a very similar safety which is manipulated in the same way. Glock designed this safety so that it would be familiar to British troops. Very clever!

The SA-80

One problem I do see is an operator going for the magazine release and accidentally engaging the safety. At best it would make the magazine change take longer, at worst the operator could forget to disengage the safety and pull the trigger at a bad guy only to find nothing happens.

I do not know if the British Army are considering replacing their current service pistols or if Glock is just making sure they have a model ready if they do in the future.

Big thank you to Lusaka for the information and photos.

After waiting three days on a roof top with his spotter, Corporal Christopher Reynolds fired on a Taliban drug lord. The 1,500 meter shot is the longest recorded kill in Afghanistan.

But Cpl Reynolds, of Dalgety Bay, in Fife, together with his spotter Lance Corporal David Hatton, worked out different factors such as wind speed and the trajectory of the bullet to hit the target. Musa, who was more than 1,500 metres away, was taken out with a single shot to the chest.

Cpl Reynolds, who has killed 32 Taliban fighters, said: “I was quite proud of that shot. It is the longest recorded kill in Afghanistan. I am going to use that fact as a chat-up line in the pub when I get back home.”

An incredible feat! I wonder if his “chat-up” lines are as deadly on the ladies as his sniper skills are on Taliban.

UPDATE: The UK newspapers are incorrectly stating that it is the longest kill in Afghanistan. I think it should read “the longest British Army kill in Afghanistan”. The longest confirmed kill of all time was made by Canadian Rob Furlong at a distance of 2430 metres in Afghanistan. Thanks to Rob and Eric for the corrections.

Many thanks to Sven for the link.

The UK have adopted the Benelli M4 shotgun, dubbed the L128A1, as their new combat shotgun. The photo below was taken at a combat display held last week.

Click to expand.

Private Colin Shead, A Company, 3 MERCIAN, displays the new Combat Shotgun, brought into service for use in close quarter battle in southern Afghanistan. The shotgun fires both pellet and slug-type shells [Picture: Cpl Russ Nolan RLC]

The Benelli M4 has been fitted with the 8+1 extended magazine. Along with the rail, fore grip and optics, it is one mean looking machine.

You get truffle sniffing dogs, deer sniffing dogs and drug sniffing dogs, it only makes sense that we would end up with a tactical magazine sniffing dog. Perfect to find those lost magazines and brass This photo was taken two weeks ago.

© Crown Copyright/MOD 2009 (UK Ministry of Defense Image Database)

An Arms and Explosives Search Labrador Dog of 101 Military Working Dogs (MWD) Support Unit, Royal Army Veterinary Corps (RAVC) is shown sniffing out some ammunition.

SAI (Special Interest Arms), who have been previously mentioned on the blog, have developed a replica Gardner Gun.

Click to expand

From Wikipedia:

The Gardner gun was an early type of machine gun. It had one or two barrels, was fed from a vertical magazine or hopper and was operated by a crank. When the crank was turned, a feed arm positioned a cartridge in the breech, the bolt closed and the weapon fired. Turning the crank further opened the breechblock and extracted the spent round.

From “The Machine Gun” By Chinn Naval Bureau of Ordnance Publication

The original Gardener gun could have as many barrels as the customer desired although the two barrel variety is most common. Never used by the US during wartime the Gardener was popular with both the British Army and the Royal Navy.

The SIA “Model of 1885″ .45-70 Gardner Gun is the two barrel, water cooled, variety and is capable of firing 500 rounds/minute. SIA expects to be able to take orders between Feb and March this year. The gun carries an estimated price of $29,950.00.

A while back I wrote about what I would want to carry at sea. I have changed my mind. I want a Gardener gun. If it worked for the Royal Navy I am sure it would work for me

The Royal Navy HMS Cumberland (Type 22 frigate) took on a pirate dhow on the high seas. No prize for guessing who won that fight!

The Times has the story

Pirates caught redhanded by one of Her Majesty’s warships after trying to hijack a cargo ship off Somalia made the grave mistake of opening fire on two Royal Navy assault craft packed with commandos armed with machineguns and SA80 rifles.

In the ensuing gunfight, two Somali pirates in a Yemeni-registered fishing dhow were killed, and a third pirate, believed to be a Yemeni, suffered injuries and subsequently died. It was the first time the Royal Navy had been engaged in a fatal shoot-out on the high seas in living memory.

By the time the Royal Marines boarded the pirates’ vessel, the enemy had lost the will to fight and surrendered quietly. The Royal Navy described the boarding as “compliant”.

The last time a Type 22 frigate was in “action” was that incident when the the Iranian Revolutionary Guards captured some sailors in the Gulf.

From BBC News:

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that the posters were not suitable to be seen by children.

It added that the use of a glamorous actress, gun images and aspirational text “could glamorize violence”.

Typical Hollywood trigger finger

It seems they can’t stop at banning guns, they need to ban photos of them as well.

30mm rounds from an A-10 land close to British troops in Afghanistan.

That cannon sure makes a cool sound, I can see how the whole “Show of Force” thing would work. The sound would be enough to make me run. I would not like to be on its receiving end!

The A-10 fires the 30×173mm round:

Compared to 7.62×51mm
(photo by ekranoplan)

Hat Tip: MP.net

British troops “desperately” need 400 of the jumbo 0.5in calibre heavy machine guns – the weapon most acutely missed.

The Army has also run out of the 7.62mm GPMG and Minimis.

Supply has collapsed partly because of a dispute with the manufacturers, Manroy – which also provides weapons to Saudi Arabia.

The leaked report – prepared for the Army’s command centre in Wilton, Wilts – reveals that generals have urged the Ministry of Defence “to prevent Manroy delivering Saudi weapons ahead of our requirement”.

Generals asked the US to help but were snubbed by the Pentagon – who have dubbed British colleagues “The Borrowers”.

More here

From the Metro:

A pantomime troupe has been ordered to keep its toy weapons under lock and key – because of health and safety rules.

The amateur dramatics society imagined its plastic cutlasses, wooden swords and gun that fires a ‘Bang’ flag were harmless enough for a production of Robinson Crusoe.

However, it was a case of ‘Health and safety officers are behind you’ when they were told to call in police to ensure every ‘weapon’ was safe. The toy gun must now be kept in a safe box in a locked room when not in us

Photos of the dangerous weapons:

I am pleased I don’t live in the UK, with all of those kids running around with guns and knives. It must be a dangerous place.

According to the BBC in 1976 the UK supplied Saddam with army uniforms, arms and even training for six officers at thier elite military academy Sandhurst!

The documents show that, in 1976 and 1977, a variety of equipment was sold to Iraq, including 20 Cymbeline mortar-locating radar – at a cost of £11m – combat support boats, and £7.4m of weapons effects simulators.

Big contracts for Dennis fire fighting-vehicles and fuel tankers were also secured.

And incredibly, Iraq paid Britain £500,000 to train Iraqi pilots.

The papers also suggest that, in 1977, six Iraqi soldiers were trained at Sandhurst, where Princes William and Harry subsequently underwent their military training.

“Steady sales” of “a wide range of smaller items” were also recorded including billiard tables.

Even more bizarrely, the regime purchased army shirts to the value of £830,000, meaning that the Iraqi army were wearing uniforms made in the UK.

Of course, the UK government at the time was just like every other short sighted government supplying arms without thinking of the long term consequences.

More here

Hat Tip Danger Room

The Economist.com has a short article about the banning of swords in the UK. Or, more specifically, making swords illegal to sell or import.

EVERY summer, in the Cambridge suburb of Romsey Town, a man emerges from his house dressed from head to foot in black and clutching a katana, a curved Japanese sword. Fortunately for his neighbours, the target of his ire is the weeds that have grown up in his garden. Half an hour later, the undergrowth reduced to stalks, he goes back inside.

Not everyone is so harmlessly eccentric. On December 10th a man appeared at an Inverness court charged with attempting murder with a similar weapon. On the same day, to much fanfare, the Home Office said it would add “samurai swords” to a list of exotic-sounding proscribed weapons. These include butterfly knives, blowpipes and shuriken (throwing stars). It is already illegal to carry bladed weapons; adding the swords to the list will make it illegal to import or sell them.

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In any case, the precedents for a ban are not encouraging: gun crime has risen dramatically since legislation following the Dunblane massacre in 1996 made handguns of all kinds illegal. The sword ban is less swingeing, since exceptions will be made for martial-arts clubs and collectors. And it seems oddly specific: only “single-edged, curved blades” will be prohibited, leaving straight-bladed or double-edged weapons untouched.

James has written a post on the subject.

The BBC has an interesting article about the history of British firearm laws.

I liked this quote

“The concept of controls for criminal purposes is a very 20th Century phenomenon” – Mark Murray-Flutter Royal Armouries

The moral opposition to firearms is something new and in my experience most people do not realize this.

In 1870 a licence was introduced for anyone who wanted to carry a gun outside their home. But there were no restrictions on keeping a firearm indoors.

Mild restrictions came into force with the 1903 Pistols Act which denied ownership to anyone who was “drunken or insane”. It also required a licence for firearms with a barrel shorter than nine inches – what we nowadays refer to as handguns.

Prior to World War I there were a quarter of a million licensed firearms in private hands across the country.

More here.

Hat Tip: Saysuncle.com