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Variety of Iraq weapons astounds expert
Stars and Stripes ^
| October 31, 2003
| Jason Chudy
Posted on 10/31/2003 10:49:55 AM PST by demlosers
CAMP THUNDER, Iraq Sgt. Kurt Smith is spending his time in Iraq as a full-time medic and part-time historian.
Many of the weapons that his unit, the 4th Armored Divisions 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery Regiment, have confiscated belong in museums rather than their arms room, he said.
There are two 1917 Webley revolvers, World War I-era British Enfield rifles, World War II-era German Mauser rifles, Russian PPKs and British submachine guns.
Im a weapons enthusiast, said Smith. My dad was a weapons collector and he passed on some weapons to me and my brother.
For the past few months, Smith has become a expert of sorts on the units collection. Those he doesnt know about he checks in two reference books: one issued to units explaining what weapons to expect in Iraq and another on World War II weapons.
Some of the weapons are too old for either book.
Theres stuff that Ive only seen in museums, in books or on the Internet, said Sgt. 1st Class Nelson Castro, the 3-16ths master gunner. Most of this stuff is in fairly good shape.
I was surprised to see the [British] Sterling submachine gun, Smith said, plus, similar to the Sterling, the Sten. They were World War II weapons and ... are different than the AKs and other automatic weapons.
There have been, of course, hundreds of AK-47s collected, a handful of Dragonov sniper rifles, a half-dozen or so rocket-propelled-grenade launchers and even a box of Beretta pistols, which were recently cleaned and oiled.
Many of the modern confiscated weapons, such as the AK-47s, have been issued to Iraqi security or police units.
The older ones, however, will remain in the units arms room for the foreseeable future.
I hope that theyre not going to be discarded, Smith said.
Many of the older weapons, though seemingly in good shape, wont be test fired because of safety concerns.
Maybe theyll go into a museum, he said.
TOPICS: Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: bang; campthunder; found; goodnews; iraq; museums; rebuildingiraq; weapons
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Jason Chudy / Stars and Stripes
Sgt. Kurt Smith holds up a 1917 Webley Pistol and World War II Russian PPK submachine gun. All the weapons in the 3rd Battalion, 16th Field Artillery, arms room were confiscated during raids.
1
posted on
10/31/2003 10:49:55 AM PST
by
demlosers
To: demlosers
Some guys get all the fun jobs...
2
posted on
10/31/2003 10:54:36 AM PST
by
AngryJawa
("The bang is great, but the shockwave is where it’s at.")
To: demlosers
Hmmm...looks like a PPSh.
3
posted on
10/31/2003 11:04:03 AM PST
by
556x45
To: AngryJawa
At last...somewhere to go for that Colt Woodsman.
To: demlosers
A weapon never becomes obsolete as long as someone is willing to use it.
5
posted on
10/31/2003 11:20:33 AM PST
by
templar
To: demlosers
They should let this guy keep some of them.
6
posted on
10/31/2003 11:26:53 AM PST
by
Tatze
(Give Pizza Chants!)
To: templar
A weapon never becomes obsolete as long as someone is willing to use it. Exactly. If they can find ammunition for it, it's just as deadly as an AKM.
To: demlosers
So what is unusal about these guns. They are all modern so far as the ATF is concerned, none are scarce out in the world.
The ones I want to know about sre the 293,816 Model 95 Winchesters in 7.62 x 54 caliber sold to Russia in WWl. Now there are some collector pieces. If they are sitting well greased in a warehouse somewhere in Russia, they are worth many, many, millions of dollars.
I would pay a thousand bucks for one in good shape in a heart beat, and they are likely worth much more than that. If they don't dump them all at once and flood the market.
8
posted on
10/31/2003 12:02:13 PM PST
by
Ursus arctos horribilis
("It is better to die on your feet than to live on your knees!" Emiliano Zapata 1879-1919)
To: 556x45
Hmmm...looks like a PPSh. You are correct, that's a Shpagin sub-machinegun. 7.62 X 25, good luck finding ammo. PPK as far as I know is by Walther, Russian pistols should be PM or TT.
If they got the nomenclature from the GI, sounds like he wasn't quite the expert he thought he was.
To: demlosers
Dibs on the Webley.
10
posted on
10/31/2003 12:15:21 PM PST
by
taxcontrol
(People are entitled to their opinion - no matter how wrong it is.)
To: demlosers
Looks like Iraq has the same gun laws as California.
... No bayonets on the SKS rifles.
11
posted on
10/31/2003 12:19:04 PM PST
by
The KG9 Kid
(Semper Fi)
To: struwwelpeter
"If they got the nomenclature from the GI, sounds like he wasn't quite the expert he thought he was."
He didn't say he was an expert. He said he was an "enthusiast." Big difference.
The Stars and Stripes article headline named him an "expert."
12
posted on
10/31/2003 1:24:32 PM PST
by
Levante
To: demlosers
They were World War II weapons and ... are different than the AKs and other automatic weapons.A statement like that certainly shows that he is a gun expert.
13
posted on
10/31/2003 1:29:31 PM PST
by
FreePaul
To: FreePaul
I hope he realizes that Santa carries a Webley.
As a Firearms Expert, I assume that he does.
Muttly WANT....EVERYTHING !
14
posted on
10/31/2003 1:33:31 PM PST
by
PoorMuttly
(Operation Noble Muttly)
To: demlosers
Just behind his right elbow I also see 2 Yugoslavian SKS's *note grenade launcher on muzzle*,1 SKS variant, 1 Rashid or Albanian SKS & 1 SKS variant. Over his left shoulder is what looks like a long barreled FAL.
To: Ursus arctos horribilis
Most of those rifles are on the C&R (Curio & Relic) list.
To: struwwelpeter
www.ammoman.com
$119-500 rounds
To: FreePaul
The AK fires the 7.62x39 M43 round.
The SKS was rechambered for the same round during 1943, in 1944 prototype models of the new SKS were shipped to the Byelorussian front for use against the Germans.
After rave reviews of the new Simonov design by soldiers, Simonov's newest carbine is approved and dubbed the "SKS45".
Is not true then that the SKS was a WW2 weapon? The AK 47 was designed during WW2, but did not go into full scale production until after WW2...
To: MD_Willington_1976
Thanks! I'm going to get some ammo for my CZ from them!
To: struwwelpeter
The SKS was originally chambered for 7.62x25 before the intermediate M43 round was designed, the M43 was designed after the Russians 7.62x54, the same round that the Mosin-Nagants, SVT-38, SVT-40, AVT-40, SVT-40 Carbine, & During the vietnam war the SVD (Dragunov) used.
The 7.62x25 has some zip to it and can penetrate body armor even without steel core ammo.
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