Welrod

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  • tyler835

    Plinker
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    Jul 18, 2014
    14
    3
    Indianapolis
    image.jpg I've always been really interested in this gun. Made by the British during ww11 for special operations. Fired either 9mm or .32. Bolt action, the grip is also the magazine, the gun is its own suppressor as well. Only about 2,800 of these were made. Not very many people know what I'm talking about when I mention them. It's worth reading up on. Very unique design and an interesting history.
     

    IndyDave1776

    Grandmaster
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    Jan 12, 2012
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    It is indeed an interesting piece, but not only were they few in number, they were built to a standard and with resources similar to what you would have available if you had a lathe in your garage. I am going from memory and it has been a long time since the Welrod attracted my attention, but I recall that the grip was made by rubber-wrapping a 1903 Colt magazine and the name was a fabrication of the first three letters of the surnames of the two men principally responsible for the design and manufacture. It was indeed quiet by virtue of the lack of any significant moving mechanism (trigger, sear, and striker only in motion during firing) as opposed to, say, trying not only to contain the firing noises but also the mechanical noises of, say, a semi-auto. At this point in history, it makes for an interesting study, but would be considered far too crude from modern employment. By contrast, a suppressed Remington XP100 or Contender would not be a far-fetched modern analog, and would be free of the qualities of wartime crudity and the effort to find a solution to a pressing problem yesterday.

    Also significant is that you remember the purpose for a suppressed weapon in a given application. Is your purpose to whack someone in a crowd as you walk by or merely to keep the people three blocks up the street from hearing a gunshot and recognizing it as such?
     

    tyler835

    Plinker
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    Jul 18, 2014
    14
    3
    Indianapolis
    I wish I could find details of the operations it was used in. It was a state of the art weapon during WW11 and wasn't given to just anyone. So you have to lean towards whoever had this on them was some sort of badass who was sneaking around German outposts gathering intel and if he had to dropping them with a single shot. The British also made an Enfield that was its own suppressor as well.
     

    Bigtanker

    Cuddles
    Emeritus
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    24   0   0
    Aug 21, 2012
    21,688
    151
    Osceola
    I learned about this gun in "Metal of Honor, Rising Sun" PS2 game about 10 years ago. Did a bit of research on it back then. Very interesting.
     

    IndyDave1776

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    Jan 12, 2012
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    I wish I could find details of the operations it was used in. It was a state of the art weapon during WW11 and wasn't given to just anyone. So you have to lean towards whoever had this on them was some sort of badass who was sneaking around German outposts gathering intel and if he had to dropping them with a single shot. The British also made an Enfield that was its own suppressor as well.

    The Welrod really had nothing state of the art about it. It was a wartime expedient made out of cheap/easy to scrounge stuff. We are talking an obsolete Colt magazine for a handle, a couple of pieces of pipe, and a bolt and firing mechanism that INGO's infamous 5 year old girl could have designed. The barrel was probably the only proper piece on the thing. It was birthed in a similar mindset which brought us the Sten, or more specifically, represented the efforts of two men who were presented with a need and the stipulation that they literally fashion something out of nothing.

    The Enfield variant you have in mind is the DeLisle Carbine. It consisted of an Enfield action, modified Enfield stock, and an integral suppressor with teh bullet passing though well off-axis employing baffles reminiscent of pieces of auger flighting pressed so the metal was zig-zag rather than flat in addition to the general curvature. The bolt was shortened and modified with an extension of correct dimensions to accommodate the .45ACP cartrige which had a spiral hook at the end which locked into the barrel which extended about halfway back into the space normally taken by the bolt. The point that befuddles me is that while scrounging and using things that were laying around (like the oldest stray Enfield actions) was in fashion on account of wartime shortages, they could have used an action already set up for .30/06 and done the same job with a lot less work. That said, the product was rugged, efficient, and effective as carrying out its purpose. Design, fit, and finish were all good, which cannot be said for the Welrod.
     

    throttletony

    Master
    Rating - 100%
    12   0   0
    Jul 11, 2011
    3,630
    38
    nearby
    If I remember right, the Military arms channel (awesome IN based youtube channel and INGO supporter) shot a custom made one of these that was chambered in .45 ACP. It was not original to the era, but made recently by a competent gunsmith.

    ...ok, I was close. Looks like the one from MAC was a De Lisle carbine... anyways, very similar and a cool concept gun. Video below

    [video=youtube;IsUALdGog4U]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsUALdGog4U[/video]
     

    IndyDave1776

    Grandmaster
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    Jan 12, 2012
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    Only the Brits could come up with a design like that. (OK, maybe the French as well...)

    I have to disagree regarding the French. Had they tried it, they would have used a rimmed cartridge, nothing as modern as the 9mmP.
     
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