Weapons of the Afghan dushmans. Revolvers, pistols and submachine guns
For a long period of time, Afghanistan and the countries bordering on it were in the zone of influence of Great Britain. For this reason, there were many small arms in the region weapons English production. Including frankly rare samples.
Soon after the strengthening of Soviet power in Central Asia, military-technical cooperation with the USSR began. In the second half of the 1920s, after the conclusion of a number of agreements between the countries, the Soviet Union provided Afghanistan with free and duty-free transit of Afghan cargo through its territory, provided gratuitous financial assistance in the amount of 1 million rubles in gold, transferred 12 aircraft and 5 rifles with the necessary ammunition. In Kabul, with Soviet support, a aviation school, a factory for the manufacture of smokeless powder was built and the communication system was improved.
However, in 1928, Great Britain organized a coup in Kabul, and cooperation with Moscow was curtailed.
In the late 1930s, the then Afghan leadership established close ties with Berlin. In 1938, Germany provided the Afghan government with an interest-free loan for the purchase of a large batch of weapons and ammunition by Afghan standards.
After the end of the Second World War, a large number of used inexpensive small arms appeared on the international market, and some of them ended up in Afghanistan through official and illegal channels. First of all, this concerned samples produced in Germany and England.
In 1956, military-technical cooperation with the USSR resumed. In addition to combat aircraft, armored vehicles and artillery, the Afghan army received very significant volumes of Soviet small arms: pistols, submachine guns, repeating rifles and carbines, light, heavy and heavy machine guns. For the most part, these were weapons adopted by the Red Army before or during World War II. The exception was the "single" 7,62 mm RP-46 machine guns and 12,7 mm DShKM machine guns.
In the 1970s, Afghanistan was supplied with modern light small arms at that time: SKS carbines, AKM assault rifles, RPD, RPK and PK machine guns.
The entry of the Soviet military contingent into Afghanistan in December 1979 did not meet with much resistance from the local population. However, soon a large-scale campaign was organized in the West to destabilize the situation in the country, and in fact, a real war began against the Soviet troops with the help of Afghan rebels.
Sponsors for the purchase of equipment and weapons intended for transfer to armed opposition groups were economically developed Western countries, as well as Middle Eastern states. The suppliers of weapons and ammunition were: USA, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Israel, Pakistan.
However, not all samples of Western production in the extreme conditions of Afghanistan have proven themselves positively. In addition, the disparity of small arms created significant difficulties in training fighters, supplying ammunition, maintaining and repairing.
In the early 1980s, the curators of the Western intelligence services, who were involved in organizing the supply of weapons to the Mujahideen, and the leaders of the rebels came to the conclusion that at least partial unification was necessary in terms of small arms. Just at that time, on the basis of anti-Sovietism, a rapprochement between the United States and China took place, and since 1984, China has become the largest supplier of weapons for Afghan spooks.
Weapons made at Chinese enterprises and taken from the warehouses of the PLA, in terms of performance and technical novelty, were often inferior to Western models. But despite its faulty reliability, it was simple, easy to learn, cheap and relatively maintainable.
Saudi Arabia annually allocated $200-300 million for the armed struggle against the “infidels” in Afghanistan. This huge money, by the standards of the mid-1980s, went exclusively to pay for weapons that were purchased in China. In 1983 alone, China sent 40 tons of weapons and ammunition to the Mujahideen.
Another notable source of supply for the rebels with weapons and ammunition was the Afghan army. Desertion in the armed forces of the DRA was massive. Often, entire units with standard equipment and heavy weapons went over to the side of the enemy.
Sometimes Afghan armed formations managed to seize weapons and ammunition from the Soviet army. But this did not happen regularly, and the volume of trophies was relatively small.
Revolvers and pistols
Short-barreled small arms do not play a significant role in full-scale hostilities and, in fact, they are status, emphasizing the special position of the owner. Sometimes anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons were additionally armed with pistols.
At an early stage of the Afghan epic, our troops captured the most diverse short-barreled. Among the revolvers, the most common were the British Webley caliber 11,5 and 9 mm.
Webley Mk VI revolver
Although the six-shot Webley Mk VI revolver, which used the powerful .455 Webley cartridge, weighed about 1 g, it was believed that the high weight was offset by high stopping and lethal action.
Replica 9mm Webley revolver made in Afghanistan
Relatively compact 9,6 mm British-style revolvers, made in the weapons workshops in the Khyber Pass, enjoyed a certain popularity among the commanders of the armed opposition, and weapons produced in British factories were considered standard in the Afghan police.
Enfield Mk II revolver
There were also 11,6 mm Enfield Mk II revolvers firing cartridges filled with black powder, and 7,62 mm Nagant revolvers mod. 1895.
Sometimes British-made revolvers can be seen in films shot in the West dedicated to the events of the Afghan war.
In the 1930s-1950s, the officer corps of the Afghan army received 9mm German Luger P08 and Walther P38 pistols, as well as 7,65mm Walther PP.
Pistol Walther PR
This weapon was valued for reliability, accuracy and convenience. Although the Afghan army received Soviet-made weapons from the second half of the 1950s, German pistols remained in the army even after the Soviet troops entered Afghanistan.
Between 1956 and 1968, Afghanistan received several thousand Soviet 7,62 mm TT pistols mod. 1933.
Although the TT was inferior to the German Walthers in terms of convenience and safety of handling, this semi-automatic pistol became truly massive in the Afghan army and police.
This silenced pistol, which two simple Afghan guys are so happy about, is very much like a TT
The rebels managed to capture a number of Soviet-made TT pistols, but mostly they had Chinese and Pakistani clones in their hands.
Chinese 7,62 mm pistol Type 54
Until now, copies of the TT pistol are produced handicraft in workshops in the northern provinces of Pakistan, bordering Afghanistan.
But these guns with rich exterior finishes often have very low reliability.
Some combatants in the DRA claim that Mauser C96 automatic pistols were also removed from the dead spooks. This is not surprising, given that such pistols were popular with the Basmachi in the 1920s.
Pistols and revolvers seized from dushmans in December 1983
In addition to the Mauser C96, among the trophies our special forces came across Chinese-made Type 80 pistols. This pistol was created by Norinco designers based on the Mauser pistol, which was produced in China in the first half of the XNUMXth century.
Chinese Type 7,62 80mm automatic pistol
The Type 80 pistol, adopted by the PLA in 1980, differed from the Mauser C96 in better ergonomics and had a non-adjustable 50 m sight. Ammunition was supplied from a detachable box magazine for 10 or 20 rounds, which was attached to the pistol body at an angle. For firing in bursts, the Chinese automatic pistol is equipped with a detachable butt holster or a detachable metal shoulder rest.
After the entry of Soviet troops, the Afghan army began to arm the 9-mm Makarov pistol and the Stechkin automatic pistol. The security forces of Afghanistan have received access to their silent modifications: PB and APB.
There are a lot of photos on the network in which Soviet soldiers pose with silent pistols, but we could not find similar photos with Afghans. But there is no doubt that such weapons repeatedly fell into the hands of dushmans and were used in hostilities.
In the mid-1980s, Chinese silent Type 67 pistols were used to a limited extent by militants for special tasks. These weapons, developed by Norinco in the late 1960s, used special 7,65 × 17 mm cartridges. With a very weak ammunition, the weight of a pistol with a 9-round magazine was more than 1 kg.
Pistol Type 67
Automation pistol Type 67 was built on a blowback scheme. To eliminate a loud clang when ejecting a spent cartridge case and sending a cartridge, a special button is provided in the design of the weapon, pressing which blocks the automation and turns the semi-automatic pistol into a weapon with manual reloading.
In general, the Afghan Mujahideen had a wide variety of pistols. Soviet spetsnaz veterans who participated in the interception of caravans carrying weapons among the trophies also mention 9mm Browning Hi-Power and 11,43mm Colt M1911 pistols, as well as various revolvers chambered in .38 Special and .357 Magnum.
Submachine guns
At the disposal of the Afghan Mujahideen, fighting with government forces and units of the Soviet army, there were a variety of submachine guns. But the most numerous was the PPSh-41. The Soviet Union supplied submachine guns of this type to Afghanistan in the 1950s and 1960s.
By the time the Soviet troops entered the country, most of the regular Afghan infantry was armed with modern individual small arms: AKM / AKMS assault rifles and SKS carbines. PPSh-41 submachine guns and carbines arr. 1944 remained in auxiliary units and were in warehouses.
Subsequently, most of the PPSh-41 was transferred to the paramilitary units of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the DRA (Tsaranda) and units of the territorial militia. A significant number of Soviet-made submachine guns fell into the hands of the rebels, as evidenced by numerous photographs taken in the 1980s.
It is possible that some of the PPSh-41s that the Afghans had were of Chinese or Iranian origin. In China and Iran, licensed production of these submachine guns was carried out.
A certain popularity of the PPSh-41 among the Mujahideen is explained by the widespread use of 7,62 × 25 mm pistol cartridges in Afghanistan, which are also used for firing from the TT pistol and its clones made in China and Pakistan. Compared to submachine guns firing 9mm Parabellum cartridges, the PPSh-41 had about 1,5 times the effective range.
Small arms captured from rebels
In addition to the PPSh-41, the spooks used other 9 and 11,43 mm submachine guns: the American M3A1 Grease Gun and M1A1 Thompson, the British STEN and Sterling, and the Swiss Carl Gustaf M/45.
Submachine guns captured from the rebels
The CIA arranged for the delivery of Smith & Wesson Model 76 submachine guns to Afghanistan with a silent and flameless firing device.
This weapon with a 24 or 36-round magazine, firing a subsonic 9mm parabellum cartridge, was based on the Swedish Carl Gustaf M / 45. Due to the clang of the shutter, the submachine gun was not silent, however, the flash of the shot was completely suppressed, which gave certain advantages at night.
All the samples mentioned above were used or created during the Second World War. However, the rebels also received submachine guns designed in the 1960s and 1970s. So, Soviet soldiers repeatedly captured the then-new West German Heckler & Koch MP5 submachine guns.
MP5 with folding butt, captured by Soviet troops
Submachine guns of the MP5 family, due to their good reliability, high margin of safety and accuracy, are widely used in the world.
Judging by the available photographs, Soviet soldiers in the course of hostilities in Afghanistan, starting in 1983, captured 9-mm MP5 submachine guns quite often.
Another modern software that the dushmans had was the Israeli Mini UZI. This 9mm SMG did not have the accuracy of the German MP5, but was much more compact.
Soviet soldier with a captured Mini UZI submachine gun
With the butt folded, the Mini UZI was only 360 mm long, which made it possible to hide it under clothing. The folded stock can be used as a front holding handle. At the end of the barrel there is a thread that allows you to wind a removable silencer.
In the conditions of Afghanistan, where the fighting was carried out for the most part in the mountains or in the green, individual small arms with good ballistic characteristics were required. First of all, a large firing range and a high penetrating effect of a bullet were important, which limited the scope of automatic weapons chambered for a pistol cartridge.
Submachine guns, with their high firepower and relatively small size, showed their best qualities during clashes in settlements. They were usually armed with members of sabotage groups, commanders, drivers of vehicles, carriers of ammunition, calculations of mortars, rocket launchers, anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons.
To be continued ...
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