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List of weapons used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army

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List of weapons used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army during The Troubles (1969-1997).

Sources

Main articles: Provisional IRA arms importation, Provisional IRA campaign 1969-1997, and Chronology of Provisional IRA Actions
See also: Improvised tactical vehicles of the Provisional IRA

During the initial phase of The Troubles (1969-1972), the Provisional IRA was poorly equipped and primarily used weapons from World War II. Beginning in the 1970s, the Provisional IRA began importing modern weapons from supporters in the United States, Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and arms dealers in Europe, America, the Middle East and elsewhere.

Small arms

Model Image Caliber Type Origin Details
Pistols
Beretta 92 9×19mm Parabellum Pistol  Italy
Browning Hi-Power 9×19mm Parabellum Pistol  Belgium
Glock 17 9×19mm Parabellum Pistol  Austria
Luger P08 9×19mm Parabellum Pistol  Germany [1]
M1911 .45 ACP Pistol  United States Known to be used in some quantities from 1969-98.[2]
Webley Revolver .455 Webley Revolver  United Kingdom [3]
Rifles
Lee–Enfield .303 British Bolt action rifle  United Kingdom Used initially in the Troubles.[4][5][6]
M1 carbine .30 Carbine Semi-automatic Carbine  United States [7][6]
M1 Garand .30-06 Springfield Semi-automatic rifle  United States [8][5]
SKS 7.62×39mm Semi-automatic rifle  Soviet Union China Limited usage.[8] Rifles used were of Chinese manufacture and had been originally supplied to the Palestinian Liberation Organization.[9]
AR-15 5.56×45mm NATO Semi-automatic rifle  United States Smuggled to Ireland by the Harrison Network.[10]
AR-18 5.56×45mm NATO Semi-automatic rifle  United States Smuggled to Ireland by the Harrison Network.[10]
L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle 7.62×51mm NATO Battle rifle  United Kingdom [8]
Heckler & Koch G3 7.62×51mm NATO Battle rifle  Germany Stolen from Norwegian Reserve Base near Oslo in 1984.[10]
FN FAL 7.62×51mm NATO Battle rifle  Belgium [10]
Remington Model 742 .30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester Semi-automatic rifle  United States [8][11]
Ruger Mini-14 5.56×45mm NATO Semi-automatic rifle  United States [12]
Gewehr 43 7.92×57mm Mauser Semi-automatic rifle Nazi GermanyNazi Germany [12]
M14 Rifle 7.62×51mm NATO Battle rifle  United States Smuggled to Ireland by the Harrison Network, most seized upon arrival.[10]
Assault rifles
AK-47 7.62×39mm Assault rifle  Soviet Union Provided by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.[3]
AKM 7.62×39mm Assault rifle  Soviet Union Provided by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Type 56 File:Norinco type 56.jpg 7.62×39mm Assault rifle  People's Republic of China Chinese variant of the Russian AK-47 and AKM. Provided by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
PM md. 63 File:PM md. 63.jpg 7.62×39mm Assault rifle Romania Socialist Republic of Romania Romanian variant of Russian AK-47 and AKM. Provided by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. AIM models used.[13]
vz. 58 7.62×39mm Assault Rifle Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia Provided by Gaddafi.[citation needed]
AK-74 5.45×39mm Assault rifle  Soviet Union A 5.45×39mm round was extracted from a British soldier shot in an IRA ambush in August 1992 in County Tyrone. Security sources suspected the IRA had acquired AK-74 rifles in the former Soviet bloc, or it was part of an earlier Libyan shipment.[14][15]
M16 5.56×45mm NATO Assault rifle  United States Smuggled to Ireland by the Harrison Network.[10]
CAR-15 Commando 5.56×45mm NATO Assault rifle  United States [12]
FN FNC 5.56×45mm NATO Assault rifle  Belgium
AN-94 5.45×39mm Assault rifle  Russia Reportedly, the IRA imported 20 examples in late 2001.[16]
Sniper rifles
Barrett M82 File:M82A1 barrett.jpeg 50 BMG Anti-materiel rifle  United States Used during the South Armagh Sniper campaign.[17]
Barrett M90 50 BMG Anti-materiel rifle  United States Used during the South Armagh Sniper campaign.[18]
Dragunov 7.62×54mmR Designated marksman rifle  Soviet Union [19]
Submachine guns
Thompson submachine gun .45 ACP Submachine Gun  United States Used briefly before they were taken out of active use.[20][6]
Sten 9×19mm Parabellum Submachine Gun  United Kingdom
MP-40 9×19mm Parabellum Submachine Gun Nazi GermanyNazi Germany
Sterling submachine gun 9×19mm Parabellum Submachine Gun  United Kingdom [8]
Sa vz. 23 7.62×25mm Tokarev Submachine gun Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia
Uzi 9×19mm Parabellum Submachine Gun  Israel
MAC-10 .45 ACP Submachine Gun  United States Some smuggled by Harrison Network, but most of them seized.[10]
Beretta M12 9×19mm Parabellum Submachine Gun  Italy
MP5 9×19mm Parabellum Submachine Gun  Germany Most seized by FBI in anti-smuggling sting op.[10]
Vigneron submachine gun 9×19mm Parabellum Submachine gun  Belgium
United Defense M42 9×19mm Parabellum Submachine Gun  United States Given to the IRA by Greek Cypriot group EOKA.[8]
Machine guns
Bren light machine gun .303 British Light machine gun  United Kingdom [3]
FN MAG 7.62×51mm General-purpose machine gun  Belgium Known to have 12 MAGs.[10]
M60 File:M60GPMG.jpeg 7.62×51mm NATO General-purpose machine gun  United States [21]
MG3 7.62×51mm NATO General-purpose machine gun  Germany Stolen from the Norwegian Army in 1984. Recovered from an IRA unit arrested in County Donegal in September 1992.[22]
DShK 12.7×108mm Heavy machine gun  Soviet Union Known to have 20 DShKs.[10]
M2 Browning .50 BMG Heavy machine gun  United States
M1919 Browning .30-06 Medium machine gun  United States
Shotguns
Franchi SPAS-12 File:SPAS-12 stock folded.jpg 12 gauge Combat shotgun  Italy [23][24]

Explosives

Model Image Type Origin Details
IED Improvised explosive device  Ireland Often using ANFO, Gelignite or Semtex.[25][26]
Molotov cocktail Incendiary device  Ireland

Grenade launchers

Model Image Cartridge Type Origin Details
M79 40×46mm grenade Grenade launcher  United States A single example discovered in an arms bunker at Gormanston, County Meath in 1991.[27]

Anti-tank weapons

Model Image Diameter Type Origin Details
Boys Anti-tank Rifle .55 Boys Anti-tank rifle  United Kingdom [28]
M20 "Super Bazooka" 3.5 in Rocket launcher  United States First fired in 1971. Replaced by the RPG-7.[3][29][30]
RPG-7 40 mm (launcher only, warhead diameter varies) Rocket-propelled grenade  Soviet Union Some smuggled into Northern Ireland via Libya.[10]
Pansarvärnsgevär m/42 20mm Recoilless rifle/Anti-tank rifle  Sweden Fired on at least three occasions in Belfast in 1983.[31][32]
Improvised Projected Grenade unknown, 40 ounces (1.1 kg) Semtex and TNT Home-made launcher  Ireland First appeared in 1985. Heavy recoil left bruising on operator's shoulder. Succeeded by the Projected Recoilless Improvised Grenade.[33]
Projected Recoilless Improvised Grenade unknown, 1-pound (0.45 kg) tin can filled with 600g of Semtex formed into a shaped charge Home-made launcher  Ireland First appeared in 1991. Design, including a counter-balance mechanism, believed to have been inspired by the Armbrust launcher.[33]

Anti-aircraft weapons

Model Image Diameter Type Origin Details
9K32 Strela-2 72 mm Man-portable air-defense system  Soviet Union Designated SA-7 Grail by NATO. Most shipments of Grails to Northen Ireland seized in 1987.[34]

Flamethrowers

Model Image Type Origin Details
LPO-50 Flamethrower  Soviet Union [3]

Mortars

Model Image Diameter Type Origin Details
Barrack buster 320 MM Improvised mortar  Ireland [35]

References

  1. ^ "Martin McGuinness using a Luger pistol".
  2. ^ French (2018), p. 94.
  3. ^ a b c d e Oppenheimer, A. R. (2009). IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity. Irish Academic Press, chapter 4. ISBN 978-0-7165-2895-1
  4. ^ https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/why-the-114-year-old-lee-enfield-rifle-is-only-now-being-retired-by-the-canadian-armed-forces
  5. ^ a b https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ira-quiescent-during-killings-says-derry-oc-1.1304877
  6. ^ a b c The Troubles #14 (June 1972), page 31.
  7. ^ Taylor, Peter (1997). Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 109. ISBN 0-7475-3818-2.
  8. ^ a b c d e f https://magill.ie/archive/rifles-ira
  9. ^ https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/proni/1987/proni_NIO-12-525A_1983-05-26h.pdf#page=12
  10. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Inside the Ira - Weapons & Technology | the Ira & Sinn Fein | FRONTLINE | PBS".
  11. ^ http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2407
  12. ^ a b c "Five Days In An IRA Training Camp". Iris. November 1983. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  13. ^ "Analysis of ÓnaÉ Video". 18 August 2014.
  14. ^ "FEARSOME NEW WEAPON IN IRA ARMOURY", Sunday Life, 6 September 1992.
  15. ^ "Arms cache may contain Russian AKS-74 automatic rifles". 10 September 1992. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
  16. ^ The Irish Times (21 April 2002). "IRA reported rearming as Castlereagh burglary denied". Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  17. ^ Neville, Leigh (25 Aug 2016). Modern Snipers. General Military. Osprey Publishing. pp. 30–31. ISBN 9781472815347.
  18. ^ Harnden, Toby (2000) Bandit Country:The IRA and South Armagh. Coronet Books, pp. 406-407. ISBN 0-340-71737-8
  19. ^ Suzanne Breen (27 April 2014). "The weapons man: 'I gave the IRA powerful anti-tank shells the US Army used in Iraq war'". Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  20. ^ O'Brien, Brendan (1993). The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin, 1985 to Today. Syracuse University Press. pp. 279–. ISBN 978-0-8156-0319-1.
  21. ^ The Terrorists: Their Weapons, Leaders, and Tactics. Facts on File. 1982. pp. 119–120. ISBN 0871966689. {{cite book}}: Cite uses deprecated parameter |authors= (help)
  22. ^ "Arms trial hears of 'dreaded weapon'", Irish Independent, 5 February 1994.
  23. ^ "Huge IRA bomb found", Irish Independent, 11 March 1992.
  24. ^ O'Brien, Brendan (1993). The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin, 1985 to Today. Syracuse University Press. pp. 141–. ISBN 978-0-8156-0319-1.
  25. ^ "IRA guns: The list of weapons". BBC News. 26 September 2005.
  26. ^ Asal, Victor; Gill, Paul; Rethemeyer, R. Karl; Horgan, John (2015). "Killing Range". The Journal of Conflict Resolution. 59 (3): 401–427. doi:10.1177/0022002713508927. PMC 4361499. PMID 25838603.
  27. ^ "Major arms dump found", Drogheda Independent, 13 September 1991.
  28. ^ "Republicans discharged at Dundalk", Drogheda Argus and Leinster Journal, 18 February 1972.
  29. ^ "Second IRA rocket fails to explode", Belfast Telegraph, 29 September 1971.
  30. ^ "New menace in the IRA armoury", Daily Mirror, 15 July 1972.
  31. ^ "Anti-tank weapon fired at RUC men", Belfast Telegraph, 29 August 1983.
  32. ^ "A Review of IRA Military Operations During The Period June-October 1983". Iris. November 1983. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
  33. ^ a b Geraghty, Tony (1998). The Irish War: The Hidden Conflict Between the IRA and British Intelligence. JHU Press. ISBN 9780801864568.
  34. ^ https://media.nti.org/pdfs/libya_missile.pdf
  35. ^ Ackerman, Gary (March 2016). "The Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Development of Mortars". Journal of Strategic Security. 9 (1): 12–34. doi:10.5038/1944-0472.9.1.1501.

Bibliography

  • French, Laurence Armand (2018). The History of Policing America: From Militias and Military to the Law Enforcement of Today. Lanham, Maryland, USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1538102039.
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