Welrod (Assassin's Pistol)

1939 COLD WAR WORLD WAR 2

• 1 History of the Welrod (Assassin Pistol)
• 2 Welrod Specification
  • 2.1 Base
  • 2.2 Manufacturer
  • 2.3 Operator
  • 2.4 Roll
  • 2.5 Dimensions and Weight
  • 2.6 Action
  • 2.7 Cartridges and Paper Feeds
  • 2.8 POWER
  • 2.9 VARIANTS

History of the Welrod (Assassin Pistol)

The Welrod was designed by the British Army Office after a short development period at the beginning of World War II. The system is a suppression assassin pistol designed to take down intended high-value targets or unsuspecting sentries at close range. The design of this pistol is credited to British Major Hugh Reeves (secretly known at the time as "Major Dolphin") who served at the British Special Operations Executive (SOE) Station IX Research Facility during World War II. Secrecy so as not to provide the enemy with a known advantage. As such, all Welrods produced do not have the same identifiable manufacturer markings as other firearms, but are serialized by UK government authorities upon receipt of the firearm.

The Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA), a well-known manufacturer of Welrods, ended up supplying some 2,800 for use by SOE, the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS) (the precursor to the modern CIA) and resistance fighters, especially those in Nazi-controlled Denmark set. Surprisingly, in the decades since the end of World War II, the Welrod has maintained a fairly quiet presence, once again being used in British operations related to the Falklands War, allegedly in turbulent Northern Ireland and Undercover during the 1991 Gulf War.

Welrod is believed to have also seen some combat service in the Korean War and Vietnam War.

The

Welrod has a basic exterior design that appears to be nothing more than a relatively unremarkable steel cylinder housing a vertical handle/magazine with an integrated single-stage trigger and protective trigger ring. The cylinder is 12 inches long and is the heart of the gun. Its shape is specifically designed to capture and slowly disperse the gases produced by successful firing. This keeps all outgoing ammunition subsonic and produces an SPL of 73B, which helps a particular assassin keep his/her stealth.

The middle part of the cylinder is equipped with an expansion chamber, and the main working parts are located at the rear, which consists of a bolt mechanism, a firing pin and a bomb loading system. As a bolt-action weapon, the Welrod relies on the user to manually operate the rear adjustment knob to reload a new cartridge, making it a single-shot firearm.

Turn the knob a quarter to the left and pull to eject each cartridge in the chamber. Push the button forward to insert a new cartridge from the magazine and deliver it to the chamber. During this action, the firing pin is cocked.

A quarter turn to the right, the gun is fully loaded and ready to fire. A basic safety device is mounted on the rear of the gun, although this is the only safety device for maintaining the gun. Basic front and rear iron sights are provided to ensure range accuracy, although the Welrod was designed from the outset for its close range capability - its truncated muzzle was specifically designed to suppress human targets. The effective range is considered to be up to 50 feet.

The front sight is actually set about halfway up the top of the gun. The cartridge ejector is placed directly above the magazine. Curb weight is approximately 2.65 lbs (1.2 kg).

Eventually, two versions of the Welrod were made, differing only in caliber. One is designed for 9mm Para cartridges, while the other is designed for . 32 ACP cartridges. Depending on the caliber model, the gun can hold six (9mm) or eight (.32) rounds in a single magazine column.

The magazine effectively forms a pistol grip, allowing the assembly to be detached from the cylinder receiver for easy portability (via a release under the trigger inside the trigger ring) and carried around in two compact pieces. Once at the target area, the two components can be reassembled to form a complete, operational Welrod.

By the way, the interesting name "Welrod" comes from the naming system used by all Station IX secret products. Since Station IX is based in Welwyn, all of its development uses the first three letters of the product name - "WEL-rod". Welrod is also known by its more descriptive nickname, "The Assassin's Pistol."

Welrod Specification

Base

Years in Service

1939

Origins

UK

Categories

Silenced Bolt Action Pistol

Manufacturer

Birmingham Small Arms Company (BSA) - United Kingdom

Operator

UK; US; Denmark

Roll

Pistol/Pistol

Compact design for close work or general self-defense.

Mute

This weapon is either inherently silent/suppressed or can be made with special muzzle mounts, special subsonic ammo, or a combination of the two.

Special weapons for specific characters on the battlefield.

Dimensions and Weight

Overall Length

370mm

14. 57 inches [/ p]

Run Length

304mm

11.97 inches

Cured weight

2. 65 lbs

1.20 kg

Attractions

Front and rear sun visors

Action

Bolt action, hand turn the bolt

Bolt Action

The process of manually operating the control bolt lever to eject the spent cartridge, releasing the bolt and inserting a new cartridge into the chamber.

Pivot

This system uses an internal mechanism to lock the breech or rear barrel assembly prior to firing.

Cartridges and Paper Feeds

Caliber*

9mm Para; .32 AKP

Circle/Feed

6 rounds (9mm); 8 rounds (.32)

POWER

Maximum efficiency. Arrived

40 feet

(12 m | 13 yards)

Rate of fire

5

Number of revolutions

VARIANTS

Welrod series name for base production; believed to be around 2,800 copies made; manufactured in 6-shot 9mm PARA and 8-shot. 32 ACP Forms.