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Does anybody know how the IRA were armed in the '70's and '80's? I presume firebombs and light weapons, but which ones?

Dankie,

troopie

Re: IRA armament.

I've seen pictures of IRA arsenls, and being the spotter I am, Can ID most of the guns.

Just about any gun in the entire history of the world is avalible to the IRA, even a couple of L85's which went missing (note these where the A1's or ealier, so wether they would still be opperational is another question). tehre was also some IRA sniper who had an M82 barret, who was responsible for murding several soldiers who where manning road blocks.I've seen pictures of IRA arsenals, and being the spotter I am, Can ID most of the guns.

Just about any gun in the entire history of the world is available to the IRA, even a couple of L85's which went missing (note these where the A1's or earlier, so wether they would still be apparitional is another question). there was also some IRA sniper who had an M82 Barret, who was responsible for murdering several soldiers who where manning road blocks.

Re: IRA armament.

What about theRPG-7s ?
I heard US reports of such weapons being spotted in Northern Ireland, even making a point of seeing it fired from inside buildings (?)

Otherwise, rifles would be mostly SLR, AK47, AKM, Vz.58, FAL... Some GPMGs, probably BRENs, what about a bit of US kit? Early M16s and M60s bought anywhere in Asia or South America or on the civil market? Oh, and of course I guess a number of civil sniper rifles from the US.

Re: IRA armament.

Or Chinese copies of the M-16. They could have anything. They have been fighting for years. They even had a revolt in 1916 I believe so WW I era weapons are most likley there.

Re: IRA armament.

Quote:

PlasmaKrab said:
What about theRPG-7s ?

This report is worth a look:

http://www.globalsecurity.org/milita...8-ireland1.htm

And I found this report from the Irish Times, of more interest than use perhaps :

Quote:

The Irish Times 26 October 1999
New type of rocket launcher found
By Elaine Keogh, in Gormanstown, Co Meath

Garda� have uncovered another cache of weapons close to the spot where an underground firing range was discovered last week.

A rocket launcher of a kind not seen before in this State,
detonators and ammunition were found during continuing searches in the Gormanstown area of Co Meath yesterday.

The Garda officer in charge of the searches said the material was believed to belong to the dissident republican group calling itself the "Real IRA".

Chief Supt Michael Finnegan, head of the Meath/Louth Garda
division, said his team was satisfied that there was a direct link between the latest discovery and the finds made last week.

Yesterday's search was one of a series taking place following the discovery of the underground hide last week.

The items were found in sections of plastic piping which had been closed and then concealed amongst bales of hay in a covered hayshed. The shed was in a farmyard backing on to the Stamullen road and the cache is not thought to have been there for long.

Garda� called in an Army bomb disposal specialist to examine
three small packets of what they suspected to be power packs.

They later identified the material as power packs and detonators of a type never seen in arms finds on either side of the Border.

They had no markings to indicate where they may have originated.

This latest batch of equipment had been hidden in the bales of hay in a farmyard shed. Detectives believe the rocket-launcher is a Russian RPG 18 Mukha light anti-armour shoulder-held device.

There were about 40 electric detonators and a number of other items which were being examined by Army explosives experts.

Ballistics and fingerprinting officers from the Garda Forensic Science Unit in Dublin were also at the scene.

The launcher has Russian markings and is brand new and unused.

It is of a type that comes as a single unit and is loaded and ready for use. Once fired it would be discarded.

A Garda sergeant with the ballistics unit confirmed to the media that none of these items had been previously found in arsenals of the Provisional IRA.

Also recovered were 36 electrical detonators.