POTD: Made to Look Like a Tube – The WW2 Welrod Pistol
Sam.S 09.04.24
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The Welrod was an astonishing innovation in weapons systems, a self-loading, silenced, and cartridge-fed pistol, designed and used by the British in World War II. Major Hugh Reeves of the Inter-Services Research Bureau designed it. The thoughts behind its development were asymmetric warfare and covert operations for partisans. While the Welrod’s suppressor was designed not to be detachable, it reduced the firing sound substantially to something almost inaudible and comparable to CO2 pellet guns. In total war production yielded about 2800 pieces most probably, in 14100 pieces including all postwar production assembly. Manufactured mute with no manufacturer insignia known as a Welrod. Variants were available in .32 ACP and 9mm Parabellum with a basic fixing bolt, so as to avoid negligent sound. Luminous sights were also embedded in the pistol for low visibility performance and the range was not more than 30 yards. The .32 caliber welrod was employed mainly by British special operations executives than, American OSS as well as any resistance or unforeseen forces. It was also included in a number of other armed conflicts such as the Falklands War and the Cold War tissue.
“Developed during World War II at “Station IX”, the SOE’s research and development center near Welwyn in Hertfordshire, the Welrod was designed from the start as a clandestine weapon, to be used for sentry elimination and assassinations by resistance forces. Reportedly, a plan was conceived to mass drop the Welrod in occupied territory to be used in a month-long assassination rampage against the SS; it is believed that the mass retaliation following the SOE’s hit on Reinhard Heydrich deterred this plan. Welrods are believed to have been used in the Falklands, Ireland, and by Special Forces units deployed for Desert Storm in the early 90s. The main body is cylindrical, with most of the length taken up by the silencer, a set of fixed sights, and a manually rotated bolt mechanism. The grip section consists of the magazine well and the magazine, the latter bulked up with black plastic, and the former also serving as the mounting point for the trigger and a grip safety. This arrangement allowed the overall profile of the pistol to be altered for concealment or storage. The underside of the silencer bears appropriate registration marks, with the serial number behind the grip safety.”
Lot 533: British Welrod Mk II Bolt Action Clandestine Pistol & Silencer – Very Scarce British Welrod Mark II Bolt Action Clandestine Pistol with Registered Integral Class III/NFA Silencer. (n.d.-ah). Rock Island Auction Company. photograph. Retrieved September 4, 2024, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/detail/82/533/british-welrod-mk-ii-bolt-action-clandestine-pistol-silencer.
