Irish army weapons

MySelf56

I took few pics of Irish army on Easter rising...i hope you all like them!!

babybundy

nice pic of the rangers f350

Hagar

Nice pics. Anyone got any more?

Victor

6th wrote:

I'm not comparing them as such, i'm just pointing out the big deal it was when they got the Steyr and shelved the Gustav.

The purposes of the Gustav SMG were to (a) provide light automatic fire in assault and (b) also close protection to the squad using providing automatic fire in the event of being flanked or overrun, something a bolt action rifle couldn't do. Providing the entire squad with automatic rifles removed this need.

One weapon could do both jobs. It made officers and NCOs less obvious to the enemy and it meant a reduced supply chain.

m5ex9oqjawdg2i

skink wrote:

Ok to make this easier, i am only going to name current weapons in use,

Bap 9mm(pistol)
Steyr AUG 5.56mm(assult rifle)
FN GPMG 7.62(general prupose machine gun)
Bren LMG .303(light machine gun in use by rdf only)
Browning .5 hmg(heavy machine gun)
Accuracy international sniper rifles, two calibres, 1 .5 and one 7.62 or something similar, i am 100% sure on it.
81mm long barrel mortar
vektor 60mm mortar
120mm mortar(not sure on what is happening here, possibly up for a change soon enough)
carl gustav 84mm recoiless rifle(explained already)also hagar, the sight system is very good on it, and you know the saying if it ain't broke don't fix it!
sraaw(short range anti armour weapon, disposable)
underslung m203 grenade launcher for the steyr
L119 and L118 105mm howitzers(artillery)
25pdr field gun(artillery)
El 70(anti aircraft)
RBS 70 SAM (anti aircraft)
Javelin(anti tank)

then if you want to go into fighting vehicles
Scoprian cvrt
Aml 20
Aml 90
and the mowags

i have probably left out a few things, did not include any weapons used by the arw, as in use by willie o'dea in that infamous photo, alot fo the stuff is old but still useable and still effective.

Just a few more to add...

The Sig Sauer
H&K SG1
H&K MP5A3
remington combat shotgun
AI96 .308 Accuracy International

skink

babybundy wrote:

i have been told by a good source they do use the spas and and i would assume you looked atthe df site you would see it says they use the 226

ok well your "good source" is full of sh*t to be blunt about it, also i was referring to you saying that the garda are getting the sig, well at the moment only select units have them, and apparently it was not the pistol picked for future use in the recent trials.

tallus

The defence forces used to use Gustav sub machine guns too, back in the 70's. Dont know if they still do.
*edit*
Oops ok they dont now.
However I did have a mate who was a member of the permanent defence forces who told me that they all laughed their asses off when they saw the huge flame/muzzle flash from the Steyr in Die hard. He said it was nothing like the real thing.

MySelf56

Two more pics...

Bam Bam

Have fired the steyr a good few times, the only time you really see any flash is late at night and its only for a split second.

oglaigh

One or two more,
The ARW also use the P-90(the one in Stagate if your wondering), the FN 5.7 which uses the same round as the p90.They also aquired a hundred or so G36s a while back.

babybundy

skink wrote:

ok well your "good source" is full of sh*t to be blunt about it, also i was referring to you saying that the garda are getting the sig, well at the moment only select units have them, and apparently it was not the pistol picked for future use in the recent trials.

ya well wat are the new few (and i mean few thousand) pistols they are getting so

cushtac

babybundy wrote:

ya well wat are the new few (and i mean few thousand) pistols they are getting so

If you're talking about the Defence Forces, they're getting HK USP's. The Gardai have signed the contract for Walther P99 & P99C's.

skink

cushtac wrote:

If you're talking about the Defence Forces, they're getting HK USP's. The Gardai have signed the contract for Walther P99 & P99C's.

beat me too it!

mcguiver

The Gustaf SMG was origionally designed for use by paratroopers (hence the folding stock) ...I always thought they were great fun.

I remember opening cases of them in early 90's in Cathal Brugha, they were brand new and dated 1952!!

Never liked the Steyr.. nor robust enough for my liking.

muletide

mcguiver wrote:

The Gustaf SMG was origionally designed for use by paratroopers (hence the folding stock) ...I always thought they were great fun.

I remember opening cases of them in early 90's in Cathal Brugha, they were brand new and dated 1952!!

Never liked the Steyr.. nor robust enough for my liking.

not robust enough ??

what did you do to it ?
what broke?

KdjaCL

Is there pics of these weapons on any site?


Thanks.


kdjac

babybundy

muletide wrote:

not robust enough ??

what did you do to it ?
what broke?

recruit camp we broke 2 firing pins 1trigger 1 firing mech.and i have no idea how but someone cracked the body group on 1 riffle

mayhem#

skink wrote:

Ok to make this easier, i am only going to name current weapons in use,

Bap 9mm(pistol)

What?

E.

Manic Moran

It keeps in with the Irish habit of not using the official terms for equipment and just using the manufacturer.

BAP = Browning Automatic Pistol. In actuality, I believe it's the Hi-Power Mk II, but it's usually called the 'BAP'

Similarly MOWAG is really Piranha IIIH, or the old Fougas were really CM.170s, the Casas are really CN.235s, the FNs were FALs... You get the idea.

NTM

coyote6

I've shot the Steyr Aug some. I really like the quick detach barrel. Very easy to go from a 20" barrel to a shorty for entry. I shot the original with the built in site. The "pipper" reticle was quick and intuitive. The finger pressure transition from semi to full-auto is interesting and requires a little practice and finesse but I think it is a good idea. Ergonomically I think I like the M-16 better. Perhaps because of familiarity but also because you never have to chage your firing grip to keep it running. Right index for mag release, left hand slap on the bolt release, left hand charging handle manipulation etc. All in all I think the AUG was a wise choice as a very flexible and reliable platform.

cork1

I once saw an M203 at an open day in Collins Barracks but while looking at it one of the soldiers told me that the Irish Army had the aug specially fitted with the M203 but it is only for training purposes as the Irish ones can't be fired.As well as this I saw a Javeline ground launced heat seeker missile system.At the time I was told that Ireland did not carry a large stock of these missiles due to the cost but aswell as this in training the Irish have only fired it three times leaving three people in the country fully trained ready to use it if they ever needed to.In my opinion they would have a better chance of shooting down a plane if one man stood in a field firing a pistol as I said tho this is just my opinion. I also think that they should have bought less equipment and spent the extra money on training which is vital.

Manic Moran

Whilst there is no real replacement for live fire, the sheer cost of the round (At about $60K a shot) indicates that not everyone will get to fire a warshot. There are, however, simulators and other non-live fire exercises that are the 90% solution. Even the US Army doesn't live-fire absolutely everything: I qualified on the AT-4 by shooting subcalibre rounds.

NTM

cushtac

cork1 wrote:

I once saw an M203 at an open day in Collins Barracks but while looking at it one of the soldiers told me that the Irish Army had the aug specially fitted with the M203 but it is only for training purposes as the Irish ones can't be fired.

He was wrong, they're 'proper' weapons capable of firing 'proper' rounds. What would be the point in buying a weapon if it isn't able to be used?

cork1 wrote:

As well as this I saw a Javeline ground launced heat seeker missile system.At the time I was told that Ireland did not carry a large stock of these missiles due to the cost but aswell as this in training the Irish have only fired it three times leaving three people in the country fully trained ready to use it if they ever needed to.

As Manic said, you don't have to actually fire the weapon to be fully trained on it. There's simulators available for the Javelin that can replicate everything except the large bang at the end, so there's no need for everyone to fire it.

There's more than three personnel trained on it too.

cork1 wrote:

In my opinion they would have a better chance of shooting down a plane if one man stood in a field firing a pistol as I said tho this is just my opinion.

The Javelin is an anti-tank missile, not an anti-aircraft one.

cork1 wrote:

I also think that they should have bought less equipment and spent the extra money on training which is vital.

It can't be a question of either kit or training, there's no point in having one without the other. For years the Defence Forces was stuck with obsolescent equipment, and in many cases it still is. The new kit that's been bought in the past few years is vital if they are to continue to operate overseas.

Manic Moran

cushtac wrote:

The Javelin is an anti-tank missile, not an anti-aircraft one.

Easy mistake to make though, Javelin is also the name of a surface-to-air missile made in Northern Ireland for the British Army.

NTM

darragh o meara

Having shot the:

Steyr
84mm Anti tank
Sraaw
Bren
Gustaf
Accuracy international
BAP
FN FAL
303
and a few rounds from the aml 90

I can highly recommend the 84mm anti tank.. Theres no feeling like leaving off a few rounds from one of those babies... I had the pleasure of doing a few 84 courses and I've shot around 20 rounds from it not including sub caliber..

The steyr is a nice rifle if you know how to use it properly but I really did love the FN FAL which felt and operated like a real rifle.

I hated the gustaf I thought it was too dangerous and only shot it twice

Bren gun is a great weapon to shoot if you can hold onto it

303 pure shooting material how a real gun should be

I found the BAP hard to get a proper shot with but enjoyed my few shoots with it

The accuracy international was something else and something i would love to fire again the accuracy is just unreal

projectmayhem

KdjaC wrote:

Is there pics of these weapons on any site?


Thanks.


kdjac

my brother's in the RDF and his eyes lit up when he saw me using the ballpup in CSS, so there's one (if you play css, that is)

babybundy

Omeara_darragh wrote:

I found the BAP hard to get a proper shot with but enjoyed my few shoots with it

i didnt have any problem with the bap it hit the target every time i fired it bar once or twice on my first day firing

mayhem#

Bap's are for lunch, not for shooting!

E.

babybundy

mayhem# wrote:

Bap's are for lunch, not for shooting!

E.

ok B.A.P.:p

mayhem#

Not a very interesting handgun but damn reliable though....

E.