Weapons in the Philippines
In the Philippines, this place is called the “city of weapons.” For more than a century, Danaoans have made their living by manufacturing weapons. These people know how to assemble pistols, revolvers and machine guns by hand. The authorities created a cooperative in order to legalize the production of weapons. But instead of making money through legal means, most collaborate with the local mafia.
Jose takes the gun in his hands and looks into the sight. He thinks for a moment, and then puts the form into a vice, which at the moment is nothing more than a semblance of a future pistol, a piece of metal. José Arnescar will have to spend many days at work before this form finds its firepower. This muscular 33-year-old worker puts all his strength into working on the bolt. “This is the hardest part,” he says breathlessly. “It will take at least a week to complete the work.” This is the most important part of the weapon, so Jose will only use a file in his work.
We are located in the world's largest gun manufacturing cooperative, located in Danao on Cebu Island in the heart of the Philippines. This organization is unique in its essence; it is here that 38 and 45 caliber weapons, pump-action shotguns and even some models of machine guns are produced. 90% of the total production volume is produced manually.
In this huge old room there are only a few machines, its roof is leaky and does not protect from rain, which is why fabric is hung on top to protect the electrical wiring. There is such noise in the dimly lit room that you feel like you are in a mountain tunnel.
About 30 workers can work and modify their weapons on 2 main machines. Using a drill, each item is engraved with “WORLD” and a serial number. There is another large machine, which is considered the most important in the work; it produces drums. “This is the most important machine,” says June, watching his colleague finish his part of the job. “Thanks to it, we can do work that would be very difficult to do by hand.” “We don’t have many tools,” the worker says with regret in his voice.
In this production, each worker independently creates a weapon from start to finish, and after the sale receives almost the full cost in hand. Mostly 38 and 45 caliber weapons are produced here, as well as pump-action shotguns. It takes a week to make a 38 caliber pistol that can be sold for 30 euros; a 45 caliber pistol takes twice as long to produce, but its price also increases. The workers of this cooperative earn an average of 70 euros per month, which is the minimum wage in the Philippines. Nearly 100 guns come out of these workshops every month, most of them ordered by police and soldiers who are not issued weapons on the job and for whom this is the cheapest way to get one. This weapon is also in demand among store and bank security guards.
Weapon making is considered an old tradition in Danao. They say that even under the Spaniards, arquebuses were made here. But the main production was formed at the beginning of the 20th century, when the Philippines was an American colony. During World War II, the Americans used the skills of the Danaans to convert captured Japanese weapons to their own caliber. It is from those times that hand-made weapons have been produced here.
As a result, in 1996, the authorities organized a legal cooperative for the production of weapons. But, despite all the efforts of the authorities, the majority of workers produce weapons illegally, not obeying the cooperative.
Finding such illegal production is not difficult. In the city center you can find the small house of Renato Gonzalez. Its entire production consists of a simple vice and a set of tools. In his workshop you can see the mold for the KG-9, a lightweight machine gun similar to the Israeli-made UZI. It took Renato 2 weeks to produce it, and he received 100 euros for the work. The 52-year-old worker learned his skills from his grandfather and father, who were also involved in the production of weapons. “I was 8 years old when I started helping them,” recalls Renato. - I was returning from school and learning to work with a file. I'm doing this now so my kids can go to college."
According to Nestor Sabaiton, who led the cooperative until 2007, at least 5,000 people produce weapons illegally in Danao.
Naturally, there must be a person who would supervise these illegal workers. In Danao, this man is called "Rio Shark", he is one of the most experienced weapons manufacturers. In his workshop you can see the finished AR-15 automatic rifle, which is very similar to the American M-16 rifle. This weapon, worth 500 euros, was ordered by the mayor of a large neighboring city. “This is the second time I have received an order to make something like this,” says Rio. His son adds: “We had a lot of orders just before the election. A lot of politicians wanted pistols or rifles like this.”
Local elections in the Philippines have a bad reputation. For example, in 2007, 114 candidates and party members were killed during the election campaign. In addition, bank robberies are often accompanied by murders. In May 2008, there was a high-profile robbery during which the perpetrator shot and killed 10 people. There are believed to be more than a million firearms in circulation in the Philippines, with a third unlicensed.
Despite the similar situation in the country, everything is calm in the Danao police stations. In 2007, only 2 people were detained for illegal production and 18 for illegal possession of weapons. “We know that there are several illegal gun manufacturers in the city,” says Lt. Lacson Dehino, “but when we find them, we try to encourage them to join the cooperative, and if they refuse, they will be arrested.”
The illegal arms business does not seem to disturb the tranquility of Danao, where 120,000 residents lead a normal life. So a resident of Danao says with humor: “If you hear shots on the streets of Danao, it’s okay, it’s just one of the masters testing his new weapon in action.”
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Every self-respecting country that wants to have weight on the world stage spends almost the lion's share of its budget on the development of the military-industrial complex. Target factories are being built, new ultra-modern types of weapons are being developed. However, you can effectively destroy enemy combat forces in another way - using homemade weapons. This, of course, is not as effective, but it works great in guerrilla warfare. And exactly about homemade weapons we'll talk today.
1. Pit trap
Perhaps the most primitive example of a homemade weapon. The soldier does not see the hole, falls into it, runs into stakes or spikes, and loses his combat effectiveness. What could be simpler? Even ancient and primitive hunters used pit traps for hunting wild and large animals. But people are much smarter than animals, so the main problem is the effective camouflage of such pits. The best example of a tactic to use this homemade weapons demonstrated to us.
For those who don’t know, the Vietnam War, in which licensed peddlers of democracy massively sucked in the semi-savage Vietnamese people, partially sponsored by the Soviet Union. The very conditions of Vietnam completely neutralized the fierce superiority of the democratizers in armored vehicles and aviation, and the American infantry, as we know, sucks without support. And here it sucked especially hard - the jungle, high humidity, regular flooding of the territory, tropical diseases, mosquitoes, poor mobility - all this played against them. And then there are the evil Vietnamese, to whom “democracy” did not give in at all and who did their best to complicate the life of the American army. And it's not even about classic guerrilla tactics, speech and “quiet” war.
The fact is that digging holes in the ground, sticking them with stakes smeared with, excuse me, shit, and waiting for the water to fill them itself is as easy as shelling pears. And a soldier who is blindly wandering along a half-flooded path discovered with such difficulty will obviously not be happy to fail and run into these surprises with all his weight. There is also a more complicated version - in addition to the stakes at the bottom, spikes were installed on the sides, directed diagonally downward. If a soldier tried to pull his leg out, he also ran into these spikes. And a very difficult option - two logs studded with nails. The soldier steps on their joint, falls down, the drums rotate, the nails stick in...
2. Molotov cocktail
This homemade weapon has already become a classic for most modern riots. And all because it is extremely simple.
The first to come up with such an effective means of destroying manpower and armored vehicles were hot Finnish guys during the Soviet-Finnish war of 1939-1940. And it was they who called these cute bottles “Cocktail for Molotov”, since Comrade Molotov was at that time the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the USSR and was, in principle, responsible for starting the war.
However, this one has homemade weapons and obvious shortcomings. The first and main thing is that a set fire to a rag unmasks a fighter, putting his life at risk. A solution was found with the help of chemistry - mixtures of some chemicals ignite upon contact with air, so they began to simply put an ampoule with reagents in bottles with Molotov cocktail.
3. Samopal
Or in other words - homemade firearms. Honestly, it is worthy of a separate article - so many different options were invented, created and tested by local “Kulibins” of various nationalities. So for now we will focus on the simplest option - the “ignition” type self-propelled gun.
According to modern weapons classification, this is a single-shot ramrod-type pistol. That is, the charge and bullet are placed from the muzzle opening. On the opposite side, accordingly, there is an igniter hole. The barrel is a metal tube that is attached to an improvised butt. The charge is directly ignited either manually or using a trigger mechanism.
Despite the extremely simple principle, this homemade weapon quite effective. It can even kill at close range, especially if you hit something vital organ.
4. Kassam missile
This homemade weapon- in fact, a solid-fuel unguided surface-to-surface missile. It is still being actively carried out in the Gaza Strip with the aim of shelling Israeli territory.
The point is simple. The simplest and most accessible ingredients are taken, which we will not list here, but which can be found in any agricultural or hardware store. All this is combined in the correct proportions, and then the homemade missile is installed on the launcher and launched in the direction of the enemy.
Between 2001 and 2012, 27 people were officially killed, and another 700 were injured of varying degrees of severity. Actually, this is not an attacking weapon - low accuracy, low explosive force and heavy weight make it ineffective in active combat operations. But as a weapon of terror, it’s just right. Produced literally on the knee, inexpensive, unnoticeable. And not so long ago, a Palestinian garbage truck was detained in the Gaza Strip, converted into a multiple launch rocket system with the help of Qassams. No, this is truly brilliant - you can move around the territory unnoticed, in a matter of minutes prepare a salvo, shoot and hide just as unnoticed. In short, simple and effective in its own way homemade weapon.
5. “Shushpanzers”
This funny name, which originated in 2007 on thematic forums dedicated to military equipment, hides any modern vehicle covered with improvised armor. Wherever it was not used - both during the Second World War, when the USSR had huge problems with armored vehicles, so armor and weapons were even installed on tractors, and during the first Arab-Israeli conflict, when the Jews did not yet have their own Merkavas, and on eastern Ukraine, and from both sides of the conflict.
And all because this homemade weapons an extremely simple principle. A powerful wheelbase is taken (truck, tractor, anything that can pull a lot of weight) and sheathed with thick metal sheets. The thicker it is, the more reliable it is. Actually, that's all. From shrapnel and bullets it homemade weapon will protect, deliver the soldier to his destination. And if you install a machine gun, it will cover you with fire. In a word, simple and effective.
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Gas gunThis is a serious design in terms of sound and projectile. The main application is to imitate the sound of a hunting rifle shot to scare away birds. A reliable budget gun, but only if used correctly and sparingly. Strictly follow safety rules and assembly recommendations. See how to make an Apple Gun
“You can achieve more with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word.”
Al Capone
The legendary gangster had every reason to say so. After all, owning a weapon immediately makes its bearer more confident, decisive and, unfortunately, bolder. And if conditions have been created in the country that the chance of running into a similar carrier of a firearm is high, then inevitably you begin to limit yourself and not bury yourself. But if weapons are owned either by the privileged strata, or by those who don’t give a damn about laws and rules, then everything becomes much sadder. But I really want there to be a real opportunity to repay the aggressor in the same coin... Unfortunately, there are still many home-grown “Kulibins” on Russian soil who, using shit, sticks and pipes, construct something that by some miracle can shoot. This is a very unsightly, single-shot, often low-power weapon, from which you can only shoot yourself. And in order to cause real harm to the enemy, you need to try very hard. But this does not stop the people, so the police annually seize a huge amount homemade pistols, have been in action or not yet. Not far behind them are correctional officers, who are periodically shot at with such homemade weapons in order to escape. Therefore it is homemade pistols and this is what our photo selection today will be dedicated to.
