The Welrod is a rather special gun. A single shot weapon, with a bolt-action mechanism and a silencer (muffler is more appropriate)as a part of the gun, it was reportedly designed within a few months of the start of WWII. The Welrod was designed by a Major Dolphin (a code name, the man`s true name is still unknown) for the british War Office. Apparently some 2800 of these weapons were made, by both the British and the Americans.
The users of this rather specialistic piece of equipment were groups like the SAS (Special Air Service), the SOE (Special Operations Executive), the Commandos and the American OSS (Office for Strategic Services). After the war the Welrod was used to great effect in places like Korea, Vietnam, the Falklands, and even (as the rumor goes) in Northern Ireland. There might be some truth to that rumor, because in Great Britain the Welrod is still classified under the Official Secrets Act.

The use for such weapon is rather obvious. It is mostly used for dispatching enemy sentries, and assasination. Because of its construction it is of little other use, as its effective range is only about forty to fifty feet, and has to be manually reloaded for each shot. It is apparently a very quiet weapon though. How quietly is still classified....

The Welrod is a typical invention out of need: it is little more than a steel tube containing the barrel, silencer, a bolt, and a attached to this a very short grip (the rest of the grip is removable and IS the magazine). The sights are very rudimentary, and the front sight is located halfway along the tube, just aft of the removable silencer/barrel assembly. The trigger is blocked by a grip safety (the only safety the weapon has), and just under the trigger, still inside the guard, is the magazine release lever. Right above the grip is the ejection port. At the rear of the weapon is a knurled knob, which is used to operate the bolt action.
In order to load the gun, the knob is turned to the left for a quarter turn, and then pulled back. Any cartridges , empty or new are now ejected. When the knob is pushed forward a cartridge is stripped from the magazine and fed into the chamber. At the same time the striker is put under tension. Lastly the knob is turned a quarter turn to the right, and the weapon is now loaded.

The Welrod is chambered in the caliber 9 mm, and has a six round magazine that doubles as the lower part of the grip. For the best operation of the gun (eg., the most silent), it is recommended to use only subsonic 9 mm rounds. The use of standard velocity rounds wil substantially increase the noise level.

For obvious reasons this weapon is Government Issue Only!

Weight:	2.65 lbs (1.2 kg) empty.
Caliber:	9 mm
OVERALL Length:	14.6 inches (36.5 cm).
Action:	Single Shot Bolt Action.
Range:	40 ft (12 m).
Payload:	6 rounds .
Cost:	?
Made in:	Great Britain, USA.
Special:	Specially designed muffled handgun. Government Issue Only!

By Mischa