List of weapons used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army

List of weapons used by the Provisional Irish Republican Army during The Troubles (1969-1997).

Sources

During the initial phase of The Troubles (1969-1972), the Provisional IRA was poorly equipped and primarily used weapons from World War II. Beginning in the 1970s, the Provisional IRA began importing modern weapons from supporters in the United States, Libyan leader Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and arms dealers in Europe, America, the Middle East and elsewhere.

Small arms

Model	Image	Caliber	Type	Origin	Details
Pistols
Beretta 92		9×19mm Parabellum	Pistol	Italy
Browning Hi-Power		9×19mm Parabellum	Pistol	Belgium
Glock 17		9×19mm Parabellum	Pistol	Austria
Luger P08		9×19mm Parabellum	Pistol	Germany	[1]
M1911		.45 ACP	Pistol	United States	Known to be used in some quantities from 1969-98.[2]
Webley Revolver		.455 Webley	Revolver	United Kingdom	[3]
Rifles
Lee–Enfield		.303 British	Bolt action rifle	United Kingdom	Used initially in the Troubles.[4][5][6]
M1 carbine		.30 Carbine	Semi-automatic Carbine	United States	[7][6]
M1 Garand		.30-06 Springfield	Semi-automatic rifle	United States	[8][5]
SKS		7.62×39mm	Semi-automatic rifle	Soviet Union	Limited usage.[8]
AR-15		5.56×45mm NATO	Semi-automatic rifle	United States	Smuggled to Ireland by the Harrison Network.[9]
AR-18		5.56×45mm NATO	Semi-automatic rifle	United States	Smuggled to Ireland by the Harrison Network.[9]
L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle		7.62×51mm NATO	Battle rifle	United Kingdom	[8]
Heckler & Koch G3		7.62×51mm NATO	Battle rifle	Germany	Stolen from Norwegian Reserve Base near Oslo in 1984.[9]
FN FAL		7.62×51mm NATO	Battle rifle	Belgium	[9]
Remington Model 742		.30-06 Springfield, .308 Winchester	Semi-automatic rifle	United States	[8][10]
M14 Rifle		7.62×51mm NATO	Battle rifle	United States	Smuggled to Ireland by the Harrison Network, most seized upon arrival.[9]
Assault rifles
AK-47		7.62×39mm	Assault rifle	Soviet Union	Provided by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.[3]
AKM		7.62×39mm	Assault rifle	Soviet Union	Provided by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Type 56		7.62×39mm	Assault rifle	People's Republic of China	Chinese variant of the Russian AK-47 and AKM. Provided by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.
PM md. 63		7.62×39mm	Assault rifle	Socialist Republic of Romania	Romanian variant of Russian AK-47 and AKM. Provided by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. AIM models used.[11]
vz. 58		7.62×39mm	Assault Rifle	Czechoslovakia	Provided by Gaddafi.
M16		5.56×45mm NATO	Assault rifle	United States	Smuggled to Ireland by the Harrison Network.[9]
FN FNC		5.56×45mm NATO	Assault rifle	Belgium
AN-94		5.45×39mm	Assault rifle	Russia	Reportedly, the IRA imported 20 examples in late 2001.[12]
Sniper rifles
Barrett M82		50 BMG	Anti-materiel rifle	United States	Used during the South Armagh Sniper campaign.[13]
Barrett M90		50 BMG	Anti-materiel rifle	United States	Used during the South Armagh Sniper campaign.[14]
Submachine guns
Thompson submachine gun		.45 ACP	Submachine Gun	United States	Used briefly before they were taken out of active use.[15][6]
M3 submachine gun		.45 ACP	Submachine Gun	United States	Smuggled to Ireland by the Harrison Network.[9]
Sten		9×19mm Parabellum	Submachine Gun	United Kingdom
MP-40		9×19mm Parabellum	Submachine Gun	Nazi Germany
Sterling submachine gun		9×19mm Parabellum	Submachine Gun	United Kingdom	[8]
Sa vz. 23		7.62×25mm Tokarev	Submachine gun	Czechoslovakia
Uzi		9×19mm Parabellum	Submachine Gun	Israel
MAC-10		.45 ACP	Submachine Gun	United States	Some smuggled by Harrison Network, but most of them seized.[9]
Beretta M12		9×19mm Parabellum	Submachine Gun	Italy
MP5		9×19mm Parabellum	Submachine Gun	Germany	Most seized by FBI in anti-smuggling sting op.[9]
Vigneron submachine gun		9×19mm Parabellum	Submachine gun	Belgium
United Defense M42		9×19mm Parabellum	Submachine Gun	United States	Given to the IRA by Greek Cypriot group EOKA.[8]
Machine guns
Bren light machine gun		.303 British	Light machine gun	United Kingdom	[3]
FN MAG		7.62×51mm	General-purpose machine gun	Belgium	Known to have 12 MAGs.[9]
M60		7.62×51mm NATO	General-purpose machine gun	United States	[16]
DShK		12.7×108mm	Heavy machine gun	Soviet Union	Known to have 20 DShKs.[9]
M2 Browning		.50 BMG	Heavy machine gun	United States
M1919 Browning		.30-06	Medium machine gun	United States

Explosives

Model	Image	Type	Origin	Details
IED		Improvised explosive device	Ireland	Often using ANFO, Gelignite or Semtex.[17][18]
Molotov cocktail		Incendiary device	Ireland

Anti-tank weapons

Model	Image	Diameter	Type	Origin	Details
RPG-7		40 mm (launcher only, warhead diameter varies)	Rocket-propelled grenade	Soviet Union	Some smuggled into Northern Ireland via Libya.[9]

Anti-aircraft weapons

Model	Image	Diameter	Type	Origin	Details
9K32 Strela-2		72 mm	Man-portable air-defense system	Soviet Union	Designated SA-7 Grail by NATO. Most shipments of Grails to Northen Ireland seized in 1987.[19]

Flamethrowers

Model	Image	Type	Origin	Details
LPO-50		Flamethrower	Soviet Union	[3]

Mortars

Model	Image	Diameter	Type	Origin	Details
Barrack buster		320 MM	Improvised mortar	Ireland	[20]

References

1. "Martin McGuinness using a Luger pistol".
2. French (2018), p. 94.
3. Oppenheimer, A. R. (2009). IRA: The Bombs and The Bullets. A History of Deadly Ingenuity. Irish Academic Press, chapter 4. ISBN 978-0-7165-2895-1
4. https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/why-the-114-year-old-lee-enfield-rifle-is-only-now-being-retired-by-the-canadian-armed-forces
5. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ira-quiescent-during-killings-says-derry-oc-1.1304877
6. The Troubles #14 (June 1972), page 31.
7. Taylor, Peter (1997). Provos The IRA & Sinn Féin. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 109. ISBN 0-7475-3818-2.
8. https://magill.ie/archive/rifles-ira
9. "Inside the Ira - Weapons & Technology | the Ira & Sinn Fein | FRONTLINE | PBS".
10. http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2407
11. "Analysis of ÓnaÉ Video". 18 August 2014.
12. The Irish Times (21 April 2002). "IRA reported rearming as Castlereagh burglary denied". Retrieved 1 January 2021.
13. Neville, Leigh (25 Aug 2016). Modern Snipers. General Military. Osprey Publishing. pp. 30–31. ISBN 9781472815347.
14. Harnden, Toby (2000) Bandit Country:The IRA and South Armagh. Coronet Books, pp. 406-407. ISBN 0-340-71737-8
15. O'Brien, Brendan (1993). The Long War: The IRA and Sinn Féin, 1985 to Today. Syracuse University Press. pp. 279–. ISBN 978-0-8156-0319-1.
16. Christopher Dobson and Ronald Payne (1982). The Terrorists: Their Weapons, Leaders, and Tactics. Facts on File. pp. 119–120. ISBN 0871966689.CS1 maint: uses authors parameter (link)
17. "IRA guns: The list of weapons". BBC News. 26 September 2005.
18. Asal, Victor; Gill, Paul; Rethemeyer, R. Karl; Horgan, John (2015). "Killing Range". The Journal of Conflict Resolution. 59 (3): 401–427. doi:10.1177/0022002713508927. PMC 4361499. PMID 25838603.
19. https://media.nti.org/pdfs/libya_missile.pdf
20. Ackerman, Gary (March 2016). "The Provisional Irish Republican Army and the Development of Mortars". Journal of Strategic Security. 9 (1): 12–34. doi:10.5038/1944-0472.9.1.1501.

Bibliography

• French, Laurence Armand (2018). The History of Policing America: From Militias and Military to the Law Enforcement of Today. Lanham, Maryland, USA: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1538102039.