Bosna i Hercegovina
11
Improvised and Homemade Weapons of the Bosnian War
Background
In the months and years before the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina the Serbs began to arm themselves. As early as 1990 and continuing on into late 1991 the Serb controlled secret police, the SDB, began distributing weapons to select groups of Serbs throughout Bosnia. It's estimated that thousands of weapons were distributed during this time period.
In addition to that the Serbian controlled Yugoslav Peoples Army, the JNA, started collecting and moving it's weapons. According to JNA general Kukanjac, 80% of JNA weapons in Bosnia were collected and distributed to the Serbs another 70% of all Territorial Defense weapons were taken by the JNA and handed over to Serbs. This amounted to hundreds of tanks, hundreds of artillery pieces, and hundreds of APC's.
Bosniaks on the other hand had few ways to secure weapons, including capturing, smuggling, or building their own. The following and some of the weapons made by resilient Bosniaks, mostly in besieged Sarajevo, during the war.
Guns made from gas and plumbing pipes during the Bosnian war in Sarajevo
A crude but effective improvised 12 gauge shotgun used during the Bosnian War
Double-barreled gun rifle, improvised, made in workshops of the Sarajevo company "UMJETNI-ZANATI" on Vratnik. These guns were made in various workshops in Sarajevo. They used hunting ammunition shot 12 and 16 mm.
Rifle parts are electro-welded.This rifle has no stock, it fires with a two trigger spring. The action can only be opened when both hinges are latched.
Due to lack of heavy weapons in the end of 1993, the factory Zrak Sarajevo started the project of developing multiple-barrelled mortar of rifle grenade. The aim of this project was development of a grenade-launcher with increased range. The range of common grenade-launchers was 350m. According to the project, this grenade-launcher had a triple range.
Considering that the engineers had no experience in developing military technologies, they came before a number of problems. The first problem was the fact that the multiple-barrelled mortar demands a new type of the trumolet whose manufacture takes a couple of months. The amount of raw material is very limited because it could not have been imported into the city. This presented the second problem.
The third problem was the need of importing the technology for developing such a grenade-launcher from other countries. These disadvantages were overcome in the end of 1993, by digging a tunnel under the Sarajevo airport that became a connection between Sarajevo and free territory. However with the new tunnel it became easier to simply smuggle in already built grenade launchers which had better range.
Only two pieces of this grenade-launcher have been produced. Today, one of them is exhibited in the History Museum of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Cobra M2, caliber 7.62 mm
A homemade gun given to the President of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Alija Izetbegovic, as a present.
Another 2 homemade guns which were eventually gifted to Izetbegovic from various companies and persons.
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Originally Posted by Shah-Jehan
Alba | Scotland
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