One use of these guns you didn't mention was the "single use" concept to allow you to gain much better weapons. Same as the Liberator pistol the US dropped into occupied Europe for resistance fighters. It wasn't meant to be a frontline primary weapon. Mau Mau were guerilla fighters living in the forest, and weren't engaging in firefights with British soldiers. Small groups would attack a farm of a white settler at night, who invariably had several firearms, and take what they could get. Likewise they targeted small rural police posts to gain access to the police armory. This style of fighting didn't require an arms race with the colonials because it was small night raids and targeted assassinations, not large scale battles.
This kind of fighting is typical of uprisings. We are seeing the exact same thing in Myanmar today, for example - except that rebels there now have access to 3D printers and drones - and are sharing snazzily edited footage of their raids online, each group with their own "corporate identity". Some of the guns they are making are quite sophisticated, are even capable of automatic fire.
@@no1DdCthe wheels of progress spin ever forwards, even in terms of craft produced arms Not too long ago there were gunsmiths with many years of training building things that were, not amazing, but fairly passable handguns and the like Nowadays, a couple PDFs and some 3D printer files are all it takes to take any person off the street and turn them into a gunsmith
I'm surprised slam fire shotguns weren't used instead, they're much simpler and you get a comparably more efficient seal on the chamber. They figured it out in the Philippines
@@rhyslogan6490 Maybe in the case of a non "single use" scenario the rebels did use spears and bows indeed. Yes, firearms are far superior in almost every scenario, but people tend to underestimate the deadliness of bows and spears far to often.
@@sandwich2473 Luckily a 3D Printer makes you not a gunsmith. Look up "Halle synagogue shooting" a German neo-Nazi metal worker used metal and 3D Printed parts to make weapons. He didn't realy test them and ended up with some single shot weapons, instead of semi-automatics or Pumpaction as intended. Had he been a better craftsman there would be much more victims then 2 dead and 2 wounded. You still needs to be a craftsman which understands basic mechanics to get a 3D printed weapon function well. Every functioning Surface needs to be sanded down and then heat treated to get a smooth surface. 2017-2020 had good enough 3D Printers to do that, the 2022 generation is much better but still needs good rework. The Level of 3D printer knowledge for good results is down today, but still you need to be a craftsman to get those things to work, and know the limits of 3D printing. A Gunsmith can build a revolver from Scratch with Metal Parts, if he got a lathe and a vise. Lets say he needs a month to build something like an Peacemaker. With a 3D Printer a Gunsmith can build a functioning Peacemaker, with printed and Metal parts, in 3 Days, so he can produce 8 per month. The Full metal will work most likely 200 rounds, the 3D Printed hybrid Gun will work 40-60 rounds safely. A DIY 3D printed Revolver build by a non-craftsman will work 3-4 rounds, then the Plastic parts will friction lock. Like in the Halle synagoge shooting.
I’ve just donated a Mau Mau “firearm” to the School of Infantry Small Arms collection at Warminster. My father recovered it from a fatally wounded Mau Mau who unwisely tried firing it in anger. The firing mechanism caused the fatal head injury. Scary……
My father did two stints at the School of Infantry in the early 1950s and early 1960s. when it was in Hythe, Kent. In between he was a company commander with 5KAR in Kenya over 1958-61, just after Mau Mau ended. He would have loved your donation. The Small Arms Museum was his second home. He knew every weapon intimately. In 1993, just before he died, we went back to the Museum at Warminster. He pointed at one weapon and said that 30-40 years previously its wooden handguard used to fall off in two parts when touched. The attendant touched it and it promptly fell off in two parts!
Just chucking this out there friendo, "fatally wounded" and "fired in anger" do not go together like you're trying to put them. If the man was fatally wounded, he did not fire that weapon in "anger", any more than the individual who fatally wounded him did.
I think the psychological effect is not entirely on the part of the Mau Mau, it's also an effect on who they're attacking, and the British public reading about it in the news. "African tribes attack with bows and spears" as a headline reinforces colonial ideas of military, technological and intellectual superiority and creates the impression that they aren't a real threat to a modern army. "African tribes attack with guns" make them seem like much more of a real threat, and hearing gunshots would instil much more fear and panic in a British soldier. Arguably the appearance of military force is more important to an insurgency/nationalist rebellion than actual battlefield victories in getting the occupying power to leave.
Yup. If you are confronted with an enemy carrying gun-shaped things that go bang, you probably aren't going to spend too much time trying to figure out how real they are before diving for cover. Not necessarily 'fear and panic', but enough 'psychology' to reduce combat effectiveness.
I don't think you're right on the first point as it's so easy to then counter that with "well yeah, but this is what they cooked up, lol"; and at least to my mind, they end look a lot worse then than if they used bows and spears that they were actually good at making. On top of that, making yourself look like a slightly less weak threat is likely to only bait more force down on you. Though your second point about hearing gunshots is maybe more significant. While it'd be hard to quantify the usefulness, I guess you could say it's a tool in the toolbox.
If they understand the British public's perspective on how to play the part of a modern soldier, are they not exposed to that perspective enough to see it that way themselves?
KIM may be Kikuyu Independance Movement? I think the idea of a soldier carrying a 'rifle' even a non functioning one or a homemade one may be more a psychological use. For example guarding a camp with one of these may mean a sentry feels more capable and less likely to desert his post.
I've been waiting for a video on these guns for ages! Just bought a couple of books on the Mau Mau rebellion yesterday and this pops up the next day! Thanks Jonathan!
Such an interesting video. I have seen film and photos of a variety of improvised and 'craft' produced firearms before, but it's great to see these up close. In a previous existence, I have been a shooting instructor, a prop maker and armourer in a theatre. At one point, I was tasked with building a dozen Thomson style drum mag 'Splurge' guns for a production of Bugsy Malone. They were constructed from thick plywood cut to create the correct size and sillouette and used various pieces of pvc water pipe and bungee elastic to power a simple plunger in the barrel. They were designed to fire a charge of instant mashed potato in a paper cup cake cup, which in turn was housed in a section of flat bottom ice cream waffer cone! They worked tremendously well. The firing mechanism was exactly this bolt action, flicked up by the thumb, to release the power of the stretched bungee elastic. They had a range of approx twenty feet! The 'look' on stage with 12 of these things all sprayed black, was hugely efective for both audience and actor alike.....a big physcological impact. Much the same as these primitive weapons. These people understood the fear and intimidation of having firearms pointed at them and being used as crowd control without the need to necessarily fire reliably. The bang and almost 'pure theatre' of having such an item was a huge advantage to them I suspect. But there is something also very sad and innocent mixed up in all that which underpins these types of conflict around the world, where less practically developed engineering comes face to face with the reality of lethal mass produced firearms. Sobering.
Most British people don't know or care about the Troubles. They can't tell you anything about it. My Dad left Northern Ireland partly to get away with it. And nobody at school had any idea about the warzone he grew up in.
Great History lesson being taught by a guy in a great shirt. These "craft produced" firearms are more interesting than many commercially produced ones.
Thank you for including at least a little of that clip. I'm also struck by the man pushing down the reporter. He clearly cares a lot about being there despite his equipment.
Looking at these I'm reminded of the "Ghost Shirts" of some groups of Native American people. The idea that it held some talismanic power was more important than its actual effectiveness. Also, the "Cargo Cults" of the Pacific Islands.
Actually, the gunsmiths near the Khyber Pass were and are famous for hand making some pretty decent arms for many years, even before the Mau Mau uprising.
Usually, the pleasure of watching this series is seeing mechanical ingenuity expressed in precise craftsmanship. That's not the case for this one. :-)*
What an intriguing title - Keeper of Firearms and Artillery, Jonathan. I would really love to know more about the Artillery at the Royal Armouries museum. Any videos on the subject?
In the Polish Army Museum and Warsaw Uprising Museum, I saw machine shop SMGs. Some direct copies of Stens, which they also had and some original designs. Do you have any such in your collection?
Even as late as The Troubles in Northern Ireland, big engineering company's like Harland & Wolfe had people working for them that were involved with the various paramilitary organisations and they were manufacturing similar weapons as you describe. Copy's of Sten's Sterling's as well as shotguns etc. They had the Machinery, the raw materials and of course the expertise required.
That extractor groove chamber may just be a a larger piece of tube slit length ways so it reduces in diameter to be compressed into the bore of the barrel
If i remember rightly theres a rifle in a museum in n.ireland ...from that conflict....it seems they used the steering column from morris minors as a barrel ...as the internal diameter fitted the ammunition ....
@me.ne.frego not to disappoint but I choose to study fake internet accounts and most people nowadays actively write messages for the bot account themselves inbetween or they have them just grab real comments on the thing they are posting. Like with the mau mau guns it's just to look like the real thing more..
I'm coming up to the royal armouries tommorow. I've never been so it'll be nice to finally visit. I love to see these improvised firearms too, find them fascinating
Myanmar anti-junta were making their own black powder everything two years ago. I suspect there will be some interesting artifacts coming out of there at some point.
The idea of having rifles mostly for show among some functional rifles makes a lot of sense. Bows and spears have some range, but when they're up against firearms, the firearms can take advantage of positioning and range in a way that's near impossible to overcome. As soon as you see some rifles when you expect to be up against bows, maybe hear an actual shot or two, a lot of the tactical advantage to firearms start disappearing--the same positions have completely different risks (for instance, any kind of cover made of wood near nullifies an attack from bladed weapons, but can be very exposed, gun against gun). There are still pure weapon advantages, of course, and those are by no means small, but I like the odds a lot better with the fear of guns in the mix
Very similar "weapons" were made by LTTs/mujibhas during the Rhodesian War of 1972-79. They were most useful at night to intimidate the civil population of Tribal Trust Lands in the dark, when the "rifle" could not be seen in detail. Door bolts replicated the action and sound of a rifle bolt being cocked. They had no role in combat.
My in-laws who resided in Chula Vista California were neighbors of a Navy Seal who appreciated my interest in weapons and showed me a single shot 12 gauge crafted by the Vietcong it was interesting.
Well Feifas aka pistols are a thing, and Jinshi does get into a firefight when rescuing "his" cat, mind you, the cat already blew up half the prison she was in, I can't wait to see THAT animated
One of my elderly neighbours fought in the Mau Mau campaign. He was quite an old-school racist to be honest and very dismissive of their military abilities, but felt that their ill-treatment was all wrong as it made many Kenyans move toward support of their cause, as happened in Ireland post-1916 uprising.
Firstly, that is untrue, the Mau Mau were a small cult within the Kikuyu tribe who composed about 30% of the Kenyan tribal population. The vast majority of the black population was WITH the British and they took over on independence. Secondly no one was ill treated in 1916 in Ireland, unless you are referring to the innocent men, women and children murdered by or through the actions of the fascist terrorist IRA.
Oh yes, I'm sure the other 70% of the Kenyan population were quite happy to be generally screwed over by the British . Disenfranchised from their land and reduced to 2nd class citizens in their own country.
@@Norvik_-ug3gey'know, you can't just say 'thats untrue' and expect people to believe it. I don't think you could point to a single historian who'd remotely confirm anything you've said. British atrocities during colonial rule in both Kenya and Ireland are well documented and very extensive. I don't think you'd find a single historian who'd say that the Mau Mau were a 'small cult', whilst they never gained widespread support, tens of thousands of rural fighters gives credence that they had a fair amount of support in certain areas, not to mention the massive public outcry at their treatment during the Hola Massacre which essentially ended the British Concentration Camps there, meaning that many Kenyans actually were somewhat sympathetic, despite the Mau Mau's often brutal methods. The statement 'No-one was ill-treated in Ireland in 1916' is so farcical, it's almost not worth engaging with. Have you heard of the USC?
@@Norvik_-ug3ge And what about the Black and Tan's? I don't think a single person in Ireland would say that they did anything else other than ill treat the Irish population and most of them were exactly that, innocent Men Women and Children. Not everyone is involved in armed struggle but they were treated as if they were.
And for my normal, sane, and coherent comment: Thanks for another great video, always love to see you and/or Ian on screen with a new video, 2 of the best content/video creators I've ever seen. I appreciate the effort that's been put in, to allow broke people to see cool historical things without flying around the world like a lunatic, and possibly being spotted inside an actual museum. (I cannot maintain the required dignity and grace to be the kind of person who frequents museums and other high-class establishments, so I'm resigned to save you the trouble of banishing me.)
PS around that time frame there were die cast toy cannons with a small bore, you dropped a spent match down the barrel drew back the little lever, compressing the spring, and turned it to the side to lock it off, flicking the lever 'fired' the matchstick presumably at your toy soldiers
Finn Aagaard wrote about being part of the Police Reserve when he was in college in Kenya , most of class was in it,and some times professors and teachers also , alarm went and they took off for duty . Gunsmand equipment in rear of room at the ready. He liked the .22 Hornet rifle as his choice .
I literally DO have a broomhandle with a knife attached to the end. It's not the best weapon I now have, but at the time it WAS the best weapon I had. Made for a purpose, not needed now, I think it's stashed in the shed. I should dismantle it, it's quite a nice knife.
In a way these remind me of the crude southern mountain rifles. In the states these would be sold or described generically as zulu guns. - The name always perplexed me; the complexity of these is important for a historical understanding of regional development of long arms.
Would say that the "bang" effect could have been a goal too, making a loud noise could be a way to say "i’m here and i can fight as well as you" kind of message. Even though the weapon itself wouldn’t do much it’s still dangerous in an intimidating way. 🤔
Yeah these would have been more or less for that. I don't think many of them would have been actually used. I agree with Jonathan, a spear or bow, in the hands of people as skilled at bushcraft, survival and hunting as they were, would have been far more effective at getting into an armory or getting in shipments of arms. All you gotta do is figure out how to get in close, and the rest will take care of itself. For as many as the Mau Mau's were able to take out, I bet they had that portion of it well figured.
Coincidentally I'm going through a Mau-Mau playthrough in Kaiserredux at the moment of release. Fighting properly equipped military and police forces with a gun or guns that may or may not fire safely even once.
Well I've read accounts of European armies dealing with enemy militants while on patrol in Mali. A fool would feel powerful and safe using a piece of garbage made by someone with superstition standing in for education.
One of my teachers had fought the Mau Mau and brought his souvenir captured gun into school to show us. This would have been in the early 1970s. Not sure that would be approved of these days.
With regards to access to weapons, Loyalists had plenty of weapons, Ulster Resistance imported rifles from South Africa and there’s also the weapons supplied to Loyalist Paras by the UDR and British Army etc. They didn’t have heavy guns or RPGs but the had no need for heavy weapons because they usually attacked unarmed innocent Catholics.
Really interesting film - particularly the phycological aspects of weapons and fire arms - the man risking his life for a toy gun! I would love to see more of this aspect of fire arms and weapons. Cheers, thanks so much for all your content its fantastic.
I agree that these guys would have been better off spending their time training with bows, but the psychological effects make a lot of sense. The silhouette of a firearm, the basic impression of an armed warrior- men with devices like this can kill instantly, at range, with little effort. Firearms demand respect, and even a fake firearm continues to command respect from those around it unless they know 112% that it isn't real. If it can occasionally fire a .410 noisemaker into the air, the legitimacy of its "gun-ness" increases a millionfold. Take a sample fake gun: a small plastic toy gun with an orange tip, and a length of small steel tube that is plugged at the back end and then inserted into the toy to allow it to show a metal "muzzle" without light showing through- I know a bit about the design requirements of a viable firearm, and you could command my respect with that thing just as well as anyone with a modern carry pistol. I'm not willing to bet my life on the assumption that the "gun" isn't functional at least once. And, even if the tube is thin-walled and smaller than .22 of an inch- I cannot possibly know enough to discount that it could be a BB firing muzzle-loader with a gutted BBQ lighter ignition tied into the toy gun trigger, or installed as a grip or thumb trigger. While it would be a terrible weapon, you'd still be able to lodge a BB into my face and then beat me senseless while I'm stunned. Consider a person with no gun knowledge: As far as they know, these Mau Mau craftmade gun totems allow their user to kill at will, at great range, with no limitation. They might not even understand the need for ammo, magazine, loading, etc. and simply assume that the gun kills someone whenever the user wants. A bow can be fought, a spear can be fought- we've done so for some unknown, but significant, portion of the last million years. Guns are new, and frankly close to magic. Modern people still have trouble understanding the mechanical function of firearms that were in wide use "only" 80 years ago. A bow or spear is a basic application of physics: Apply a large force to a small edge or point, using your own muscle power and some variant of stick (with or without string, depending on range.) Anyone can see your muscles, can see you apply them to the sharp bits, stick, string, etc. The entire process is transparent, the force is generated on the spot with obvious movements that comply with the type of physics we intimately understand: Applying large forces to objects using the human body. A gun obeys none of these tenets and instead conceals its source of force in a gunpowder factory somewhere, while concealing its method of action with the pure velocity of the bullet. People without specific knowledge of guns have no idea what is going on. They see a man with a weird long club, and they learn that if he points it at you it will make a hole in your body so violently that it unleashes a horrid noise, like a pair of lightning strikes compressed into a blink. Now Tim has a big hole in him, and you're still not sure you can land an arrow on the weird club man from this far. You're not even really sure if you're still alive, after Tim's death made the whole world shake. Every time this strange man points his club, another thunderstorm blinks by and another of your friends gains a useless chest hole. Sometimes they don't die immediately, instead making horrible noises while they die slowly. Is he commanding invisible lightning? Is he a foreign shaman? Or maybe a priest, praying to his terrible god to reach down and poke a hole in us with his divine finger? Fred is still alive, he got his hole a few minutes ago. Looks like his legs don't work, though. Must have cut the hole right through his spine. The man points his club at Fred again, but instead of making another hole in Fred he made a big puff of dirt behind where Fred was laying. Not a priest or shaman, then. Neither Gods nor lightning miss their mark, and the spray of dirt reminds you of a fast arrow hitting ground... only much more so. You start moving like a prey animal, quick and unpredictable. You've seen enough of them, watched them endlessly, and it comes naturally to copy that style of movement. You think his weapon is a thing like a bow in the shape of a large blowgun, that somehow uses lightning or thunder to blow a small arrow very fast, faster than anything should be able to go. It seems faster than lightning itself, impossibly. That means it will only have a slight moment to impact you, and the man must be able to point it so that it will hit you. It is too fast to arc over a hill, too fast to lay it across your path. Too fast to even see. The invader will have to keep that terrible weapon pointed directly at you, and so you make it as difficult as possible. Changing directions, varying speed, moving low and fast- you make it far enough to put a low rise between you and the thunder-bow. You rest for just a moment, recalling the terrain from here. This hill will cover your path until you're well out of the strange warrior's sight. You return home, telling your elders and leaders what happened. You are a respected hunter, and leader of hunters as well. Your word is taken as truth, and it is treated as a fact: There are foreign warriors in strange clothing, wielding bows that fire arrows from a tube at impossible speed using thunder. If they can see you, they can kill you. If they can point the thunder-bow at you for more than a second or two, they will kill you or put a big hole in you. Legend of the thunder-bow spreads. Most treat it as myth, or a parable. Some people believe it, try to learn about it, end up actually acquiring information and some samples, drawings, ammunition. Suddenly, they have the ability to create their own gun. The ideas are all there, basic knowledge, but without any iteration of design or testing or... anything. It is a totem of fear, respect, and power- not meant to be used constantly as a weapon. It forces anyone (who isn't comfortably familiar with firearms) to treat the wielder like an armed soldier: capable of killing at range, at will, with great speed, and with no visible effort other than holding up the gun. These... guns? devices? -were probably very effective in projecting their aura of fear and authority, allowing their users to cow any would-be belligerents without making an "example" via costly violence. One could imagine a group of Mau Mau entering a small town or village, and receiving whatever they demand because they appear to be part of a "real army", or at least well armed and organized (and willing to cause unspeakable horrors in an instant with shocking ease, or perhaps unleash this hell upon your enemies.) At the very least, an armed group that is being supplied by your community will be inclined to protect that community while there, and perhaps even in the future. Even if not true, it's easy to believe. And that's the end of my insane train of thought, thanks for experiencing it. I hope your brain recovers quickly from my jumbled mess of incoherent words.
... They knew how guns worked. They weren't morons, they had functional ones they used... They fought and won a war against the British. You realize right? Can't believe I just watched a full grown adult suggest human beings couldn't figure out a weapon you can teach children to use. They likely used to manufacture much nicer ones than this themselves. Delusional bigotry on full display. Just bizarre how far you went without checking your basic assumptions.
Jonathan, I don't know if you've ever done them on the channel before, but would it be possible to do an episode on Doune Pistols? I've always loved them & think they are a beautiful & interesting bit of firearms history. I also live pretty close to Doune which is also famous for its castle which featured heavily in Monty Python & the Holy Grail so a bit of a personal interest for me.
Main acronym on rifles would be K.C.A. Kikuyu Central Association, so K.S.A could be Kikuyu South Association. It looks as though it might have originally been KCA, but has been changed later.
I saw some of these in Regimental museum, and I was impressed with the inginuity. I believe they are still used in some countries ie. Borneo, where indiginious peoples aren't allowed access do to the rulers... They use lead from toothpaste tubes etc. and crushed matchheads
I've always assumed the Armouries' collection is in a warehouse in Leeds somewhere, and IWM's is somewhere in London, but how much travel does Jonathan have to do? I promise I'm not trying to do a heist, I just want to make sure Jonathan gets a decent lunch when he's down here in the Big Smoke.
21:05 I agree, and I would say that fake guns do accomplish one real world effect: at many distances the enemy doesn't know it is fake and will target you anyways. Especially at a technological disadvantage carrying a decoy gun is very brave.
Looks to be made with a hammer , chisel and hacksaw. If they had a drill press it would have been much more elegant. The pistols I made as a teenager were.
Not even close, these are some of the most crude things produced..probably ever. The era-equivalent probably would have been something akin to a Luty or slam-fire pipe shotgun. These are just..wildly awful by any stretch of the imagination.
seeing the subject of this video I was wondering do you have any examples of Philipino 'slam fire' shotguns, at their crudest two pieces of pipe with a firing pin but some were taken to almost high art status originally used by gangs then later to resist the Japanese
Given the blocked-up trigger hole and more professional looking woodwork, I think that that second one may be the stock of a toy gun re-used for the real deal.
My dad did a 30-day safari in Kenyah his Professional hunter was from Pakistan he introduce my dad to one of the Professional hunters who worked with the Counter terrorism groups who went into Mau Mau Camps in Black Face at night.
The Mau Mau uprising was of concern to the United States because of competition for Africa with the Soviet s. It was a part of the Cold War. To the rest of the world it was an indigenous Revolution against British Colonial rule. In any case, my long deceased former father in law, when in the Air Force, flew arms purchased by the CIA into Kenya from an eastern block nation. The arms were almost exclusively of WW2 Russian origin. The Mau Mau were known to make their own arms and capture arms. And now here we are, 70 years later giving arms to the Ukraine to fight Russia.
This is how Americans feel when people talk poorly about America, complex, quality, industrial made firearms in comparison to their own countries less standardized production methods.
I think the liberator pistol is that best type for resistance armament. One boom and it's UPGRADE TIME! But a sharp piece of steel will suffice. I have a feeling that Truly Patriotic British MEN are putting a lot of things together as I type this. And FRENCH men and so on. People are once again getting tired of their meager existence while others live off of their labors. I find it ironic that he chose now to display home made weapons.
Is KSA short for Kenya/Kikuyu Small Arms? As an equivalent of the BSA (British Small Arms) mark on a lot of the British weapons. Such things are surprisingly important for a culture where spiritual/magical power is believed in and respected. It is the form of the object that has power. however these do appear to have been intended to actually be fired and have some thought given to functionality but are obviously being made by people without the tools or skill to work to the required tolerances as well as being magical objects.
There's a chance, small but not zero, that someone watched this video and ran to tell their grandpa where are those guns he said not to be removed from the armory.
My take from living for most of a year in Belfast during the "Troubles" was that almost everyone wanted a peaceful solution, except the provos, loyalists & crown. The most popular idea for a solution was to be an independent EU state that is neither part of the UK nor part of the Republic of Ireland...
Time to read Something of Value and Uhuru again , as well as other books and articles of Ruark . And his Safari movie he mentions them some times there also
I make my own home crafted firearms from scrap from time to time. Keep my practice up. I have also fired some rather sketchy firearms in my time. I do not think I would try fireing these, haha.
Actually impressive how functional they actually are! They have both a functioning firing system and a locking bolt. Neither are good but they are there!
I would guess the reason they worked so hard to copy the factory made rifles was to fool their enemies at a distance more than some kind of psychological perception of firearms.
One use of these guns you didn't mention was the "single use" concept to allow you to gain much better weapons. Same as the Liberator pistol the US dropped into occupied Europe for resistance fighters. It wasn't meant to be a frontline primary weapon. Mau Mau were guerilla fighters living in the forest, and weren't engaging in firefights with British soldiers. Small groups would attack a farm of a white settler at night, who invariably had several firearms, and take what they could get. Likewise they targeted small rural police posts to gain access to the police armory. This style of fighting didn't require an arms race with the colonials because it was small night raids and targeted assassinations, not large scale battles.
This kind of fighting is typical of uprisings. We are seeing the exact same thing in Myanmar today, for example - except that rebels there now have access to 3D printers and drones - and are sharing snazzily edited footage of their raids online, each group with their own "corporate identity". Some of the guns they are making are quite sophisticated, are even capable of automatic fire.
@@no1DdCthe wheels of progress spin ever forwards, even in terms of craft produced arms
Not too long ago there were gunsmiths with many years of training building things that were, not amazing, but fairly passable handguns and the like
Nowadays, a couple PDFs and some 3D printer files are all it takes to take any person off the street and turn them into a gunsmith
I'm surprised slam fire shotguns weren't used instead, they're much simpler and you get a comparably more efficient seal on the chamber. They figured it out in the Philippines
@@rhyslogan6490 Maybe in the case of a non "single use" scenario the rebels did use spears and bows indeed. Yes, firearms are far superior in almost every scenario, but people tend to underestimate the deadliness of bows and spears far to often.
@@sandwich2473 Luckily a 3D Printer makes you not a gunsmith. Look up "Halle synagogue shooting" a German neo-Nazi metal worker used metal and 3D Printed parts to make weapons. He didn't realy test them and ended up with some single shot weapons, instead of semi-automatics or Pumpaction as intended. Had he been a better craftsman there would be much more victims then 2 dead and 2 wounded. You still needs to be a craftsman which understands basic mechanics to get a 3D printed weapon function well. Every functioning Surface needs to be sanded down and then heat treated to get a smooth surface. 2017-2020 had good enough 3D Printers to do that, the 2022 generation is much better but still needs good rework. The Level of 3D printer knowledge for good results is down today, but still you need to be a craftsman to get those things to work, and know the limits of 3D printing.
A Gunsmith can build a revolver from Scratch with Metal Parts, if he got a lathe and a vise.
Lets say he needs a month to build something like an Peacemaker.
With a 3D Printer a Gunsmith can build a functioning Peacemaker, with printed and Metal parts, in 3 Days, so he can produce 8 per month. The Full metal will work most likely 200 rounds, the 3D Printed hybrid Gun will work 40-60 rounds safely. A DIY 3D printed Revolver build by a non-craftsman will work 3-4 rounds, then the Plastic parts will friction lock. Like in the Halle synagoge shooting.
I’ve just donated a Mau Mau “firearm” to the School of Infantry Small Arms collection at Warminster.
My father recovered it from a fatally wounded Mau Mau who unwisely tried firing it in anger.
The firing mechanism caused the fatal head injury.
Scary……
Do you have any photos of the gun?
@@no1DdC yes. Just one.
It’s a ‘pistol’, although both hands were needed to fire it.
@@robinireland810 If you can, I think more people than just me would appreciate it if you uploaded the image somewhere and provided a link.
My father did two stints at the School of Infantry in the early 1950s and early 1960s. when it was in Hythe, Kent. In between he was a company commander with 5KAR in Kenya over 1958-61, just after Mau Mau ended. He would have loved your donation. The Small Arms Museum was his second home. He knew every weapon intimately. In 1993, just before he died, we went back to the Museum at Warminster. He pointed at one weapon and said that 30-40 years previously its wooden handguard used to fall off in two parts when touched. The attendant touched it and it promptly fell off in two parts!
Just chucking this out there friendo, "fatally wounded" and "fired in anger" do not go together like you're trying to put them.
If the man was fatally wounded, he did not fire that weapon in "anger", any more than the individual who fatally wounded him did.
I think the psychological effect is not entirely on the part of the Mau Mau, it's also an effect on who they're attacking, and the British public reading about it in the news. "African tribes attack with bows and spears" as a headline reinforces colonial ideas of military, technological and intellectual superiority and creates the impression that they aren't a real threat to a modern army. "African tribes attack with guns" make them seem like much more of a real threat, and hearing gunshots would instil much more fear and panic in a British soldier.
Arguably the appearance of military force is more important to an insurgency/nationalist rebellion than actual battlefield victories in getting the occupying power to leave.
Yup. If you are confronted with an enemy carrying gun-shaped things that go bang, you probably aren't going to spend too much time trying to figure out how real they are before diving for cover. Not necessarily 'fear and panic', but enough 'psychology' to reduce combat effectiveness.
I don't think you're right on the first point as it's so easy to then counter that with "well yeah, but this is what they cooked up, lol"; and at least to my mind, they end look a lot worse then than if they used bows and spears that they were actually good at making. On top of that, making yourself look like a slightly less weak threat is likely to only bait more force down on you.
Though your second point about hearing gunshots is maybe more significant. While it'd be hard to quantify the usefulness, I guess you could say it's a tool in the toolbox.
also, if they have *some* real guns, are you going to bet the guy you see in the distance with a gun shaped object doesn't have one of them?
War is after all mostly psychology
If they understand the British public's perspective on how to play the part of a modern soldier, are they not exposed to that perspective enough to see it that way themselves?
KIM may be Kikuyu Independance Movement? I think the idea of a soldier carrying a 'rifle' even a non functioning one or a homemade one may be more a psychological use. For example guarding a camp with one of these may mean a sentry feels more capable and less likely to desert his post.
And you'd have to get vaguely close to notice how crude this gun was, so it may deter attack
For a sentry, being able to fire once is infinitely better than not. It makes for an excellent alarm and will ensure that the enemy dives for cover.
Your now a big man as have a gun
Wouldn't it rather be written in the Kikuyu language than English?
@@puppetguy8726lots of african freedom movements had names in the colonizing language. And english is still widley used in kenya
I've been waiting for a video on these guns for ages! Just bought a couple of books on the Mau Mau rebellion yesterday and this pops up the next day! Thanks Jonathan!
Which books did you buy?
@@no1DdC Look for "Britain's Gulag" by Caroline Elkins. Also called Imperial Reckoning in some markets.
@@upscaleshack Thank you!
@@upscaleshack That's the exact one I bought! And Mau-mau warrior by Abiodun Alao
@@no1DdC As the other comment mentioned I bought Britian's Gulag by Caroline Elkins and Mau Mau Warrior by Abiodun Alao
If you go to EXACTLY 4:48 and pause it, you'll have the perfect representation of what Jonathan feels about the prospects of firing one of these.
😱
Such an interesting video. I have seen film and photos of a variety of improvised and 'craft' produced firearms before, but it's great to see these up close. In a previous existence, I have been a shooting instructor, a prop maker and armourer in a theatre. At one point, I was tasked with building a dozen Thomson style drum mag 'Splurge' guns for a production of Bugsy Malone. They were constructed from thick plywood cut to create the correct size and sillouette and used various pieces of pvc water pipe and bungee elastic to power a simple plunger in the barrel. They were designed to fire a charge of instant mashed potato in a paper cup cake cup, which in turn was housed in a section of flat bottom ice cream waffer cone! They worked tremendously well. The firing mechanism was exactly this bolt action, flicked up by the thumb, to release the power of the stretched bungee elastic. They had a range of approx twenty feet! The 'look' on stage with 12 of these things all sprayed black, was hugely efective for both audience and actor alike.....a big physcological impact. Much the same as these primitive weapons. These people understood the fear and intimidation of having firearms pointed at them and being used as crowd control without the need to necessarily fire reliably. The bang and almost 'pure theatre' of having such an item was a huge advantage to them I suspect. But there is something also very sad and innocent mixed up in all that which underpins these types of conflict around the world, where less practically developed engineering comes face to face with the reality of lethal mass produced firearms. Sobering.
It's interesting to see a UK citizen talking about the courage and devotion of the combatants of the other side of the uprising.
You know he's the real deal.
Very refreshing for this type of content. A gentleman and a scholar.
That's because Johnathan isn't a dirty old white man the longs for the days of empire.
@@neilmckay5368 Oh would they?
Most British people don't know or care about the Troubles. They can't tell you anything about it.
My Dad left Northern Ireland partly to get away with it. And nobody at school had any idea about the warzone he grew up in.
@@hazzardalsohazzard2624what do you mean most British people don’t know about the troubles
Great History lesson being taught by a guy in a great shirt.
These "craft produced" firearms are more interesting than many commercially produced ones.
Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms and Artillery at the Royal Armouries museum in the UK back at it again with another incredible shirt
"there had just been a war on" I absolutely love the way you folks phrase that. It's like you're talking about a TV show
Who is "you folks"?
@@GaiusCaligula234 I would imagine they mean Brits
Thank you for including at least a little of that clip. I'm also struck by the man pushing down the reporter. He clearly cares a lot about being there despite his equipment.
Looking at these I'm reminded of the "Ghost Shirts" of some groups of Native American people. The idea that it held some talismanic power was more important than its actual effectiveness. Also, the "Cargo Cults" of the Pacific Islands.
The placebo effect is real, and it extends beyond medicine
The gunsmiths in Khyber pass looking at these guns like "really?"
More like " Are you F$&king serious??? "
Afro- Engineering at its finest 😂
Well, its Africa...
@@disbeafakename167Please make a fully functioning firearm with only raw materials and no internet or engineering knowledge you racist
Not bad tbh, i couldn't make an functional gun to this day they could with less
Actually, the gunsmiths near the Khyber Pass were and are famous for hand making some pretty decent arms for many years, even before the Mau Mau uprising.
Usually, the pleasure of watching this series is seeing mechanical ingenuity expressed in precise craftsmanship. That's not the case for this one. :-)*
What an intriguing title - Keeper of Firearms and Artillery, Jonathan.
I would really love to know more about the Artillery at the Royal Armouries museum. Any videos on the subject?
Yes you just watched one x
@@samdrake8654 Nah, I mean real artillery. Like Fort Nelson's 18-inch Howitzer - British Railway Gun, from 1918
@@CGM_68 Oh please You are not Lord Kitchener and you really do not need such information!
@@YuckFoutube-e1z Go troll elsewhere.
My uncle served in Kenya chasing down Mau Mau. Came back to the UK with no hair. The things he'd seen had affected him badly.
In the Polish Army Museum and Warsaw Uprising Museum, I saw machine shop SMGs. Some direct copies of Stens, which they also had and some original designs. Do you have any such in your collection?
Even as late as The Troubles in Northern Ireland, big engineering company's like Harland & Wolfe had people working for them that were involved with the various paramilitary organisations and they were manufacturing similar weapons as you describe. Copy's of Sten's Sterling's as well as shotguns etc. They had the Machinery, the raw materials and of course the expertise required.
That extractor groove chamber may just be a a larger piece of tube slit length ways so it reduces in diameter to be compressed into the bore of the barrel
I was just there visiting the Royal Armories from USA! HI Jonathan!
If i remember rightly theres a rifle in a museum in n.ireland ...from that conflict....it seems they used the steering column from morris minors as a barrel ...as the internal diameter fitted the ammunition ....
Those are fantastic. I don't know why but I really like those guns. Amazing story and no one will have them in their collection. Very special pieces.
YT does not like people who post videos showing you "How to make a gun".
But this video is basically "How NOT to make a gun".
It’s a stark reminder of how the perception of force can sometimes outweigh the actual physical capabilities of a weapon.
These AI comments from fake BS channels are slightly improving, bravo!
Oh wow, an AI slop channel about guns. Now I've seen it all.
@me.ne.frego not to disappoint but I choose to study fake internet accounts and most people nowadays actively write messages for the bot account themselves inbetween or they have them just grab real comments on the thing they are posting.
Like with the mau mau guns it's just to look like the real thing more..
It probably is an extractor grove in the first one but you carry the extractor in your pocket.
Kind of like the stick provided with a Liberator pistol.
I'm coming up to the royal armouries tommorow. I've never been so it'll be nice to finally visit.
I love to see these improvised firearms too, find them fascinating
I've seen slam fired shotguns. But these things are wild. Great video sir.
Myanmar anti-junta were making their own black powder everything two years ago. I suspect there will be some interesting artifacts coming out of there at some point.
Last I check, those rebel groups have been 3D printing out 9mm submachine guns for a while now.
The idea of having rifles mostly for show among some functional rifles makes a lot of sense. Bows and spears have some range, but when they're up against firearms, the firearms can take advantage of positioning and range in a way that's near impossible to overcome. As soon as you see some rifles when you expect to be up against bows, maybe hear an actual shot or two, a lot of the tactical advantage to firearms start disappearing--the same positions have completely different risks (for instance, any kind of cover made of wood near nullifies an attack from bladed weapons, but can be very exposed, gun against gun). There are still pure weapon advantages, of course, and those are by no means small, but I like the odds a lot better with the fear of guns in the mix
Very similar "weapons" were made by LTTs/mujibhas during the Rhodesian War of 1972-79. They were most useful at night to intimidate the civil population of Tribal Trust Lands in the dark, when the "rifle" could not be seen in detail. Door bolts replicated the action and sound of a rifle bolt being cocked. They had no role in combat.
My in-laws who resided in Chula Vista California were neighbors of a Navy Seal who appreciated my interest in weapons and showed me a single shot 12 gauge crafted by the Vietcong it was interesting.
Every time I hear Johnathan say "Mau Mau", I think of the character from Apothecary Diaries holding a gun.
Hahahaha
Same 😂 actually for me its 2 things cuz people tends to call me mau mau on real life wich is hilarious
Well Feifas aka pistols are a thing, and Jinshi does get into a firefight when rescuing "his" cat, mind you, the cat already blew up half the prison she was in, I can't wait to see THAT animated
Mm poppa mm poppa mm poppa Mau Mau
Best waifu ever
One of my elderly neighbours fought in the Mau Mau campaign. He was quite an old-school racist to be honest and very dismissive of their military abilities, but felt that their ill-treatment was all wrong as it made many Kenyans move toward support of their cause, as happened in Ireland post-1916 uprising.
Firstly, that is untrue, the Mau Mau were a small cult within the Kikuyu tribe who composed about 30% of the Kenyan tribal population. The vast majority of the black population was WITH the British and they took over on independence. Secondly no one was ill treated in 1916 in Ireland, unless you are referring to the innocent men, women and children murdered by or through the actions of the fascist terrorist IRA.
Oh yes, I'm sure the other 70% of the Kenyan population were quite happy to be generally screwed over by the British . Disenfranchised from their land and reduced to 2nd class citizens in their own country.
@@Norvik_-ug3gey'know, you can't just say 'thats untrue' and expect people to believe it. I don't think you could point to a single historian who'd remotely confirm anything you've said.
British atrocities during colonial rule in both Kenya and Ireland are well documented and very extensive. I don't think you'd find a single historian who'd say that the Mau Mau were a 'small cult', whilst they never gained widespread support, tens of thousands of rural fighters gives credence that they had a fair amount of support in certain areas, not to mention the massive public outcry at their treatment during the Hola Massacre which essentially ended the British Concentration Camps there, meaning that many Kenyans actually were somewhat sympathetic, despite the Mau Mau's often brutal methods.
The statement 'No-one was ill-treated in Ireland in 1916' is so farcical, it's almost not worth engaging with. Have you heard of the USC?
@@bilalsadiq1450 History is littered with "small cults" .
The Bolsheviks , Viet Cong and Zionists for example
@@Norvik_-ug3ge And what about the Black and Tan's? I don't think a single person in Ireland would say that they did anything else other than ill treat the Irish population and most of them were exactly that, innocent Men Women and Children. Not everyone is involved in armed struggle but they were treated as if they were.
And for my normal, sane, and coherent comment: Thanks for another great video, always love to see you and/or Ian on screen with a new video, 2 of the best content/video creators I've ever seen. I appreciate the effort that's been put in, to allow broke people to see cool historical things without flying around the world like a lunatic, and possibly being spotted inside an actual museum.
(I cannot maintain the required dignity and grace to be the kind of person who frequents museums and other high-class establishments, so I'm resigned to save you the trouble of banishing me.)
The notch in the front of the barrel used as a makeshift front post sight seems like a weirdly great idea.
I congratulate the editor, on not spoiling the mystery inbeforehand
A very interesting video about an article that is very much at the boundary of what constitutes a firearm, or even a weapon.
Better a crude weapon than no weapon, because without one, a warrior isn't much use.
given the choice of using one of those or a crossbow; I would use the crossbow.
Would love a vid on the "luty."
These things make me think of the SMGs made in Poland during WW2 - looking as crude as they were, but actually working, in one sense or another
PS around that time frame there were die cast toy cannons with a small bore, you dropped a spent match down the barrel drew back the little lever, compressing the spring, and turned it to the side to lock it off, flicking the lever 'fired' the matchstick presumably at your toy soldiers
Popularly made by the toy firm Britains. I have a small collection of them and my kids still enjoy pinging matchsticks around.
thankyou for that I was a little hazy on the fine detail, I'm 71 now and the odd important detail is quite often ' in the ether"
Finn Aagaard wrote about being part of the Police Reserve when he was in college in Kenya , most of class was in it,and some times professors and teachers also , alarm went and they took off for duty . Gunsmand equipment in rear of room at the ready. He liked the .22 Hornet rifle as his choice .
Love your shirt
I literally DO have a broomhandle with a knife attached to the end. It's not the best weapon I now have, but at the time it WAS the best weapon I had. Made for a purpose, not needed now, I think it's stashed in the shed. I should dismantle it, it's quite a nice knife.
In a way these remind me of the crude southern mountain rifles.
In the states these would be sold or described generically as zulu guns. - The name always perplexed me; the complexity of these is important for a historical understanding of regional development of long arms.
I laughed at "Is it gucci?".....so typical of the way squaddies talk and think!
Would say that the "bang" effect could have been a goal too, making a loud noise could be a way to say "i’m here and i can fight as well as you" kind of message. Even though the weapon itself wouldn’t do much it’s still dangerous in an intimidating way. 🤔
Yeah these would have been more or less for that. I don't think many of them would have been actually used.
I agree with Jonathan, a spear or bow, in the hands of people as skilled at bushcraft, survival and hunting as they were, would have been far more effective at getting into an armory or getting in shipments of arms. All you gotta do is figure out how to get in close, and the rest will take care of itself.
For as many as the Mau Mau's were able to take out, I bet they had that portion of it well figured.
Coincidentally I'm going through a Mau-Mau playthrough in Kaiserredux at the moment of release. Fighting properly equipped military and police forces with a gun or guns that may or may not fire safely even once.
Well I've read accounts of European armies dealing with enemy militants while on patrol in Mali. A fool would feel powerful and safe using a piece of garbage made by someone with superstition standing in for education.
@@martkbanjoboy8853 There have been and always will be many dead fools in war.
Emotional support firearms
The Mau Mau uprising, the conflict that inadvertently led to the creation of the Star Trek character Uhura.
Uhuru - freedom, harambee - together.
One of my teachers had fought the Mau Mau and brought his souvenir captured gun into school to show us. This would have been in the early 1970s. Not sure that would be approved of these days.
With regards to access to weapons, Loyalists had plenty of weapons, Ulster Resistance imported rifles from South Africa and there’s also the weapons supplied to Loyalist Paras by the UDR and British Army etc. They didn’t have heavy guns or RPGs but the had no need for heavy weapons because they usually attacked unarmed innocent Catholics.
Really interesting film - particularly the phycological aspects of weapons and fire arms - the man risking his life for a toy gun! I would love to see more of this aspect of fire arms and weapons. Cheers, thanks so much for all your content its fantastic.
I agree that these guys would have been better off spending their time training with bows, but the psychological effects make a lot of sense. The silhouette of a firearm, the basic impression of an armed warrior- men with devices like this can kill instantly, at range, with little effort.
Firearms demand respect, and even a fake firearm continues to command respect from those around it unless they know 112% that it isn't real. If it can occasionally fire a .410 noisemaker into the air, the legitimacy of its "gun-ness" increases a millionfold.
Take a sample fake gun: a small plastic toy gun with an orange tip, and a length of small steel tube that is plugged at the back end and then inserted into the toy to allow it to show a metal "muzzle" without light showing through- I know a bit about the design requirements of a viable firearm, and you could command my respect with that thing just as well as anyone with a modern carry pistol.
I'm not willing to bet my life on the assumption that the "gun" isn't functional at least once. And, even if the tube is thin-walled and smaller than .22 of an inch- I cannot possibly know enough to discount that it could be a BB firing muzzle-loader with a gutted BBQ lighter ignition tied into the toy gun trigger, or installed as a grip or thumb trigger.
While it would be a terrible weapon, you'd still be able to lodge a BB into my face and then beat me senseless while I'm stunned.
Consider a person with no gun knowledge: As far as they know, these Mau Mau craftmade gun totems allow their user to kill at will, at great range, with no limitation. They might not even understand the need for ammo, magazine, loading, etc. and simply assume that the gun kills someone whenever the user wants. A bow can be fought, a spear can be fought- we've done so for some unknown, but significant, portion of the last million years. Guns are new, and frankly close to magic. Modern people still have trouble understanding the mechanical function of firearms that were in wide use "only" 80 years ago.
A bow or spear is a basic application of physics: Apply a large force to a small edge or point, using your own muscle power and some variant of stick (with or without string, depending on range.)
Anyone can see your muscles, can see you apply them to the sharp bits, stick, string, etc. The entire process is transparent, the force is generated on the spot with obvious movements that comply with the type of physics we intimately understand: Applying large forces to objects using the human body.
A gun obeys none of these tenets and instead conceals its source of force in a gunpowder factory somewhere, while concealing its method of action with the pure velocity of the bullet.
People without specific knowledge of guns have no idea what is going on. They see a man with a weird long club, and they learn that if he points it at you it will make a hole in your body so violently that it unleashes a horrid noise, like a pair of lightning strikes compressed into a blink.
Now Tim has a big hole in him, and you're still not sure you can land an arrow on the weird club man from this far. You're not even really sure if you're still alive, after Tim's death made the whole world shake. Every time this strange man points his club, another thunderstorm blinks by and another of your friends gains a useless chest hole. Sometimes they don't die immediately, instead making horrible noises while they die slowly.
Is he commanding invisible lightning? Is he a foreign shaman?
Or maybe a priest, praying to his terrible god to reach down and poke a hole in us with his divine finger?
Fred is still alive, he got his hole a few minutes ago. Looks like his legs don't work, though. Must have cut the hole right through his spine. The man points his club at Fred again, but instead of making another hole in Fred he made a big puff of dirt behind where Fred was laying. Not a priest or shaman, then. Neither Gods nor lightning miss their mark, and the spray of dirt reminds you of a fast arrow hitting ground... only much more so.
You start moving like a prey animal, quick and unpredictable. You've seen enough of them, watched them endlessly, and it comes naturally to copy that style of movement.
You think his weapon is a thing like a bow in the shape of a large blowgun, that somehow uses lightning or thunder to blow a small arrow very fast, faster than anything should be able to go. It seems faster than lightning itself, impossibly.
That means it will only have a slight moment to impact you, and the man must be able to point it so that it will hit you. It is too fast to arc over a hill, too fast to lay it across your path. Too fast to even see.
The invader will have to keep that terrible weapon pointed directly at you, and so you make it as difficult as possible. Changing directions, varying speed, moving low and fast- you make it far enough to put a low rise between you and the thunder-bow.
You rest for just a moment, recalling the terrain from here. This hill will cover your path until you're well out of the strange warrior's sight.
You return home, telling your elders and leaders what happened. You are a respected hunter, and leader of hunters as well. Your word is taken as truth, and it is treated as a fact: There are foreign warriors in strange clothing, wielding bows that fire arrows from a tube at impossible speed using thunder. If they can see you, they can kill you. If they can point the thunder-bow at you for more than a second or two, they will kill you or put a big hole in you.
Legend of the thunder-bow spreads.
Most treat it as myth, or a parable. Some people believe it, try to learn about it, end up actually acquiring information and some samples, drawings, ammunition.
Suddenly, they have the ability to create their own gun. The ideas are all there, basic knowledge, but without any iteration of design or testing or... anything.
It is a totem of fear, respect, and power- not meant to be used constantly as a weapon. It forces anyone (who isn't comfortably familiar with firearms) to treat the wielder like an armed soldier: capable of killing at range, at will, with great speed, and with no visible effort other than holding up the gun.
These... guns? devices? -were probably very effective in projecting their aura of fear and authority, allowing their users to cow any would-be belligerents without making an "example" via costly violence.
One could imagine a group of Mau Mau entering a small town or village, and receiving whatever they demand because they appear to be part of a "real army", or at least well armed and organized (and willing to cause unspeakable horrors in an instant with shocking ease, or perhaps unleash this hell upon your enemies.)
At the very least, an armed group that is being supplied by your community will be inclined to protect that community while there, and perhaps even in the future.
Even if not true, it's easy to believe.
And that's the end of my insane train of thought, thanks for experiencing it. I hope your brain recovers quickly from my jumbled mess of incoherent words.
The idea that the British troops are all magic stick wielding shamans is hilarious
... They knew how guns worked. They weren't morons, they had functional ones they used... They fought and won a war against the British. You realize right? Can't believe I just watched a full grown adult suggest human beings couldn't figure out a weapon you can teach children to use. They likely used to manufacture much nicer ones than this themselves.
Delusional bigotry on full display. Just bizarre how far you went without checking your basic assumptions.
I posit that both the KSA and KIM inscriptions are the initials of the owner or possibly the manufacturer.
Jonathan, I don't know if you've ever done them on the channel before, but would it be possible to do an episode on Doune Pistols? I've always loved them & think they are a beautiful & interesting bit of firearms history. I also live pretty close to Doune which is also famous for its castle which featured heavily in Monty Python & the Holy Grail so a bit of a personal interest for me.
A very interesting set of weapons.
2:18 when he said “gun shaped”, I thought he said ‘dog shit’!!
I had to rewind it and listen again.
Main acronym on rifles would be K.C.A. Kikuyu Central Association, so K.S.A could be Kikuyu South Association. It looks as though it might have originally been KCA, but has been changed later.
My theory is it's a tongue in cheek manufacturers mark ripping on BSA lol
where is the northern ireland weapons video i cant find it
Century Arms' quality has really gone downhill since the 50s.
Not gona lie these firing was the biggest surprise for me. I was expecting these to be melee weapons.
SSP I believe means senior superintendent of police.
I saw some of these in Regimental museum, and I was impressed with the inginuity.
I believe they are still used in some countries ie. Borneo, where indiginious peoples aren't allowed access do to the rulers... They use lead from toothpaste tubes etc. and crushed matchheads
I've always assumed the Armouries' collection is in a warehouse in Leeds somewhere, and IWM's is somewhere in London, but how much travel does Jonathan have to do? I promise I'm not trying to do a heist, I just want to make sure Jonathan gets a decent lunch when he's down here in the Big Smoke.
21:05 I agree, and I would say that fake guns do accomplish one real world effect: at many distances the enemy doesn't know it is fake and will target you anyways. Especially at a technological disadvantage carrying a decoy gun is very brave.
Interesting background
Ian has similar
Looks to be made with a hammer , chisel and hacksaw.
If they had a drill press it would have been much more elegant.
The pistols I made as a teenager were.
so is this the equivalent at the time to the craft produced guns used in myanmar?
Not even close, these are some of the most crude things produced..probably ever. The era-equivalent probably would have been something akin to a Luty or slam-fire pipe shotgun. These are just..wildly awful by any stretch of the imagination.
seeing the subject of this video I was wondering do you have any examples of Philipino 'slam fire' shotguns, at their crudest two pieces of pipe with a firing pin but some were taken to almost high art status originally used by gangs then later to resist the Japanese
"The British museum has the largest collection of these. "
Oh you don't say? XD
21:10
some to think about
G’day mates👍
Good morning to you sir
Howdy!
I had no idea Jonathan was a Deadpool fan
Given the blocked-up trigger hole and more professional looking woodwork, I think that that second one may be the stock of a toy gun re-used for the real deal.
Got a feeling these would be more dangerous to the shooter than the person being shot at
My dad did a 30-day safari in Kenyah his Professional hunter was from Pakistan he introduce my dad to one of the Professional hunters who worked with the Counter terrorism groups who went into Mau Mau Camps in Black Face at night.
That first gun, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near it when it was fired. The person most in danger would be the person holding it at the time.
The ammo is why the british counted every round in the country. All brass had to be accounted for.
The Mau Mau uprising was of concern to the United States because of competition for Africa with the Soviet s. It was a part of the Cold War. To the rest of the world it was an indigenous Revolution against British Colonial rule. In any case, my long deceased former father in law, when in the Air Force, flew arms purchased by the CIA into Kenya from
an eastern block nation. The arms were almost exclusively of WW2 Russian origin. The Mau Mau were known to make their own arms and capture arms. And now here we are, 70 years later giving arms to the Ukraine to fight Russia.
This is how Americans feel when people talk poorly about America, complex, quality, industrial made firearms in comparison to their own countries less standardized production methods.
I think the liberator pistol is that best type for resistance armament. One boom and it's UPGRADE TIME! But a sharp piece of steel will suffice. I have a feeling that Truly Patriotic British MEN are putting a lot of things together as I type this. And FRENCH men and so on. People are once again getting tired of their meager existence while others live off of their labors. I find it ironic that he chose now to display home made weapons.
At 3:50, I didn't know the british had a civil war.🤔
Well I guess the English civil war happened in the British Isles.
"Flick it out of the notch mechanism" (FOOTN ) or a Ferguson mechanism.
Is KSA short for Kenya/Kikuyu Small Arms? As an equivalent of the BSA (British Small Arms) mark on a lot of the British weapons. Such things are surprisingly important for a culture where spiritual/magical power is believed in and respected. It is the form of the object that has power. however these do appear to have been intended to actually be fired and have some thought given to functionality but are obviously being made by people without the tools or skill to work to the required tolerances as well as being magical objects.
There's a chance, small but not zero, that someone watched this video and ran to tell their grandpa where are those guns he said not to be removed from the armory.
Calling the troubles "The Northen Ireland Experience" is one of the most messed up things I think Jonathan has ever said
My take from living for most of a year in Belfast during the "Troubles" was that almost everyone wanted a peaceful solution, except the provos, loyalists & crown. The most popular idea for a solution was to be an independent EU state that is neither part of the UK nor part of the Republic of Ireland...
But he's not referring to the entire Troubles, just the experience of the PIRA in acquiring firearms. It's an entirely accepted term in this context
Time to read Something of Value and Uhuru again , as well as other books and articles of Ruark .
And his Safari movie he mentions them some times there also
Better to have a bad gun than no gun at all
Incredible History
Many Wonderful lessons in Memetics here
Goodest work
KSA perhaps Kenia Salvation Army. They had plenty of weird names and divisions so who knows if any of that even had a meaning ...
I'm not sure which end of these guns it would be worse to be on.
If you pointed one of those at someone. You might be able to get them to comply. At a distance it might make your force look stronger than it is…
Did they use cut down .303 brass, with a lighter powder charge. Home made projectiles wedged down the smooth bore barrell. A noise maker in a sense.
The 2nd shotgun i think was intended to use the rim of the shell to fill that gap. .410 is not much more than a pistol load.
I make my own home crafted firearms from scrap from time to time. Keep my practice up. I have also fired some rather sketchy firearms in my time. I do not think I would try fireing these, haha.
Actually impressive how functional they actually are! They have both a functioning firing system and a locking bolt. Neither are good but they are there!
I would guess the reason they worked so hard to copy the factory made rifles was to fool their enemies at a distance more than some kind of psychological perception of firearms.
Something that's used to get a better something.