In this article, Will Dabbs, MD, examines the covert pistols design and history.
Special thanks to Dylan Casey for providing the original photography for this article.
He leaned against the stone wall of a modest apartment block and ran his fingers through his unkempt hair.
The Welrod was carried by British SOE personnel assigned to enemy territory. Its discreet appearance and low noise signature made it ideal for certain kinds of duties.
Passersby, both German and Dutch, subconsciously gave him a wide berth, perfect for his clandestine work.
His mother had been from Eindhoven, and he spoke the language without an accent.
His dad was a Limey who saw to it he was raised in London and schooled as an Englishman.
Pictured above is Welrod Mk II in .32 ACP as carried by Col. David de Crespigny Smiley, British SOE. Smiley served in Albania and the Far East during World War II. Image: IWM
When war broke out in late 1939, his country had come calling.
Now amidst an unpleasant light drizzle, Captain Upman simply waited.
Underneath his dirty rags, his heart felt like it would beat out of his chest.
This is a page from Col. Smiley’s code book from his time in Nazi-controlled Albania during the Second World War. Image: IWM
Twenty meters away, a beautiful young woman lingered in the shadows.
Grietje Spaans looked like a movie star and moved with a natural grace.
That and an uncanny ability to take life like a psychopath had gotten her this job.
The Welrod pistol was a simple design that proved to be exceptionally effective. It is said by some to be the quietest pistol ever made.
Upman, for his part, actively ignored her.
SS Hauptsturmfuhrer Joachim Kleckt commanded the local Einsatzgruppen of the Schutzstaffel.
Kleckt and his men were tasked with rounding up downed Allied aircrew and suppressing local dissent.
This Welrod Mk II is chambered in 7.65×17 (.32 ACP). As it did not have a trigger guard, it could pass as a bicycle pump with its magazine removed.
They also processed Dutch Jews for disposition to the camps.
Joachim Kleckt was a man of expansive appetites.
This night that vice would ultimately kill him.
Kleckt maintained a flat in this posh building, and he was diagnosably punctual.
At 1835, he stepped out of his heavy Mercedes and made his way toward the front door.
His driver pulled the car around to the attached garage behind the structure.
All versions of the Welrod pistol had a grip safety. It is the thin panel located to the rear of the magazine/pistol grip in the photo above.
For a pregnant moment, Kleckt, Upman, and Spaans were alone.
Men could not help but flirt with her.
It was like a superpower.
Many British SOE operatives, American OSS officers and partisans in occupied territories made good use of these suppressed pistols.
Now lightheaded with anxiety, Cpt.
Upman pushed off of the wall and staggered purposefully toward the gleaming couple.
The little gun coughed and punched a single black .32-caliber hole in the shocked mans forehead.
The Welrod used a bolt action system with a pair of locking lugs at the rear of the bolt. These were more than adequate for the pressures created in these pistols.
Kleckt fell as though struck with a sledge.
They rifled the Germans pockets and left him to die alone.
Even shot through the head, that could take a while.
The Welrod design used a magazine that served as a pistol grip. The plastic-like coating is a hard rubber known as Ebonite.
The Mission
World War II changed everything about life on planet Earth.
The worlds industrialized nations dealt death on a scale not seen before or since.
This herculean enterprise manifest on scales both large and small.
The Welrod’s ejection port is on top of the gun. As the shooter operates the bolt, spent shells are ejected up and out.
In America, we churned out 6.1 millionM1 Carbines.
The Russians built six millionPPSh submachine guns.
The Germans made 1.1 millionMP-40 SMGs.
Welrod magazines had a catch on their rear that hooked into the magazine well. The magazines were coated in Ebonite and served as the gun’s grip.
Meanwhile, Major Hugh Q.A.
Major Reeves was building what was arguably the worlds most effective assassins pistol.
The formal appellation for this weird little gun was the Hand Firing unit.
In this photo of a disassembled Welrod, you can see the pistol’s vented barrel and the external sleeve forming the expansion chamber and holding the metal baffles and rubber wipes.
Colloquially it was the Welrod.
Wel was drawn from Welwyn Garden City.
Rod was gangland slang for a firearm.
In this close-up photo of the Welrod Mk 2, you can see the gas ports in the barrel and threads for the suppressor sleeve.
This incongruous combination ensured that prying eyes did not find the suppressor-equipped guns development particularly interesting.
The Welrod was intentionally designed not to look much like a gun.
In fact, its users frequently referred to the weapon as a bicycle pump.
The Welrod Mk I, shown above, added a trigger guard and redesigned the front sight, trigger and grip safety. Image: IWM
It consisted of a roughly foot-long 1.25 diameter steel cylinder to which was affixed a stubby magazine well.
This well accepted a detachable single-stack magazine that also doubled as a pistol grip.
The magazine was covered with a rubber material called Ebonite for reliable purchase when sweaty or anxious.
The Welrod was carried by an unknown number of American OSS operatives during World War II and issued to Special Forces troops during the Cold War.
The weapon was originally chambered in .32 ACP.
Later versions were in 9mm.
The .32 ACP magazine carried eight rounds, while that of the 9mm packed six.
The .32 ACP variant utilized a modified Colt 1903 magazine.
The barrel was just over 3 long and featured a series of ports.
These ports, particularly on the early .32 ACP versions, were not meant to slow the bullet appreciably.
This chamber was followed by either 14 or 18 steel baffles interspersed with three rubber wipes.
These wipes were simply solid circular rubber disks.
Firing the first round punched holes through all three.
This rig was good for about 15 shots before the rubber disks began to degrade.
To fire the gun, you would first insert a loaded magazine.
The magazine catch was actually built into the magazine itself rather than the weapon.
Empty cases would be automatically ejected out the top.
Pressing the knob forward and locking it in place seated a cartridge.
In the earliest versions, there was no trigger guard.
This was the recommended method of engagement.
The effective range was published as 23 meters during the day and 7 meters at night.
The use of these sealed wipes made the Welrod one of the most stealthy suppressed firearms ever made.
Around 2,800 copies were produced during the war beginning in 1942.
The Brits made another 11,000 afterwards.
The last known operational use of the Welrod was during the 1991 Gulf War.
Welrods are rumored to be maintained in Special Air Service (SAS) armories even today.
Much of what you see is the Welrods suppressor.
These expansion chambers all worked to cool the gasses and help mask the sound of firing the gun.
Clean Guns
Original Welrod handguns were devoid of any markings or serial numbers.
However, any pistols that are in private hands may be marked in accordance to local laws.
Likewise, any laws on suppressors or silencers will apply to this firearm.
The Welrod also saw fairly significant service with the British Special Air Service (SAS).
The quirky little guns were also popular with U.S. MACV-SOG troops operating in Vietnam.
Welrod silenced pistols are generally classed into two versions: the Mk I and the Mk II or IIA.
Weirdly, the two versions almost seem backward in their naming, creating some difficulty when conducting research.
Original guns were chambered in 32 ACP.
These are known as the Welrod Mark II and Mark IIA.
Subsequent guns chambered for the more powerful 9mm are known as the Mark I.
The 9mm Mk I was noisier but more effective.
The Mk I also included a pressed steel trigger guard and improved grip safety.
Weird, crude, and timelessly effective, the Welrod is James Bond kit for the real world.
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