An Cosantóir

www.military.ie THE DEFENCE FORCES MAGAZINE | 17 masters, as there was a great variety of rifles, some from raids on RIC or military barracks, some purchased from British soldiers – or captured in ambushes. There were various revolvers and automat- ics, as well as many locally sourced shotguns, which were only of worth in close-quarter exchanges. Among the miscellany of weapons were those captured from the Crown forces - RIC carbines and army Lee Enfield SMLEs. Oc- casionally Lewis light machine guns were captured and used to good effect in ambushes, particularly in Co. Cork. Hotchkiss light machine guns were also captured (two were taken from the Peer- less armoured car used in the attempt to free Sean Mac Eoin in May 1921). There were a wide variety of side-arms. Many Webleys had been captured. A prized possession of IRA units was a 'Peter the Painter' (named after a Latvian anarchist who reportedly used one in the Sidney Street Siege in London in 1911). This was the Mauser C96 semi-automatic pistol with detachable wooden stock, which gave it the stability of a short-barrelled rifle. It had been used to good effect during the 1916 Rising and was also called the 'Broomhandle' due to its round wooden handle. Collins' Squad, in its battle against the detectives of 'G' Division, commonly used .455 Webleys or .45 Colts, but also Luger Parabellums. In the early days, they used lighter weapons. Detective-Sergeant Smyth was one of their first victims. On 30 July 1919 he was shot but was able to flee, and died weeks later from his wounds. Jim Slattery of the Squad noted: 'We never used .38 guns again; we used .45 guns after that lesson'. The .45 calibre Thompson subma- chine gun arrived in early 1921. It had been designed for close- quarter trench work in the World War, but it was inaccurate over 50m. It had a legendary reputation, but in reality was not very effective and did not make much difference by the end of the War of Independence, nor during the subsequent Civil War. Harry Boland and comrades had purchased 653 Thompsons in the US. Three had been smuggled in in May 1921 and one was test fired in a tunnel at the Casino in Marino by the Squad and others, including Tom Barry, who was visiting Dublin. On 13 June 1921 Customs seized 495 Thompsons on a ship at New Jersey, as they were about to be transported to Ireland. The rest were smuggled to Ireland after the Truce. A Thompson was used in action for the first time on 8 July 1921, when Pádraig O'Connor led an attack, from a Ballyfermot bridge, on a troop train. Sev- eral soldiers were wounded. The IRA also manufactured grenades in improvised factories spread around the country. Many thousands were produced but quality was variable. As the war progressed, IRA engineers gained more expertise in the use of mines. Their efficacy was demon- strated during the Rathcoole, Co. Cork ambush where mines were successfully exploded under an armoured Lancia and two lorries. In Dublin an experimental mortar was developed by Captain Matt Furlong - he had been in charge of the principal Dublin grenade factory at Parnell Street. Black powder was used to fire a mortar bomb from the mortar tube. In October 1920, trials were conducted in Co. Meath. Furlong first experimented using dummy shells. Then he fired a live round, which exploded in the tube, severely injuring him – he later died. In summary, despite being short of arms and equipment during the period 1919-1921, the IRA fought a successful guerrilla war against the Crown forces, armed with a miscellany of weapons and, fortuitously in some cases, combat-proven guns. The IRA had to arm themselves using their own resources, and were con- stantly improving their guerrilla tactics in an empirical manner. As the war ended they were also advancing to more sophisticated tactics, such as gaining mastery of land mines. If the Truce had not been signed in July 1921, the IRA probably would have been able to use these to devastate the Crown forces armoured cars and trucks, essential for their mo- bility and control across the country. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Michael Barry is an author and historian living in Dublin. His latest book, The Fight for Irish Freedom: An Illustrated History of the War of Independence was published in October 2018. His other books are Courage Boys, We are Winning: an Illustrated History of the 1916 Rising (2015), which contains over 550 photographs, and The Green Divide: an Illustrated History of the Irish Civil War (2014), have all received very high praise. They are available from www.books.ie and all leading bookshops. Mauser C96 semi-auto- matic pistol with detach- able wooden stock, which gave it the stability of a short bar- relled rifle. The American designed Lewis ma- chine gun, of .303 calibre. With a pan magazine, it was air cooled using an alumin- ium barrel radiator. An ex- perimental mortar of IRA Captain Matt Furlong, who was killed after it exploded when being tested. Webley MkVI, issued to the British Army and the RIC. Reliable weapon the .303 Lee Enfield SMLE Mk III. British army issue, many were cap- tured by the IRA. The .45 calibre Thompson subma- chine-gun. It was not as effective as its reputation might suggest.

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