The Welrod: World War II Suppressed Spy Pistol

By Logan Metesh

U.S.A. – -(Ammoland.com)- Spies have always had access to some of the coolest gadgets and firearms, and the integrally suppressed pistol known as the Welrod is just one example. It was designed during World War II by Major Reeves at Station IX, which was a Special Operations Executive (SOE) research and development facility. The SOE was a British organization similar to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) in the United States, which was the precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

The SOE facility where Reeves designed the gun was located near the town of Welwyn, and the first three letters of the town’s name gave the prefix to the name of many Station IX inventions. The Welrod followed the same naming scheme and combined Welwyn with the word “rod” – possibly because it didn’t really look like a gun; it looked more like, well, a rod.

Made by the Birmingham Small Arms Company, the Welrod was quite unique. It was – obviously – designed to blend …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand