# The "Carlo"/Carl Gustav-designmachine gun: terrorists/criminals use in US/Europe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 16, 2016, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175 "2016-03-16T16:54:51Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![griffin1977](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@griffin1977](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/griffin1977)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/61 "2017-05-28T18:34:49Z")
The excellent War Is Boring blog did one of their “gun porn” articles on this very subject recently: > **[An Egyptian Copy of a Swedish Gun Became an Assassin’s Weapon](https://warisboring.com/an-egyptian-copy-of-a-swedish-gun-became-an-assassins-weapon/)** > > In the early 1950s the Egyptian government acquired the production license and manufacturing equipment and plans for the Swedish m/45 submachine gun — the “Swedish K.” The state-owned Carl Gustaf factory had developed the m/45, a blowback submachine... They are a very interesting blog on all things military, I find their historical and international relations pieces some of the best reporting out their. Their pieces on the the minutia on some particular variant of gun (which I’d would call “gun porn”), I don’t enjoy as much. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [May 28, 2017, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/62 "2017-05-28T19:27:13Z")
> [@Isosleepy](#): > > The paint job in radiator-eggshell-off-white maybe to preserve the element of surprise a second or two longer: it doesn’t scream “gun”. Might just be aesthetic. The gun is made from whatever scraps they had around. It probably has markings from its previous life, rust spots, machining marks, etc. If you’re the machine shop, you want to sell the gun for a high price, but if the gun looks crappy then it won’t sell for as much. You paint it so at least it has a consistent finish. Eggshell white happened to be what they had. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2018, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/63 "2018-06-17T18:16:46Z")
[This pic](https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2018/06/WhatsApp-Image-2018-06-17-at-16.15.14.jpeg) just showed up of a seized weapon. What the hell is it, besides something that looks like it can shoot bullets? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/64 "2018-07-11T19:49:28Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > The [P-45 Liberator pistol](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FP-45_Liberator) seems germane to this discussion - they were made in large quantities for about about $2.50 each during WWII and dropped to resistance groups; the idea was they’d be used to shoot an enemy soldier and then the firer would take _their_ gun. > > There’s not a lot of evidence they were ever actually used for their intended purpose, though. Bump for a new x-ref on this: [Why are 3D printers so relevant to plastic gun making?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=708192), which here and there refers to this OP general topic, and specifically related to **Martini** ’s post cited here, in #31. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2018, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/65 "2018-07-11T20:01:59Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > …and specifically related to **Martini** ’s post cited here, in #31. Actually, I don’t really know about the specific technology, and I should have added that the political fanatic cited in the plastic-gun thread probably only _named_ his design “The Liberator” for the original’s mighty fine historical setting and purpose, as opposed to having jack shit to do with the real thing. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/66 "2018-08-01T16:40:04Z")
Bump. I’m sorry for a second x-ref to a [plastic-gun thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=708192), where some of the points here are inevitably made, but a my query on a comment from there more properly belongs here, where the topic is tools and tech for cobbled-together metal guns: **Aruvqan** [writes](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=21121541&postcount=62): > [@](#): > > … the classic zip gun was made from common hardware store items, a tube of piping of the correct diameter to seat a shell, with a grip welded or duct taped in place forming the ‘pistol’ format, and a sturdy elastic band to drive the short shaft of metal that is the firing pin against the primer element of the shell. I could walk downstairs in my barn and cobble one together in about 10 minutes of rummaging. Not elegant, but functionable. I forgot about the term/thing “zip-gun.” Is it merely a dated word for “cobbled-together handgun” (:)) or is it some kind of tech genre named, no-doubt, here upthread, but with the step “add elastic band?” What are its ballistic characteristics? ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/67 "2018-08-01T17:36:51Z")
I grew up in NYC. We made zip guns with automobile radio antennas, obtainable while walking down the street, a barrel bolt, a block of wood, and a few screws. Oh, and a rubber band. Preferred ammo was 22 Short. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/68 "2018-08-01T17:59:28Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 😕 “Mashrek”? The middle East minus Israel. As opposed to the Mahgreb, Arabic-speaking North Africa. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/69 "2018-08-01T23:28:00Z")
Interesting. I’ve never encountered the term before, although I get the etymology. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 1, 2018, 11:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/70 "2018-08-01T23:45:17Z")
So Israel and Egypt are neither Mashreqi nor Maghrebi? ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/71 "2018-08-02T00:32:58Z")
And what about Arabia? (Sorry for this tangent.) ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/72 "2018-08-02T01:20:45Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > … although I get the etymology. 😕 I don’t… ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/73 "2018-08-02T01:22:02Z")
> [@GaryM](#): > > I grew up in NYC. We made zip guns with automobile radio antennas, obtainable while walking down the street, a barrel bolt, a block of wood, and a few screws. Oh, and a rubber band. Preferred ammo was 22 Short. And here you grew up to be a respectable Charter Member of SDMB. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![GaryM](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garym/32/241_2.png) [@GaryM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaryM)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/74 "2018-08-02T01:27:46Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > And here you grew up to be a respectable Charter Member of SDMB. 🙂 Not so sure about that. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/75 "2018-08-02T01:35:12Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > 😕 I don’t… [Sharq](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%B4%D8%B1%D9%82#Arabic) = east [Garb](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%D8%BA%D8%B1%D8%A8#Arabic) = west (in this context) ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [August 2, 2018, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/76 "2018-08-02T13:58:02Z")
> [@DPRK](#): > > So Israel and Egypt are neither Mashreqi nor Maghrebi? Egypt is part of the Mahgreb. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/77 "2020-01-22T02:37:43Z")
New crop [here](https://static.timesofisrael.com/www/uploads/2020/01/WhatsApp_Image_2020-01-20_at_22.38.13_3.jpeg) (1/20/20, Times of Israel). Are all these things functional? I can’t even make out the requisite chambers in some. Plus, they are rusty from storage/hiding, or that’s the way they are (use what you got)? ---
**Author:** ![Isosleepy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/isosleepy/32/479_2.png) [@Isosleepy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isosleepy)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/78 "2020-01-22T02:58:52Z")
The ones on the right third or so are mainly parts, it looks like, but the others look to have everything you need to fire at least one round, assuming not-visible springs. While untreated sheet metal will corrode when exposed to heat and corrosive ammo, these look so badly corroded that I suspect some spent at least some time in frequent contact with water. Possibly salt water. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 3:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175/79 "2020-01-22T03:28:17Z")
Yeah probably about the rust–seeing that this bunch is arrayed on one piece of blue material, and that the story said 64 Carlo guns were seized–perhaps this was one batch retrieved from water. Just a guess. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-carlo-carl-gustav-designmachine-gun-terrorists-criminals-use-in-us-europe/749175.md?page=3)