What Are These? -Burmese Long Guns

[CWL]

Folks,
What are those long firearms that look like big pipes in this AFP Photo of the Burmese military in their squashing of recent Democracy actvities?

I can see the M79 bloop guns that they got from the US in the past, but I have no clue what those "pipe" guns are, could they be some sort of modified 40mm launcher?

If anyone doesn't know, Burma (Myanmar) has a 400,000-500,000 man army used solely for the repression of their own people.

 

[Jim Watson]

They look like the old Greener Police Gun. A single shot Martini action 14 gauge shotgun with full length stock and metal nose cap in case you wanted to knock out a window with it.

Yes, 14 gauge; bottlenecked from a 12 gauge head diameter, the primer surrounded by a deep groove. The Martini striker had two "horns" on either side of the firing pin to drop into the groove in the proper shell but would not fire a 12 gauge if it were crammed in. Barney Fife gun control in case of theft.

The guy on the near end of the row looks like he is carrying a 37mm tear gas gun, not a M79 40 mm grenade launcher.

 

[AirPower]

While we're on the topic, those guys must have the most ragtagged army weaponry on earth. Look at these. bolt action and AR together. Also what's the other black long guns...look like SKS converted to pistol grip.

 

[DMK]

They do have a bit of everything. Logistics must be a nightmare.

I see one M16A1, next to him an Enfield No.1 (maybe it's a 2A?), some kind of 5.56 AK (can clearly see the distinctive safety lever) seems kinda common, and the guy all the way to the left in the left pic seems to have some kind of Subgun. The guy in the front row center of that pic has something that has a FAL like buttstock, but seems to have a 5.56 magazine (on second thought, I think it's an AK with a glare making the stock look thinner in the middle).

 

[CWL]

Burma has a mishmash of military weaponry. After their freedom from English colonialism, they were equipped by the USA ostensibly to combat drug production & communism -so that explains the M16s, helicopters, jeeps and tube artillery they have, but this all ended when it became obvious that the weapons were being used to suppress democracy and ethnic minorities (Burma is a big-time producer & trafficker of amphetamines thruout SEAsia).

After losing their US armaments, Burma now primarily buys their weaponry from China and India. Nothing sophisticated, mostly small arms and light artillery.

 

[PercyShelley]

Hey, you only need to standardize your hardware so much if the heaviest lifting you're up to is beating up a bunch of monks.

Thanks for the pictures CWL, interesting stuff.

 

[jlbraun]

I saw some G3's earlier.

 

[AirPower]

Now the next question is.......why the red or blue or yellow "scarf"??? To cover up the face when you assault the civilians?? But why different colors.

 

[Avenger]

I'm betting on unit, precinct, or district ID colors. Notice that the guys with the same colors are staying together in groups, other colors are generally in their own group, even when other colors are nearby they tend to cluster together (I'm also looking at pictures on other websites of this).