Weapons of the Salvadoran Civil War
An eclectic variety of weapons was used by both sides in the Salvadoran Civil War. The two factions involved were:
- The Salvadoran Army, which was part of the Military of El Salvador and was backed by the United States, Taiwan and Israel.
- The Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front, which was probably more commonly known by its Spanish acronym FMLN. It was an umbrella organization or alliance of five left-wing guerrilla groups backed by Cuba
The Salvadoran military used Western weaponry, mainly American and Israeli but also the former Salvadoran public security forces used German and Taiwanese armament. During the early part of the war, the FMLN likewise were equipped largely with Western arms and munitions, though as the war went on, Eastern Bloc weaponry played a larger role.
Weapons of the Salvadoran Government Forces
Small arms
Battle rifles
- G3 - Originally the standard service rifle of the Salvadoran Army before being replaced by the M-16A1/A2. The first G3s were of West German origin; however, when the U.S. began increasing small arms deliveries to the El Salvador, they purchased surplus rifles from Portugal and gave them as military aid.
Assault rifles
- M16A1/A2 - The M16A1/A2 was initially issued to elite units before being issued to the rest of the army when it became the standard rifle. The first large-scale delivery occurred in 1981 with 11,868 units delivered. A total of 32,374 M16A1/A2 rifles were delivered between 1980 and 1993. The U.S. began to replace the G3 rifles in the hands of the Salvadorian Army in 1981 with the delivery of 11,868 AR-15A1 R613 (M16A1); followed by another 20,743 M16s purchased with FMS funds for El Salvador in 1982. Many of these “new” rifles were actually leftovers from Vietnam. Eventually, another 45,160 AR-15A1 R613 followed, to include more than 500 CAR-15A1 R639 (XM177E2 Commando – typified as M16A2 for El Salvador) to equip the Mechanized Infantry and officer Corps and hundreds of CAR-15A1 R653 (M16A1) Carbines starting in 1985, and even brand-new M16s supplied by Springfield Armory.[1]
- CAR-15: Colt Automatic Rifle-15 Military Weapons System or CAR-15. The CAR-15: Colt Automatic Rifle-15 Military Weapons System or CAR-15 was deliveres to all military branches of the Armed Forces of El Salvador and also was used with attached M-203 grenade lunchers.
- Colt Commando (model 733, note M16A2-style brass deflector and forward assist), the USA military aid to El Salvador included the supply of this Car-15 variant that was used extensively by the Armed Forces of El Salvador. They also were used with attached M-203 grenade lunchers.
The BIRI (immediately reaction infantry battalion used this variant even with the M-203 attached).
- Galil
- HK33
- T65 assault Rifle: Taiwan has extensive diplomatic and military ties with El Salvador and during the civil war and before the civil war, the Republic of China (Taiwan) sold weaponry including T65 to the former Salvadoran security forces. Including T65 rifles. Taiwan trained Salvadoran military officers in the civil war, even after the civil war, Taiwan gives military advise and training to its diplomatic allies including its Latin American diplomatic allies, including El Salvador.
- M16A1
- M16A2
- 500 CAR-15A1 R639 (XM177E2 Commando – typified as M16A2 for El Salvador). Salvadorian officers insist that they were the first ones to match an M203 to an “M16A2” (a carbine local designation is today’s M4). The prototype is said to have been presented to a USSF officer, who in turn passed the idea to Colt.
- 11,868 AR-15A1 R613 (M16A1); followed by another 20,743 M16s purchased with FMS funds for El Salvador in 1982. Many of these “new” rifles were actually leftovers from Vietnam. Eventually, another 45,160 AR-15A1 R613 followed, to include more than 500 CAR-15A1 R639 (XM177E2 Commando – typified as M16A2 for El Salvador) to equip the Mechanized Infantry and officer Corps and hundreds of CAR-15A1 R653 (M16A1) Carbines starting in 1985, and even brand-new M16s supplied by Springfield Armory.
- 45,160 AR-15A1 R613
- Hundreds of CAR-15A1 R653 (M16A1) Carbines starting in 1985, and even brand-new M16s supplied by Springfield Armory.
Sniper rifles
Submachine guns
Machine guns
Hand grenades
Grenade launchers
Weapons of the FMLN
Small arms
- TT-33
- Makarov PM
- FEG-PA-63
- M1911 Captured
Battle rifles
- FN FAL Most of the FAL rifles used by the guerrillas were traced by their serial numbers to rifles that were sold by Belgium to Cuba during the late Batista and early Castro years.
- H&K G3 Captured
Assault rifles
- M16A1 The bulk of the M16A1 rifles captured by government force from the guerrillas were also traced from their serial numbers to shipments sent by the United States to the South Vietnamese military prior to the collapse of the Saigon government.
- AK-47 (Included both the Soviet original and North Korean Type 58)
- AKM (Variants also used include the Hungarian AK-63, East German MpiKMS-72, and North Korean Type 68)
- Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965
- Type 56
- Type 63 assault rifle
- Type 58 assault rifle
- T65 Captured
- HK33 Captured
- Galil Captured
- CAR-15 Captured
Carbines
Sniper rifles
Submachine guns
Pistols
- Pa-63
- Tokarev TT-33 Includes the North Korean Type 68 derivation.
Machine guns
- RPK Versions used include the Yugoslav and Romanian types.
- PKM
- RPD
- M60 Captured
- FN MAG Captured
- HK21 Captured
- M2HB Captured
Hand grenades
Heavy weapons
Anti-tank weapons
Anti-air weapons
References
- 1 2 http://blogs.miis.edu/sand/files/2011/02/elsbrief.pdf - Source: Federation of American Scientists, Arms Sales Monitoring Project
See also
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