The riot gun with the most 80s promo video ever? With firearms & weaponry expert Jonathan Ferguson

This is very much an anti-riot gun that's had two lives. That of which it was intended from it's development in the late 70s, and then it's popular culture life as a wholly different weapon altogether.
Join Jonathan as he examines both of these stories as well as some incredible promotional footage from the team at Enfield.
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We are the Royal Armouries, the United Kingdom's national collection of arms and armour. Discover what goes on behind the scenes and watch our collection come to life. See combat demonstrations, experience jousting and meet our experts.
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[@dfpguitar]

Its amazing to see how confident they were that aviator sunglasses and white boiler suits would make them look menacing abd high tech in the promo.

[@Theduckwebcomics]

Very "Doctor Who" haha!

[@leobuana7430]

​@@TheduckwebcomicsUntil Covid 19 roll out and make the look pretty familiar sight in certain "people republic"

[@RoyalArmouriesMuseum]

Are you saying you *didn't* find it threatening?

[@hackerx7329]

@@RoyalArmouriesMuseum I was waiting for the standard pew pew sound effects and hand colored "laser" beams to start showing up.

[@dougcross8609]

The AR-6, according to the way I was trained, would be for deterring a close range attacker, such as one who is beating on the front line with a weapon. We actually had a pistol launcher, which could be poked forward between two officers on the line and discharged against the torso (discharge against the face is too dangerous) to liberally coat the attacker with OC or CS, which one would hope to be an effective deterrent.

[@DrVictorVasconcelos]

How is it gonna help if you give the attacker a pistol? That makes no sense. I mean, if a "granade launcher" launches a granade, there's only one thing that a "pistol launcher" can do.

[@christophedlauer1443]

@@DrVictorVasconcelos Well - launch a pistol at sufficient speed and you would deter the attacker through sufficient blunt trauma. Otherwise - " a pistol sized launcher" :p

[@noth606]

​@@DrVictorVasconcelos Well, if it launched a pistol together with CS as mentioned, the only thing the pistol would serve as, is a very painful projectile. I've been around spicy CS enough to get a good handle on what it does and how fast, that I'm certain of how efficiently it removes the will to fight from individuals in close proximity to whatever is emitting it 🙂. I have subjected myself to CS etc as well, to get "used to it" as much as that's a thing... People who haven't been around that stuff think it's something different than it really is, your body reacts to the stuff - it's not optional or a voluntary thing... It quite literally makes hard grown men cry, and quite often loose their lunch too. At least the military stuff does, quite nasty. Imagine that first, and then you get a sarcastic cunt like me, with a shiteating grin, telling you that mommy can't help you now - you've gone too far... Deterrence 😀

[@Orandu]

Aragorn fell in love with Arwen at first sight.

[@ChaosPootato]

She literally knocked him out first he saw her

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

You could disperse a lot of orcs with a rapid salvo of 37mm teargas shells.

[@Treblaine]

"... and at first mistook her for a grenade launcher, thinking he had fallen into an action movie."

[@tednjessdamman7089]

She probably changed his diapers.

[@kestrels-in-the-sky]

@@0neDoomedSpaceMarineok so you get to take a modern day weapon that requires only one person to operate into LOTR assuming ammo is no issue what you taking because I’m thinking some LMG

[@guillaume4519]

Arwen, the LOTR anti riot system.

[@connormatthews522]

Arwen will remind me of LOTR until the day I die haha

[@PrototypeSpaceMonkey]

Man, I can just imagine a gun nerd and a LotR nerd deciding a name for their daughter and both of them thinking they got one over on the other.

[@pickeljarsforhillary102]

Gotta control orcs somehow.

[@connormatthews522]

Killing it Jonathon, thanks for sharing. Do you think you'll ever do a quick tour of your part of the museum? Super interested

[@johannlabertaler6095]

Ah, a fellow Jonathon enjoyer. That's when you do a full marathon of J. Ferguson videos.

[@sim.frischh9781]

Not killing it, this is decidedly a NON-LETHAL weapon. Jonathan pointed that out several times specifically XD

[@BradTheAmerican]

@@sim.frischh9781 less lethal

[@jeremiegca]

It's pretty lethal, the AR1 round is solid nylon and not that aerodynamic, thus innacurate at range. Killed and maimed many in Quebec thorough the years.

[@ryke_masters]

I'm not aware of anyone actually dying as a result of being shot with this in Quebec? But definitely several lost eyes, major injuries, etc. Of course the major issue with pretty much all similar weapons is they're "supposed" to be used at specific ranges, not aimed at heads, bounced off the ground, etc, and of course there is minimal police interest in actually enforcing those guidelines in a meaningful way. I don't remember if it was in 2012 or 2015 that a teenage girl was shot point-blank in the face with one of those on camera (I believe it was an ARWEN, could have been some other model), and she didn't die but it was not a small injury. There was obviously no threat to a riot cop in full armor from an unarmed teenage girl, and it would have been easy for the cop to step away or use literally any other means to make her step away, but of course there was no inquiry and much of public opinion about it was the old "if you don't want police to do illegal things to you, don't do literally anything that a policeman might not like". The Flash-Ball launcher used in France has seen a lot more grievous injuries as well as a few deaths. The most recent non-lethal launcher used by both French and Quebec police is the LL06, and it's been linked to a lot of serious injuries in France but few or no deaths. I don't think there's been much about either injuries or deaths related to it in Québec, but France has had many more serious protests than Quebec over the last few years, and French riot police is particularly aggressive, so I think it's a combination of not enough data and French police being particularly bad at not harming people. When it comes to deaths caused by the SPVM, it's pretty much always plain old handguns in non-riot control situations. Riot police are very often unnecessarily brutal (they would probably consider it their job description) but very rarely deadly.

[@RobinCernyMitSuffix]

There is a reason why such weapon systems are called "less lethal" and not "not lethal". A lot of them can seriously injure and even kill people if used wrong and/or just very bad luck. Think about getting accidentely hit in the head with a rubber round, getting knocked out and being killed by the subsequent fall.

[@Aliyah_666]

Honestly I can see how this could potentially kill someone but also how easy it would be to make it into something lethal. 37mm is plenty space to be creative.

[@corvidconfidential8826]

It's still not as bad as the AR2, that has killed so many innocents and insurgents alike ever since the combine adopted it years after the 7hr war...

[@mrjockt]

I remember being shown one of these at Bisley back in 1983, we were also shown, and given the chance to fire, the then new SA80.

[@Beauloqs]

We were issued them in 1987, were they as bigger bag of shite then as we got…..ours had the early magazine release catch and it did seem to enjoy releasing early 😂😂

[@mrjockt]

@@Beauloqs All we did was try them out on the range, we were actually fairly impressed with them as far as shooting and accuracy were concerned, might have had something to do with the fact that we were all used to just using iron sights and these new rifles actually came with an optical sight as standard, luckily I was a civilian again before they actually reached the RAF.

[@Beauloqs]

@@mrjockt Yes that's very true, I was accurate, we were very excited after the first day at the ranges......it kinda ended there

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@Beauloqs A big part of the L85A1s problems was durability of various parts (some critical), which would probably not have shown too much if those had been brand new guns which had barely been shot before. Possibly the guns could have been handpicked to make a better impression, I've heard of that being done a few times for the early SA80. For the rickety nature of the A1, I've heard they're all actually pretty accurate, so when the A2 fixed all the problems with the things constantly breaking, the rifle isn't half bad, even if it's heavy.

[@juusolatva]

it's nice to see less-lethal weapons getting some love too.

[@paleoph6168]

It's nice to see acknowledge that this weapon is rather less-lethal than non-lethal as it still is potentially as such.

[@tarektechmarine8209]

@@paleoph6168 a spoon is also less-lethal....

[@brilobox2]

@@tarektechmarine8209 Point is, almost nothing is truly non-lethal. Especially anything involving an application of physics.

[@Mario_bland]

I neeeeeed to see the whole 80s british promo video

[@danielsankey8786]

I bet Jonathan has access to some absolute gold in those video archives

[@guaposneeze]

Honestly, Colonial Marines in Aliens being mainly used to do a lot of riot control sounds pretty plausible. There's no other empire that humanity is at war with in the film. So the only reason to have a force of marines laying around is for stuff like anti-piracy, and "internal security" work. They just get detailed for the occasional Bug Hunt when the issue pops up. Most of humanity doesn't even believe Ripley about the existence of the titular Alien at the start of the film.

[@stevetheduck1425]

'Is this going to be a stand-up fight or just another bug hunt?' I feel this implies that their standard training is to expect 'bugs' = aliens (and they find some, ironically, perhaps their bosses knew already?), but they will likely be fighting humans, as you say, strikers, abandoned colonists, others the company have betrayed.

[@wraithcadmus]

@@stevetheduck1425 I get the feeling 'bug hunt' is spending a few days getting rid of some rhino beetles or torching a few space wasp nests that local security can't deal with, leaving them overconfident for something as terrifyingly hostile as the xenomorph.

[@rileyernst9086]

I take bug hunt to be synonymous with 'goose chase'.

[@panzerkitsune]

1:20 and I died of laughter from the Three Stooges in white suits and helmets sitting wonky on the heads.

[@derekp2674]

That almost looked like a scene out of Blake's 7.

[@GaldirEonai]

@@derekp2674 I was thinking Doctor Who...

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

@@derekp2674 slightly better production values :)

[@samholdsworth420]

Always a pleasure Jonathan ☺️

[@indigohammer5732]

Anything with a grey/red case or box in UK service is a Chemical round. Nice selection of EM"'s behind you. That must be about a quarter of all produced.

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

Grey is a significant body colour for all NATO chemical ammunition after 1967. However riot control agents aren’t classified as chemical weapons.

[@roguediplodocus6461]

I was thinking the same thing. 10 of them and now he's just rubbing Ians nose in it.

[@dogsnads5634]

Think they have over 80% of the production in Leeds. Around 40 IIRC.

[@walesdave]

Also seen on the Royal Ordinance stand at Bisley in 1985/6 during the Ashburton cadet shoot! Had a good play with it as a teenage cadet (the ARWEN that is 😆).

[@colinsweetman6745]

These videos really are excellent. Thanks so much.

[@daviddavidson2357]

Having held one of those plastic bullets, they are harder and heavier than the flesh colored material would make you think.

[@Inferryu]

A lot of the plastic stuff from the 80s is harder and heavier than anyone would think at first glance.

[@TheWirksworthGunroom]

Front grip looks like they took a mould from an MP5K and reworked the top end a bit. The cartridge as chamber concept may well be to stop a captured weapon being of use to an adversary, especially looking at the earliest cartridge. Perhaps that requiremnt was then dropped hence the later ammunition concept.

[@spikeydapikey1483]

Would the aluminium round be used as a window breaker, the followed up with the CS ??

[@CTyler84]

All these rounds would penetrate plain windows.

[@mudcrab3420]

One of these is on the wall during the 'not big enough' scene in Split Second.

[@paavobergmann4920]

Is that...about...half of all EM-2 rifles ever made in the background? I guess, as the Royal Armouries, a flex like that is in order...

[@FelixstoweFoamForge]

WOW! I had NO idea that Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy carried adverts for this thing!

[@SlimRhyno]

The more I learn, the more obvious it becomes why some systems (such as this one) are successful... as opposed to others. Hello from America (Kansas City), by the way! I'm a huge fan!

[@James_Earl_Cash]

Jill Valentine the "master of unlocking" could put this badboy in her pocket and it would require the same inventory space as a key.

[@Plaprad]

To be fair, old keys could be huge.

[@WanderlustZero]

@@Plaprad as seen in the historical documentary series 'Kingdom Hearts'

[@Zikar]

I always thought it was silly that the "bazooka" in Resident evil was actually a grenade launcher... now I discover what it was based on wasn't even that!

[@bakauf4300]

Might want to be careful flipping that plexiglass front sight up and down over the years. Most plastics become brittle with age.

[@yetanother9127]

The look of that rubber bandolier initially made me think it was some sort of strip speedloader, where you'd insert it into the magazine and it would bend around the sprocket as it rotates. Now that I think of it, something like that might actually work as a system for quickly loading five rounds, though the case ejection wouldn't function and you'd be left with a strip of empty cases hanging out of the ejection port like the world's most awkward non-disintegrating belt.

[@zeramoke]

Are Grenade, Flame and Acid rounds optional for BOWs - zombies and the like?

[@ThePerfectRed]

0:29 I had to laugh how the movies manage to stick a telescopic sight on everything, even a purported rifle launcher. It looks cool until you imagine the trajectory.

[@MichaelsTightPants]

For some reason I thought of the splurge gun from bugsy malone

[@danilonakazone386]

I must visit this armory and meet Jonathan! When I do so I hope we can talk for the longest time possible, I would like to learn and discuss about firearms ^^

[@whiteboynoises]

I knew that gun looked familiar. Always confused me in the original Resident Evil. Idk about the RoW Version but in Germany it was called there "Bazooka". This is why I love this Chanel. Very informative video.

[@DGneoseeker1]

It's called that in the UK version too, weirdly.

[@Chlorate299]

That's a neat design, I like how they've taken measures to ensure that you couldn't possibly fit something like a grenade round.

[@aeloswindrunner]

Is the barrel ribbed for the operator's pleasure? I'm sorry, I'll see myself out

[@leewat3742]

Something similar came to my mind too :) I'll get my coat and come with you :)

[@saintmayhem9873]

The ribs aren't for the operator. They're for whoever is receiving.

[@edgibbs2794]

... if you're brave enough

[@BeanMann]

3:50 That looks like the warhammer bolter equivalent to the MK23 supressed lol.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

*_"Cannot be used for any kind of lethal purpose."_* sounds like a challenge for a dedicated handloader. The design of the gun may call for a low pressure load, but with the shell being the chamber, the obvious solution is to make a stronger case, and you can load it up hotter. Going for the obvious High-Low approach you could then have proper grenades, assuming you had the resources and infrastructure to put those together. With a suitable driving band the aluminum bore would not need to suffer too much. Failing that, there's the obvious solution of making a CS shell but which is loaded up with poison gas, or plain abusing the barrier penetrator load. I think the principle of this design would be workable for a 40x46mm launcher, however.

[@VhenRaTheRaptor]

And honestly, even at fairly low velocities... you hit someone direct on in the head with one of those rounds and there is a depressingly high chance they'll die anyway.

[@comentedonakeyboard]

Or you just fill it with explosives, leave it for someone to pick it up, and start a riot😂

[@Sableagle]

Jonathan Ferguson, Royal Armouries: "This cannot be used for any lethal purpose." Tabletop role-players around the world: "Challenge accepted." Just ask the chemistry and microbiology departments at the university for some ideas.

[@GrahamBunneh]

much love for the minor detail that is the 58 pattern clip used for a sling swivel 😀

[@tbthegr81]

Wish Jonathan would use this camera setup for Gamespot as well, so much sharper, and a secondary camera set for closeups works so much better when he needs to show text or smol details

[@RoyalArmouriesMuseum]

Hi Torbjörn, we're working on upgrading Jonathan's camera for Gamespot, so watch this space.👀

[@stevetheduck1425]

Resident Evil game needed a weapon to launch several kinds of grenades (acid, ice, fire), and they found it in the real ARWEN. Which reminds me. Back in the early 1980s, this weapon was being written about in most service magazines as a likely new arrival for use, like the ARMBRUST anti-tank launcher or the blinding laser, in testing at that time. It was described as using all the military options, HE, Frag, WP, Smoke, as well as riot rounds, batons, lacrimatory agents (tear gas), etc. The unique selling point was that it (FINALLY!) had the ability to top up a magazine with your 'immediate action' rounds, while also using what you had loaded, and you could tell which immediately as the casing colour and marking was visible (the magazine was described as 'feeding both ways'). Never saw one, and we didn't have a decent anti-tank weapon for many years.

[@SafetyProMalta]

Love the Dr.Who white overall guys circa 1980...😅😂

[@ferdinand12390]

i will always remember it from the original Resident Evil

[@jacobbearnson5874]

Remake aswell

[@ferdinand12390]

@@jacobbearnson5874 the REmake had a hybrid gun, had a partial AR style receiver with the front of the Arwen

[@tubetube7025]

What is the airspeed velocity of an unladen swallow?

[@jacobbearnson5874]

African or European?

[@tubetube7025]

@@jacobbearnson5874 ...uhhh well i don't know that answer to that. "goes flying"

[@jacobbearnson5874]

Explodes into a gore pile like the fallout 2 Easter egg reference( I hadn't watched holy grail at the time and answered correctly completely by accident)

[@tubetube7025]

@@jacobbearnson5874 bloody messs

[@MrDDiRusso]

Some could design a lethal round for this device. It doesn't have to have long range and high pressures to launch an explosive grenade.

[@GaldirEonai]

The problem is that with an explosive round the effective range is likely to be shorter than the grenade's kill radius.

[@bob_the_bomb4508]

@@GaldirEonai so a DARWIN rather than an ARWEN? I’ll get my flak jacket…

[@Ramonatho]

​@@GaldirEonaiI mean you fire or throw a grenade off the top of a building in a residential or commercial area such as say, Dublin during the troubles and you got the whole building as cover

[@dfpguitar]

I was considering throughout the first half of this video whether this non lethal weapon would be legal in the UK. But then it was shown that the projectiles are propelled by Magnum primers. Anything that relies on conventional primers and possession of those primers would surely immediately count as a lethal firearm even before anyone tried to manufacture a "more deadly" projectile.

[@SuperFunkmachine]

@@dfpguitar It would be classed as a rifle.

[@jupiterjunk]

Seeing your presentation... I wish I had bought one at auction 5 years ago. Thought it would make an interesting "wall hanger".

[@wisp666]

Love the promo film. Like something out of “The Professionals”. 😂😂😂

[@4d4m22]

For a second I actually thought they'd got Martin Shaw to film it in character as Doyle! It was the hair 😆

[@callsigncthulhu8579]

I remember reading an article about the ARWEN 37 back in the mid eighties, I sadly can’t remember where, but the article discussed the ammunition they had developed for it. The two that stood out in my head were the tangible head one which designed to completely ruin the targets day by acting as a baton round and a giving them their very own personal dose of CS gas. The other was the barricade penetration round, designed to punch through a thin barricade and then discharge CS gas into a room. If I remember correctly it was called a Ferret round and was designed to deal with a barricaded suspect.

[@Procket12]

Can we get a link to that 1980s demonstration video?

[@mikejfranklin7000]

Very nice kit! On wavy barrel ribbing: this could be made to less exacting tolerances than the previous prototype fin-like design. Also, fitting the front grip on the barrel would be quicker and easier.

[@Giovanni-33]

That thing is really cool. The blast gas round sounds fun. Would be handy for street squatters. Would make a great super glue commercial. :P

[@TheKerberos84]

It makes very satisfying gun noises.

[@alanbates1471]

There were two other options explored before that design was chosen, one had a three round box magazine and loaded/ejected through the top of the receiver and the other was like a bullpup pump action shot gun, the rounds being fed into a chamber and the breech block locked to the receiver. Only trials models were made before all effort swung behind the gun we see in the video.

[@kuukeli]

thank you for the video

[@PaidInBoredom]

A Less lethal on a space ship actually really makes sense. Better using that for defense than to blow a hole in the hull and depressurize the ship.

[@LukeBunyip]

A mate's daughter is called Arwen. Don't know if she ever reduces her parents to tears, but.

[@F1ghteR41]

Good pun!

[@Awoken_Remmuz]

Well hopefully they have raised her to be less lethal ;p

[@mns188]

Sir you gotta be kidding me! I saw this thing 21 years ago in a special edition of aliens and never new what it was. This is outstanding!

[@Ogaitnas900]

Aragorn approves.

[@F1ghteR41]

1:45 This is a clever design indeed. 6:46 While I can see the usefulness of such a sight, it seems very bulky for the intended use. 14:51 This is a bit strange, because while I get the uniformity of training and all that - necessary for the military pressed into the policing duties as it was - one doesn't need to think hard to recognize that the length of pull would be different between various individuals no matter what, so while the handle might simply be used upright and not tilted to any side, its position along the barrel should still be easily adjustable. 17:43 While it looks quite impressive, I wouldn't want to be hit with a big & hot chamber-cum-case as any sort of bystander. 18:23 I fail to see what exactly causes the case to eject. 22:35 Why wouldn't it be a range practice round? It seems to me that aluminium would be durable enough for prolonged use. 23:36 It seems to be basically a last chance round. 26:41 Isn't the H&K launcher in question originally a military arm? If so, it could use, for example, flares - which might have some tactical use - not to mention all sorts of lethal 40 mm rounds, should the need arise. Ultimately, without getting into the debate over militarisation of police, here's what one trades off when tailoring the design to the strict nature of law enforcement - tactical flexibility.

[@commando552]

I can have a go at ansering a few of those. For the front grip adjustability I can pretty much guarantee it was eliminated as a needless complexity that nobody actually used and was a potential point of failure either by failing under abuse/wear or simply catching the release lever on something. For ejection, look at around 18:20 and you will see a pair of ramps that the empty cartridge hits and gets launched to the side. This part moves as in its natural position it is halfway across a chamber, so when fully loaded it lifts up to accommodate the fifth round (the first loaded), and drops down to the position seen here when ejecting the first fired round and then stays there for the rest of the rounds I doubt the aluminium is a training round as it is way heavier meaning to would have totally different ballistics and therefore sighting so it would be a terrible training tool. I would agree with barrier penetration, there are grenades that are designed to penetrate a barrier (including walls so they can be pretty stout) and deliver a payload of gas. IIRC a British police officer was killed by one of these in a training accident when it hit him after penetrating a window. The AR-6 is not so much a last chance round (although it sort of could be as if a crowd closed in withing minimum baton range this would be the only round you could legitimately use), but rather as a round for use in any situation below the safe minimum range. For example firing though a window or open door to force someone out of a room or vehicle. The HK launcher used by the British police (the L104A1) is a special version of the HK69 with a rifled 37mm barrel so it used "police" rounds rather than military 40mm rounds.

[@F1ghteR41]

@@commando552 Thank you! I still don't get how the case is ejected, though.

[@commando552]

@@F1ghteR41 If you pause the vid at 18:22 you will see an oddly angled arm that goes from the centre pivot to a piece at the bottom of the ejection port. This is not attached to the spindle and stays basically stationary (it doesn't for the first round but dont worry about that for now) so when the empty chamber rotates out of alignment with the barrel, it collides with this arm (and a second arm at the front which is not as visible in this frame of the video) and gets kicked out of the side.

[@F1ghteR41]

@@commando552 Ah, I see now, thanks

[@DrVictorVasconcelos]

That's a very, very weird gun, Jonathan 😂 By the way, I find it pretty funny that everyone struggles to adapt to the "less lethal" terminology. Even when people don't say "non lethal", they still treat "less lethal" as the opposite of "lethal".

[@rogerlibby14613]

A "SALAZAR" round. A teargas round that killed a news journalist in California. My training consisted of "Don't aim for the head".🤠

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@rogerlibby14613 The nightmarish 1980 New Mexico Penitentiary Riot includes an account of an inmate shooting another in the head with a 37mm teargas gun from a couple of feet away, and the victim's head just about exploded. Many of the rubber shot loads for shotguns are designed with the idea that you're supposed to hit the hard pavement in front of the target and have the projectiles ricochet up towards the target, but this is not seldom ignored. Some baton loads are intended for only striking the legs, where hits to the head or the gut can easily cause deadly injuries. Part of the problem is recklessness, but the other half is that Less Lethal is just a very difficult balance to achieve with good consistency. What's too much for one case may not be enough in another, there are many cases of people just powering through the pain of a taser, while there's numerous where the taser caused a heart attack, which sometimes proved lethal.

[@MNewton]

Almost like it ends up coming down to people who funked out of the military or just didn't try in the first place doing what they are trained for 20 minutes to do and inherently understand that the police union has their back in case they don't actually do what they are "trained" to do.

[@stefanward-bradley7006]

Del boy clearly helped to record the promo material 😁

[@jyuukenxrasengan]

The ARWEN was also featured in Black Lagoon. Odd since as an animated series there would have been no real world logistic issues with depicting an actual grenade launcher instead.

[@Yumao420]

It makes sense that a modified riot gun would be easier to get for criminals than a proper grenade launcher.

[@firefox5926]

23:10 that ar-5 maybe its a proofing round? you know to proof the barrels etc ?

[@90lancaster]

Sounds like the irritant short range blast round would be useful in infiltrating a room where you wanted prisoners or there was hostages. (Half jokingly) I'd say Cobra could do with those as they wear facemasks and Gi Joe don't.

[@Del_S]

I'm a little disturbed how quickly I recognised it.... Nah, I'm lying, I'm cool with it.

[@sim.frischh9781]

Well if it can launch any kind of projectile, theoretically it would be possible to develop explosive ammunition for it. The famous german Nebelwerfer was originally used for launch smoke charges before other kinds were introduced as well.

[@Theduckwebcomics]

Since it has such a light barrel though and no containment in the chamber a lethal round would have to be pretty wimpy, probably no more powerful than a normal shotgun- which are far better for that purpose.

[@sim.frischh9781]

@@Theduckwebcomics You misunderstood; if you use a projectile that explodes b y itself, you can make it pretty powerful despite using only such a (relatively speaking) weak cartridge.

[@danielsankey8786]

I always thought the "bazooka" in resident evil 1 was just made up but it isn't, it's this.

[@dorianleclair7390]

The ribs on the barrel aid in cooling by increasing the surface area.

[@zakkneil8210]

Were these used during the Troubles, in Northern Ireland?

[@Casperski1312]

So you're telling me there aren't actually Acid rounds for this? :(

[@dillonchamberlain]

Not yet

[@smnstv3373]

Not with that attitude 😜

[@owainrodgers4420]

The historical backdrop to the development of this system would have been the industrial/miners strikes of the 70s-80s and the troubles of Northern Ireland presumably?

[@chemistrykrang8065]

The Troubles in Northern Ireland mainly. British police don't generally use teargas or baton rounds... just hitting people with big sticks and these days tasers and pepper spray.

[@SirJohnKnight]

The first KAC foregrip lol it looks just like it well the adapted version for the m203

[@robstirling3173]

Hi Jon, I remember seeing an Arwen at Enfield, which had a 'drop in' hopper feed. the rotary mag may have been wind up, clockwork. Do you have one?

[@Getpojke]

Great vide, thank you. The promo video you showed really dates it. Having the three chaps dressed as henchmen from a James Bond video is classic.With the white boiler suits, crash helmets & "Rayban Aviators" they just need a secret base under a volcano somewhere. Did it say who narrated on it? It sounded like Newsround's John Craven before he got his whistling dentures. (I can't take him seriously anymore because of those.)

[@stevetheduck1425]

The guy taking his out of the back of a civilian car looked like an operator from a then-popular TV series 'CI5: The Professionals'.

[@Getpojke]

@@stevetheduck1425 Had another look, he does but not one of the main characters. There was an actor who was a recurring agent for CI5 that he really looks like. can't remember his name though. I have all the old episodes on a HD somewhere, good excuse to re watch them I think.

[@Almightyrastus]

Oh cool, Royal Ordnance. I did part of my college course in mechanical engineering there. Not there anymore of course, a used car dealership is now on the site.

[@webtoedman]

We had a second hand belt linisher that came from ROF Nottingham at a company I used to work for.

[@smorrow]

Seems like a good candidate for someone wanting to do a fully-printable project. (Also, between being low-pressure and manually-operated (which means low pressure at extraction), a good match for those nasty propellants that are _way_ more fabricable than nitrogenous powder, like ammonium perchlorate.) If no-one else has pointed it out I'm also going to say the action is basically the Ager coffee-mill gun.

[@jonofthehill]

Every controversial item in the world needs a British instructional video to make it feel nice and cozy and just fine. edit: gotta have the eighties synth rocking the background music of course

[@warpdriveby]

In theory, you could fire an explosive or incendiary round at the pressures of a less-lethal projectile, I'm not saying they should, just that the low pressure wouldn't exclude it. It would certainly limit the size of a charge, and possibly preclude fragments if it can't throw one far enough. I'm surprised there isn't a version for firefighting that has small incendiary charges so one individual can cover as much ground a several when establishing a brake or gap.

[@toolthoughts]

for search purposes, please include names of the firearms in the title or description

[@parrotraiser6541]

A friend named his daughter Arwen, though I suspect she precedes the eponymous weapon. Should I tell her she has a (sort of) gun named after her? :-)*

[@Safetytrousers]

Unless her name means anti riot weapon probably not.

[@F1ghteR41]

Had she ever put her parents to tears? 😉

[@Tovish1988]

What about these "exclusively less lethal" features i.e. weak chamber preclude it launching a fragmentation munition? Sure, range would be rather short but still a lethal weapon.

[@LasOrveloz]

The payload would have to be very minimal at that point as to be ineffective. any effective exlosive fragmentation shot will weigh significantly more than any of the less lethal rounds, and with that youd need higher pressure to get the projectile to go anywhere. Or you just could build the shot into a thrown grenade, same difference at that point if you have to choose between usable range or usable payload. take the payload and just chuck it like a hand grenade.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@LasOrveloz If you can get just 100m of range from the thing that'd be enough to work with, don't have to get too high pressure for that.

[@connorbarabe5772]

Being able to reload the cases with blanks is a clever feature. I wonder if it shares the advantages of the high/low pressure system of the 40mm, and if the cases are easier to make than those.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

It's not entirely uncommon for various launchers intended for less-lethal (or not-fighting) uses.

[@edwardscott3262]

Standard low velocity 40mm uses .38 special blanks. The high velocity 40mm has an integral chamber that holds the powder and vents it into the case. The high velocity does use a standard federal 215 primer though.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

@@edwardscott3262 Low velocity 40x46mm? That uses a high-low setup with an expansion chamber and all.

[@JunkyardBashSteve]

That first version is definitely the inspiration for the grenade launcher in 007 Goldeneye

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

The grenade launcher in Goldeneye 007 was probably inspired by the fake grenade launcher from Predator (which was made from an AN/M5 37mm flare projector for WW2 era military planes).

[@Fidozo15]

I'm getting Goldeneye 007 vibes here

[@craww1990]

is there a link to the promo video

[@petermallia558]

In my opinion the design of the outer side of the barrel, I think the barrel was made like it is for the front grip, for positioning, so one has multiple options in terms of how far back or forward the grip is for the comfort of the user making it much easier to make a mechanism than for a smooth design and a far more stable inner function of the front grip, allowing the two way clips like mechanism for changing angular position of the grip. What do you think about this theory Mr Ferguson? I saw it through the action performed by the guy in the footage shown, it just seems right to me. Watch the clip again and how how he utilises the barrels segmented looking design when he changes grip positions, I think you'll come to the same conclusion. My mind always works this way, seeing beyond what can be seen initially. Great channel, a charming expert/presenter, and two of my favourite subjects, weapons and British/world history.

[@thedevilinthecircuit1414]

@1:20 If DEVO ever went to war--this would be the issued weapon 🥰

[@foughtthelol]

It's a weapon and it's REALLY powerful, especially against living things.

[@cosmo9882]

very cool 👍

[@barbarossarotbart]

No net thrower for the ARWEN?

[@q3znw6j88aywnwy]

that room must smell amazing

[@Tuberuser187]

Makes sense the Colonial Marines in Aliens would have a weapon like this, if not this actual weapon because of the time gap but one of the roles for the Colonial Marine is putting down stroppy Colonists or Industrial Action/Strikes.

[@jelhaj7769]

that rotary system is great. also im pretty sure these things have been responsible for a death or two.. those projectiles are hard as shit.

[@0neDoomedSpaceMarine]

Just about any successful less-lethal weapon can kill if misused.

[@DavidCowie2022]

I would say the projectiles are considerably harder than shit.

[@busboy262]

If it's still being produced today, it must be a successful design. But I don't understand the butt end design largely remaining as it had since its inception. If you wanted to give the user some personal choice in stocks and also likely reduce its cost, why wouldn't they just screw on a buffer tube from an AR? Or in the alternative, design a folding stock. That change alone would reduce the product line. But good vid. Nagant would certainly have approved of the chambering design.

[@colinp2238]

It looks like a beast compared to the riot guns we had out in NI in the 70s. I had never handled a riot gun before going to the June referendum riot in the Bogside, Londonderry. We called it the Greener, but it was probably made under licemse at Enfield. It was a single shot, 10 gauge, I think, and by 75 we had the PVC rounds and not rubber, that they had used earlier. Have you done a video on that, and could you provide a link please? The reason they stopped the rubber was that they were too easy to tamper with, adding extra charge cartridges and placing in other materials to use as projectiles, the PVC rounds were fully sealed and basically tamper proof. I can only remeber baton rounds were provided as CS was dispensed using canisters, similar to smoke grenades.

[@stevetheduck1425]

As you probably know, Greener was a maker of quality English shotguns. The Greener 'Farkiller' was used in WWII as a weapon to guard some establishments, and as a trench gun, but it was rarely used.

[@christopherdean1326]

I heard stories of troops loading D cell batteries into them....

[@colinp2238]

@christopherdean1326 Yes, that was a thing that happened along with putting grit in to make it spread like a shotgun.

[@tonyandrys8872]

Do you ever run into people involved with the design and prototyping of the weapons?

[@Cacowninja]

Surprised this wasn't covered by Ian on Forgotten weapons.

[@_Twink]

Love the 80s promo vid

[@jackgamer6307]

I don't understand how the chamber being weak would limit the lethality. Obviously it limits the muzzle energy of the projectile, but in grenade launchers, it's usually not the kinetic energy that kills, but the explosives inside. What stops a malicious 3rd party from replacing the less-lethal payload in a grenade (AR2 or what's marked here as AR5 for example) with high explosives?

[@MaaZeus]

I was wondering that too. Unless making an effective high explosive would make the ammunition too heavy = requires more kick = chamber cannot handle it? 🤔

[@wastedangelematis]

17:41 meme replay time, "Jonathan drops can"

[@Alakazzam09]

Are you sure it can't fire incendiary Red Bull cans?

[@stevetheduck1425]

There are some tins of mushy peas about the right size where I live. Less than lethal, not very tasty, but nourishing...

[@angrymetalhead]

It's also the inspiration for the "Bazooka" grenade launcher in Resident Evil 1 original and remake.

[@stevetheduck1425]

As indeed he just showed in this video.