In 1949, Israel was still fighting its was of independence, and purchasing arms internationally was difficult to do. The recently-formalized IDF wanted sniper rifles, and looked to Hammerli in Switzerland for a variant of the K-31 straight-pull bolt action action. Two different models were purchased; 100 of the ZK-31 with 4x Kahles scopes, and 100 of the FK-31 with target diopter sights. The Swiss could not legally ship them directly to Israel, and so the order was placed for Nicaragua instead. Mysteriously, the freighter carrying the rifles somehow sank off the coast of Egypt, and the guns ended up in Israeli hands. They were taken into IDF service, and saw use in the early days of Israeli independence.
The style of optics mount on these rifles is also pretty interesting aside from the history of the guns…
Does anyone know who to contact in Israel in order to get further information on the Israel DOR?
Which caliber were they?
7.5 Swiss
That’s an expensive arms shipment when one has to sink an entire ship to cover your tracks.
Not really. In 1946-50, Liberty ships and etc. no longer needed by the Allied forces were sitting in ports around the Med and elsewhere basically abandoned. They could be had for scrap value, and in some cases if you promised the port authorities to get this damn thing out of our way they’d practically give them to you for free with a complimentary load of Diesel fuel.
It’s a fair guess that the cargo of rifles cost the nascent IDF more than the ship itself did.
cheers
eon
“(…)cargo of rifles cost(…)
And how does it compares to https://plane-encyclopedia.com/cold-war/avia-s-199-in-israeli-service/ where agreed cost was 180,000 USD (…) per aircraft, including armament, ammunition, spare parts, pilot training and support equipment. This was a disproportionate price for what was, by now, a mediocre aircraft. At that time, an American surplus P-51D Mustang was sold second hand for only 4,000 USD(…)?
The IDF was under a ban by the British Attlee government, who were backing Egypt so as to keep control of the Suez Canal. The events of 1956 show how wrong-headed that decision was.
Other than the USAAF, the major user of the P-51 in all its iterations was..the Royal Air Force.
Attlee wasn’t about to sell Mustangs to Israel, or let anybody else do it. The ones they did get mainly came from U.S. aircraft boneyards as far away as Okinawa. After changing hands three or four times each through “jobbers” and “false fronts”.
In the process, that $4000/ea. figure went up, and up, and up. The Avia S.199 ended up being a better “investment”, because that $180K included everything, including what we would now call “tech support”, while a “stripped” P-51D would cost them $140K on average.
It ended abruptly in 1951, when the Russians decided to support Egypt and Syria in the hope of controlling Suez and getting a warm-water port on the Med. They “prevailed” upon Czechoslovakia to be a good member of the Warsaw Pact and stop supporting the American “puppet state” named Israel.
See The Pledge by Leonard Slater.
clear ether
eon
“(…)expensive(…)sink(…)ship(…)”
Now I am wondering if they did have ship insurance and then if it was paid?
Hint; Lloyd’s of London wouldn’t even cover them.
cheers
eon
Now that one looks like a good shooter. The K31 sniper is a bit annoying. Sights just don’t feel right. Little lame. Cheek weld is funky.
Those sights look better.
Would love to see Henry Chan over at 9 Hole Revies put that weapon through its paces.
Trust the Swiss and the Israelis to come up with a way to get around the legalities of getting arms to the IDF and provide an effective tool for prosecuting the cause of Israeli independence. Did any of these rifles ever show up in Nicaragua?