see Chemical Weapons Attacks
August 21, 2013 Brown Moses blog identifies device fired from a cannon with a wide blue barrel at the end as a "Hell Cannon", also mentioned in a Popular Science list of improvised rebel weapons.
The device looks a lot like the blue-barrel tipped device in a Syrian rebel video
VIDEO PROOF - Al Qaeda backed Syrian Rebels Used Chemical ...
a video uploaded on August 23, 2013, in which Free Syrian operatives threatened to launch chemical weapons:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSSfPQ8TvrU
Aug 27, 2013 - Uploaded by VAMPIRE KILLER 2016
VIDEO PROOF - Al Qaeda backed Syrian Rebels Used Chemical Weapons ... Syrian Terrorists Received ...
shoebat:
A day later, on August 24th, a video was uploaded and featured on facebook that purports to show Syrian rebels loading what very well may be a rocket armed with some sort of chemical agent. The tip of the rocket is armed with a light blue tank or canister that very well contains a nerve agent. At the end of this video, two separate launches of these rockets can be seen:
http://brown-moses.blogspot.com/2013/09/who-was-responsible-for-august-21st.html
One thing that must be stressed, is that the UMLACA is a munition that's never been seen in any other conflict, and it's origins are somewhat of a mystery. This has led some people to claim the munition could have been constructed by the opposition, and one popular video shows what's claimed to be a chemical munition being used by the opposition, with some even claimed it's the UMLACA, even though it's clearly a totally different design
The above video is what's known as a "Hell Cannon", a popular mortar type weapon used by the Syrian opposition. I've gone into more details about the Hell Cannon, and why it's not a chemical weapon, as some people have claimed, here, but there is one other aspect of it I want to explore in relation to the UMLACAs.
As I've said before, some people have claimed the UMLACA could be a DIY munition manufactured by the opposition, but by examining the construction of both the Hell WCannon and the UMLACA I think it's clear there's a very significant difference in the quality and complexity of construction.
When the Hell Cannon first appeared in May 2013, it was accompanied by a release of a promotional video showing the construction of the weapon, shown below
In this video we can see the most complex part of the system is the launching platform, with the munition itself being not much more than a gas cylinder welded onto a metal pole, with fins added. The gas cylinder warhead is then filled with fertilizer based explosive, and fitted with a simple impact fuze. The launching platform is pretty simple, just a mortar tube with the rest of the construction desgined to give it stability. The following video, published on August 5th, shows ammunition for the Hell Cannon being produced
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=2o5rfstTI50
http://www.popsci.com/technology/gallery/2013-05/ten-improvised-weapons-made-syrian-rebels?image=3
The design has had a slight improvement, with extendable tail fins added, and large numbers of the munitions being produced. If these were all chemical weapons then it's pretty clear someone would have noticed by now, and this really demonstrates how basic the design of these munitions are, something that's reflected in pretty much all the munitions produced by the opposition.
The Hell Cannon
Ahrar Al-Shamal Battalions, via Brown Moses
The Hell Cannon is a massive piece of artillery, capable of launching explosives about one mile. It's a major production, can mount two rockets on the barrel, and it even comes with a fact sheet! Syria watcher Brown Moses collected several videosabout the Hell Cannon. To me it looks like the weapon is as much a propaganda push as it is a functional tool of war.
The main projectile used by the hell cannon is a re-purposed propane gas cylinder, since ammunition for improvised weapons is also generally hard to find.
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