U.A.R. Helwan

[Anzac15]

I was wandering through a favorite gun shop today after work when I spied this Egyptian Helwan sitting behind the counter. I asked my friend who works there to let me see it, as I noticed it bore Arabic script on the left of the slide..."HELWAN 9MM U.A.R. (United Arab Republic) followed by the aforementioned script. Opposite side is a serial number also in Arabic (9557 if I'm not too far off).
Now, I have run into a fair share of the commercial variants, and a few with Arabic markings, but this is the first U.A.R. example I've run across. Had to have it, as it is a really great example of Middle Eastern military history. Not a Danshway, but hey, a pretty early military Helwan.
The bad...broken locking block and no mag. It had been purchased, then returned by the customer after he got it home and discovered what was wrong with it. So the gun shop sold the mag and they were going to have the pistol cut up(!!) I told my friend don't do that, and he ended up letting me have it for $50 with a disclaimer that it was being sold as a parts gun, not to be shot.
Either way, I'm going to try to track down a mag and block. I'm happy to have it. Thought you guys might like to see her, enjoy the pics!

Information

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[Bruce McAskill]

Very nice find. I would think that parts would be available for it from surplus parts houses. UAR dates back to pre 1967 when Israel kicked butt and took names.

[browningautorifle]

Did you try Numrich for parts yet? Since this one is the same as the Brigadier 1951 then perhaps it's close to the 92...?? Worth a try? The other two are out of stock presently. Looks close enough that it might be able to be fitted...

[Anzac15]

Yep, checked them earlier this evening, showed the part as being sold out.
I'll run across the needed parts at some point..just glad I saved it from being chopped!

---------- Post added at 12:06 AM ---------- Previous post was at 12:04 AM ----------

I did see a thread on another forum recently that discussed the possibility of a 92 block being used on one of these. Apparently the dimensions are off just enough to make it an impossibility.

[browningautorifle]

the needed parts

Someone out there has a hundred for scrap. It's just that we haven't found him yet...I always wanted one too. Now I have a Centurion, the fever has passed.

[Wess Schrijver]

Hey there,

I've spotted your message true google, And I couldn't resit to reply.

For the past two years I've been working on bringing the locking block for the Beretta 1951 & Helwan models back to life.

It has taken me over a year to get a couple to draft a workable model out of them for manufacturing.

And I can tell you these things are a unicorn when you want them.

Basically there are two types of locking blocks one with short wings which is the original design and later versions with longer wings.

The one with longer wings apply to the models which came after the Dansway model with the exception of the Iraq made Tariq which supposedly still is production.

Original Beretta locking blocks were decent quality but even those lacked some improvements like radius cuts.

Those are dried up by now and even those where not the best given that they were made of machine bench set ups because CNC did not exist in those times.

The Egyptian made ones is were the dropped the ball, Bad metallurgy and bad manufacturing techniques.

I've heard stories of people that broke locking blocks after 50 shots.

The Helwan's are cheap guns at the moment because the locking blocks are not to be trusted, Because of this I've decided to make a change in that.

For starters I've had a metallurgical test done on an existing 92 FS block to determine which kind of metal was used and which hardness levens were present.

This I implemented in my design with a metal which exceeds the properties off a 92FS block.

I've also had the radius cuts implemented to make sure that the best life span can be reached out of the blocks.

Original blocks had square wings ( tiny radius ) which in combination lead to cracked locking blocks.


One the moments I only have a couple of prototypes available which are made in The Netherlands and tested for fit and function by a collector in The States.

But I expect to have some more when find a source of production.

If you have anymore questions don't hesitate to send me a message.

Wess

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