The Carlo (Arabic: كارلو) (also referred to as Carl Gustav; Arabic: كارلوجستاف, pronounced "Karlu Justhaf")[4] is an improvised submachine gun manufactured by small workshops in the Palestinian territories. The design was inspired by (and named after[5]) the Swedish Carl Gustaf m/45 and its Egyptian Port Said variant, however the similarity is often only passing.[1]
The Carlo's homemade nature makes it affordable on the black market, where it is purchased not only by Palestinians targeting Israelis,[7] but also by Arab-Israeli gangs.[4] The Carlo is cheap and requires little skill or equipment to manufacture, but they are inaccurate and prone to jamming and misfiring.[1]
Since October 1, 2016, the Carlo was reported to have been used in 68 attacks.[4]
History
In 2000, the Carlo was first identified[4] by Israel Police officers, seen with Israeli-Arab gangs.[8]
On June 17, 2014, the IDF was reported that a raid in Nablus by Yahalom soldiers netted several Carlos in an arms cache.[9]
On February 3, 2016, the Carlo was cited as the weapon used to shoot Israeli Border Police officer Hadar Cohen, which has some parts made from old pipes.[1][10] In the 8 June 2016 Tel Aviv shooting, two Palestinian gunmen opened fire on Sarona Market in Tel Aviv, killing four Israelis.[11] At the time, the Carlos were reported to have jammed up after being used at short range.[2]
The Carlo has been spotted on March 14, 2016, in an attack against Israeli troops in Hebron.[4] Israeli law enforcement agencies, including Shin Bet, conducted raids on March 16, 2016, to crack down on underground gunsmith shops making the Carlo.[1]
Produced in several locations via underground workshops and often with second-hand gun parts,[3] the specifications are not uniform. Initially, it was made partially with scrapped pipes. Some more recent makes of the Carlo have been made with rifled barrels, raising the price from under $800 to nearly $4,000.[1]
Most of the parts needed to make the Carlo in recent years are taken from lost/stolen M4-type rifles and magazines, taken from IDF training areas or by breaking into someone's house who has an M4-type rifle to be cannibalized.[2][3] Others were made from rifle accessories that are easily purchased online,[3] and some even incorporate parts of airsoft or paintball rifles.[11][13]
Often chambered for 9×19mm handgun cartridges, variants for .22 LR, .32 ACP, 9 x 18mm, and 5.56 x 45mm are also produced,[1] but the presence of the latter is suggested to be impossible since samples of the weapon had 5.56 NATO magazines modified to house Uzi magazines or sometimes with pistol-based magazines.[3] Some of them were made with M16-type pistol grips and Uzi-based 25-round magazines.[2][1] One instance of a Carlo seized has a STANAG magazine used to hide a 9x19 Uzi or a homemade magazine.[14] Others were based on the MP5 and the AK rifles.[1] They can only fire in full auto in an open bolt with the ejection port on the left side and the charging handle on the right side.[2]
The Carlo, made to be compact, was best used by being concealed on the left side of someone's clothes (usually jacket) with the right hand being used to draw it.[2]
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