Kovco’s magic pistol
From this report on the the Kovco Inquiry comes this strange statement. At least it appears strange to this old infantryman and one-time captain of the Battalion Pistol Shooting team (undefeated Lavarack Barracks 1982)
The board had previously heard that Kovco’s gun had passed a series of tests proving it was unlikely to fire accidentally. The fact that the bullet’s cartridge case was trapped in the gun’s mechanism also suggested it had been fired by Kovco himself, the board was told, as his subsequently slack grip on the weapon would have obstructed its normal operation.The normal operation of a weapon, in this case it’s reload mechanism, is initiated by the firing of the round producing gases and pressure that unlock and drive the bolt rearward from whence it rebounds and picks up another round from the in-handle grip magazine, loads it in the breech and locks for another shot. This process is extremely fast and is not dependant on the firer having a firm grip. Once a round is fired it just happens and in Kovco’s case the pistol would have reloaded before it fell from his hand unless there were other factors involved. Where was it trapped in the pistol’s mechanism? In the breech or had it only half ejected? Maybe I’m being a bit technical but statements like that would have me asking questions. Maybe the journalist just reports what he thinks is relevant and missed out on telling us relevant facts that would explain; but as given, I don’t accept that part of the evidence as reliable. Any RAEME armourers care to comment?
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Not exactly an armourer, Kev, but like you, I am pretty familiar with the operation of the 9mm Browning.
Very little about this story makes any sense. It is possible for an expended case to fail to be extracted from the breech, be trapped in the slide or caught in the ejection port, but the type of grip on the pistol has nothing to do with this, it is usually caused by either a dirty or un-oiled slide, or a faulty round (rare). A dirty weapon is a possibility in the dusty environment in Baghdad, but again, the fact that Kovco was an experienced professional soldier suggests otherwise. There is an unverified rumour around that the magazine release safety mechanism may have been disabled in some service pistols, which adds another mystery to the puzzle.
I have tried to envision possible scenarios for this shooting, and can only come up with outlandish possibilities.
I strongly suspect that a lot of lies and misinformation is being presented to the public about the circumstances of Kovco’s death, and just who is telling these lies remains unclear.
I strongly suspect that a lot of lies and misinformation is being presented to the public about the circumstances of Kovco’s death, and just who is telling these lies remains unclear.
I agree
Kev,
Last I heard, the various models of the Browning in Oz service were having the magazine safety disabled. I always hated the mag. safety for various reasons, one of which is that it introduces a dodgy drill into the standardised practice of “unload”; i.e. you have to place the magazine back in the weapon and fire the action in order to finish the “unload” sequence.
Was the offending pistol one of these “upgraded” units? I do not know.
A fired case partially ejected can be the result of what PQ stated. Additionally, if these contributing factors are present at sub-critical levels, they will be exacerbated by “limp-handing” the pistol. Also, if the slide was partially retarded or obstructed by clothing, body parts or other objects during travel, the same will occur.
The entire rock show reeks of “slippery slope”: something nasty happened, somebody panicked, cold hard truth was briefly on back-order at the Q store, then it all snowballed into a tragic farce, with more and more people either stuffing up big time or muddying the waters to obscure a previous stuff-up or “economy with the truth”.
Pretty normal, really.
Cheers
Some autos will malfunction if not held tightly, as they use the mass (and inertia) of the hand/arm to assist with holding the static group still whilst allowing the slide to recoil fully. Certain pistols, like the Webley Fosbery automatic revolver were very picky about this. I am not sure if the HP is of that class, but it may be that it requires a firm grip to function properly. It is possible that the initial unlocking by camming the barrel down could occur normally, but if the grip is then loosened it may not fully extract the cartidge, resulting in a stovepipe jam.
Hmmm…if ‘gun plumber’ has some coherent English for we mortals I’d pay to listen.
The inquiry has stated that the weapon “jammed”, meaning an incomplete extraction sequence…..the inquiry thinks that is not unusual if the weapon is not held “properly”.
Bullshit.
Has anyone tried firing one of these weapons at 90 degrees to the accepted….turned the wrist to the inside, instead of in the pointing position with a locked wrist?
Has a test been done to discount the possibility that someone may have been attempting to prevent the firing of the weapon and therefore hindered the rearward movement of the slide?
I tend to agree with gun plumber, tragic situation.
What was wrong with the explanation that the gun accidently discharged while cleaning?
It has happened in all previous wars.
I’m sure the military and the Gov’t would have preferred it that way too, as in all previous theatres of engagement but this time they invited external scrutiny and the doubts creep in.
The whole Kovco situation has been a farce from the outset.
The one that’s suprised me the most has been Minister Nelson’s pre-announcement of evidence that his department submitted, especially after telling us all to wait till after the inquiry’s conclusion to discuss the situation.
The other scenario of the scenario, in which Halliburton have quietly lost the body of one of their contractors before his repatriation to Bosnia, may also have had some influence on the manner in which the whitewash has been applied. Given the propensity for continual Australian damage control in protecting the company’s reputation, there are possibilities that require consideration
Back att the Australian end of things,the order of the site clean-up by the Australian commander in chief of Iraqi operations, the removal of furniture and personal effects in the five days before the MPs inspected the site, the multiple cock-ups in identification papers confusing matters so much that one man with a moustache couldn’t be told apart from a clean shaven face.
The inclusion of a non-military witness to provide reasons why Kovco might have committed suicide doesn’t “feel” right, either.
There are quite a lot of things that don’t feel right about this one.
What do you think of evidence from an expert that hasn’t even spoken to the deceased that indicates what the deceased person’s thoughts were before he died?
I have always loved psychiatic theories, propounded by educated people who claim to have studied enough human behaviour to make conclusions that effect the lives of others.
Much has been said at the Kovco inquiry about the practice of “silent cocking” of the
Browning HP and if it may have played a part in the tradgedy Does anyone have a
detailed explanation of this procedure? The spent case apparently was caught in the
ejection port.There are many possibilities here, most have already been mentioned here
The fact that it was that way may or may not be relavent, my guess is we will never
know if it is. The Oz HPs have had the magazine safety disabled ( “stage 3″ or
similar” is the modification name). The OZ defence force also uses SMG ammo in its HPs
which should provide plenty of recoil. Any comments on all this?