[Previous entry: "SAR on the Z-45"] [Next entry: "Speaking of Spanish Special Forces"]

11/22/2007: "Spanish Marines and Star SMGs"

Actually, lots of Spanish weapons.

While Star has always claimed that they were heavily employed by all the usual Spanish forces, I have mostly got anecdotal reports of relatively light use by the Guardia, some local Police, and the Army. MP5s are supposedly the standard weapon of the special forces SMG gunner. The Army, Air Force and Marines supposedly mostly got out of issuing SMGs around the time this emerged -- much like the rest of the world -- due to the prevalence of lightweight, select-fire rifles. However, in a recent Small Arms Review article, Julio Montes says:

An interesting weapon in the hands of these naval commandos [the UBEC and UOE] is the locally made Star Z-84... It has proved very efficient and reliable even after being submerged and beat up for longer periods of time. The ever-present MP5 is also found.

He also says that the CETME Ameli is issued one per Marine fireteam, and a photo shows a commando on a boarding party armed with a CETME model LC. There are some photos and discussion of their use of the Sterling as well, but I personally wonder if its in fact the CETME/Santa Barbara C2 model.

So, Spanish arms are standing fast in the face of foreign weapons like the G-36E. I have tried to make contact to see if we can get more info, and maybe some cool photos for the site.