Harry's Game

The following guns were used in the TV mini-series Harry's Game:

Harry's Game (1982)

AKMS

A Norinco Type 56-1 assault rifle (Chinese version of the AKMS) is used by the Provisional IRA assassin Billy Downes (Derek Thompson) when he kills a British cabinet minister outside his home in London. The weapon's folding stock makes it easy for him to conceal it beneath his raincoat while he is waiting for his target to appear. After completing his mission and evading capture, Downes ditches the AK in a bathroom stall at a train station before boarding a bus to Heathrow Airport.

File:Type56-1.jpg

Chinese Type 56-1 (AKMS) 7.62x39mm

Billy Downes aims his Chinese Type 56-1 (AKMS) in a publicity still (this photo was used to create the DVD cover, above).

Downes loading a magazine into his (AKMS) after sighting his target.

Downes' finger on the trigger of his (AKMS) (this image is also seen in the music video for Clannad's song "Theme From Harry's Game").

Armalite AR-18

Another weapon which the IRA assassin Billy Downes (Derek Thompson) uses throughout the show is the Armalite AR-18 (it is likely that this is the British Sterling-made version, since the series was filmed in England). In real life, the AR-18 was a favorite weapon of the Provisional IRA in the 1970s and 1980s due to its light weight, reliability, and folding stock - Downes takes advantage of the latter characteristic by concealing his AR-18 beneath his winter jacket. He uses the weapon on several missions - first to kill a British soldier patrolling the Falls Road in Belfast, and later to hold the wife of an RUC officer hostage in her own home.

Armalite AR-18 5.56mm

Billy Downes aims his Armalite AR-18 at a British soldier from the attic of a building.

Downes points his AR-18 at a Protestant family he is holding hostage.

Another view of Downes with his AR-18 during the hostage-taking mission.