Welrod The Welrod was a British bolt action , magazine fed , suppressed pistol devised during World War II at the Inter - Services Research Bureau ( later Station IX ) , based near Welwyn Garden City , UK , for use by irregular forces and resistance groups . Approximately 2 , 800 were made . History . It was used primarily by the British SOE but was also used by the American OSS and Resistance forces . The Welrod was extremely quiet for a gun , producing a sound of around 73 dB when fired . Examples were made in 9mm and . 32 ACP , with magazine of six and eight rounds . The Welrod took the form of a cylinder about 12 inches long . The rear of the cylinder contained the bolt , the middle the ported barrel and expansion chamber of the suppressor , and the front the baffles and wipes of the suppressor . There was a knurled knob at the rear that served as the bolt handle , and the magazine was also the grip . Removing the magazine / grip made the weapon easier to conceal . The Welrod was provided with sights marked with fluorescent paint for use in low light conditions . Although it had a maximum suggested range of 23 metres it was intended for use far closer — up to point - blank range . The muzzle end of the gun was cut away so that it could be fired in direct contact with the target . This would reduce the sound levels even further and remove the chance of missing . The ported barrel of the Welrod served two purposes : it released the powder gases gradually into the rear of the suppressor , reducing the sound of firing , and it reduced the velocity of the bullet to subsonic speeds ( especially important in the 9 mm version since the standard 9 mm loading is supersonic ) . The baffles and wipes that follow the barrel serve to further slow the gases of firing , releasing them over a longer period of time and avoiding the sharp explosion that occurs when high pressure powder gases are suddenly released to the atmosphere . The Welrod used a bolt - action design because it was simple , reliable and quiet . The bolt - action has only the noise of the firing pin hitting the primer , and the bolt can be cycled quietly . The Welrod was a " sanitised " weapon , meaning that it had no markings indicating its manufacturer or country of origin ; all it was marked with was a serial number and some inscrutable symbols and letters . The Birmingham Small Arms Company Limited ( BSA ) confirmed that they manufactured some Welrod pistols , but that they put no markings at all on them , so it is likely that any markings were added by the British military after delivery . The Welrod was widely used in Denmark during World War II , and is reported to have been used during the 1982 Falklands War , throughout The Troubles in Northern Ireland and during operation Desert Storm by British Special Forces . Operation . The pistol is manually operated using a rotary bolt , locking with two lugs . Loading is performed with a pull / push action using the round knurled knob to the rear of the weapon . The trigger is single stage with a simple safety at the back of the magazine housing . The detachable single stack magazine contains 6 or 8 rounds ( depending on calibre ) and serves as a pistol grip with the bottom part enclosed into the plastic cover . Name . The name " Welrod " comes from the custom that all the clandestine equipment devised at Station IX in " Welwyn " had names starting with " Wel " , e . g . , " Welbike " , " Welman " . A document was produced towards the end of World War II to ensure that the right persons were properly credited for their inventions at Station IX . This document reveals that the inventor of the Welrod was Major Hugh Reeves who was also responsible for the Sleeve gun ( similar to the Welrod , though single shot and intended to be concealed up a sleeve ) and several other important inventions .