Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is the fourth installment in the Indiana Jones feature film series. Harrison Ford returns for his fourth feature film appearance as the intrepid archaeologist, who this time is in 1957 and on the hunt for an artifact known as the Crystal Skull while being pursued by the Soviet Army. Steven Spielberg returns as director, which was released in May of 2008, and the cast includes Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBeouf and Karen Allen, who returns as Marion Ravenwood. Ford would return for perhaps his final time as Jones in the 2023 film Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

The following weapons were used in the film Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull:

WARNING! THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS!

Handguns

Webley "WG" Army Model

As in The Last Crusade, Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) carries a commercial Webley "WG" Army Model revolver as his main sidearm. He is seen cocking the hammer on one of the cemetery "guards", but doesn't fire it in the film.

Webley "WG" Army Model - .455 Webley

A production still of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones with his whip and Webley "WG" Army Model revolver.

Indy cocks the hammer on his Webley WG Army when a cemetery "guard" threatens Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf).

"You're a teacher?"
"Part-time".
Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) with the Webley WG Army revolver.

Tokarev TT-33

The Tokarev TT-33 is carried by Soviet Army officers and KGB agents; the versions used in the film are actual Soviet made TT-33s and the Chinese Type 54 copy, which would have existed at the time (the '54' refers to the year of its adoption by the PLA), but would not have been used by the Soviets. You can tell because they have a large safety switch and the distinctive grips of the Chinese-made Tokarevs. Soviet TT-33s sometimes also have a safety, but this was forced upon importers after 1990 by the ATF, so many Soviet Era TT-33 pistols were drilled out and had a safety installed by importers in the 1990s. Soviets using TT-33s in 1957 is likely anachronistic, as it had been replaced from service by the Makarov PM in 1951.

Tokarev TT-33 - 7.62x25mm Tokarev. Pre-1947 version.

As the KGB pull their Soviet Tokarevs, Mutt Williams (Shia LaBeouf) is told he just brought his "knife to a gunfight". The wider serrations on the slides would suggest pre-war manufacture.

Norinco Type 54 Model 213 with blued finish - 9x19mm

Actual screen-used Chinese-made Norinco Model 213 as held by Col. Dr. Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett).

Screen-used Tokarev in display case.

Col. Dr. Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) holds her Tokarev TT-33. The large safety reveals that it is a Chinese Type 54.

Browning Hi-Power

A Browning Hi-Power is used by George 'Mac' McHale (Ray Winstone) in the film. Mac's BHP has an external extractor, which wasn't introduced until 1963. It also has the higher profile adjustable "beer can" sights first offered in 1971. It does, however, have the correct "ring" hammer, which was replaced with a spur hammer in 1972.

Browning Hi-Power - 9x19mm

Screen-used Browning Hi-Power from Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Image courtesy of Prop Store.

A Browning Hi-Power is held by George 'Mac' McHale (Ray Winstone).

A Browning Hi-Power on Indy and Mutt.

Colt M1911A1

Colonel Dovchenko (Igor Jijikine), while disguised as US Army Colonel "Truman," carries a Colt M1911A1 pistol as his sidearm. This plastic and metal dummy Colt M1911 pistol, actually an airsoft gun (no longer capable of firing pellets), is a highly detailed copy of a real Colt 1911 pistol. Dummy pistols such as these are used during filming when a real firearm is not necessary as the actor is not firing the gun. They are also used for background actors to fill out the number of weapons in a scene, or as "holster stuffers." Keen eyes will catch that the "Prop Store of London"'s "official" version is an M1911A1, not an M1911, so the replica gun doesn't exactly match the blank firing weapon used on set.

War time issued (WWII) Colt M1911A1 - .45 ACP

A screen-used prop M1911.

Colonel Dovchenko (Igor Jijikine) raises his M1911 on Indy.

The M1911 trained on Indy.

Rifles

M1 Carbine

M1 Carbines are used by the Soviet spies disguised as US Army soldiers and by Indiana Jones at the beginning of the film. Most of them are fitted with 30 round magazines. The ones with 15rd magazines are most likely non-firing plastic replicas.

M1 Carbine - .30 Carbine

Screen-used prop M1 Carbine.

Indy aims the M1 Carbine at Spalko. The selector is just behind the handguard

Soviet spies disguised as US soldiers train their M1s on Indy and Mac. Note that with their positions, they would hit each other if they were to shoot them.

M1s are slung over the shoulders of the guards that carry the mysterious Area 51 crate. Also seen where Indy got the idea for his escape.

Norinco Type 56

Almost all of the AK-47-type rifles in this movie are stamped-receiver Chinese Norinco Type 56s (fixed stock) and Type 56-1s (folding stock), including the one used by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) during the chase. Aside from the fact that the Soviets should not be using Chinese-made weapons, AKs with stamped receivers didn't exist until 1959, and the Chinese didn't go to the stamped receivers until 1963. So, although AKs were around then, these particular models are an anachronism. There is a very good possibility that the production crew used the Norinco Type 56 as a "stand-in" for Soviet AK-47s since there are not many genuine Soviet AK-47s in the US as well as the Type 56 looking like the original Soviet-made AK-47 rifles from a distance (the Norinco Type 56 has a smooth receiver cover that is similar to the ones used on the original Soviet AK-47). Also, the folding-stock model wasn't made until the early 60s, though the ones used might simply be stand-ins for AKS-47 rifles.

Norinco Type 56-1 7.62x39mm

Norinco Type 56 (Imported into the U.S. as the Norinco AKS-47 or AKS-47 Sporter) - 7.62x39mm. This particular gun lacks the "pig sticker" bayonet seen on the model above, which was standard on PLA-issue Type 56s, but much rarer on the export versions.

A production image of Soviet soldiers firing at Indy with Norinco Type 56-1s (Chinese AKS-47/AKMS clones).

The Soviets behind Marion (Karen Allen) carry their Norincos.

A Type 56-1 (folding stock) is used by Irina Spalko (Cate Blanchett) during the chase.

Soviet troops open fire with their Norinco rifles on Indy and Mac.

AKMS

In some scenes, some of the rifles held by the Soviet soldiers are AKMS rifles.

AKMS - 7.62x39mm

Soviets holding AKs. However, the AKs these Soviets are holding are not Norinco Type 56-1s but Soviet (or Eastern European or Egyptian) AKMS rifles (note the foregrips, foresight, receiver cover and the AKM muzzle compensator)

Submachine Guns

Thompson M1928A1

A Thompson M1928A1 held by Mac (Ray Winstone) in Hangar 51. The Thompson M1928A1s seen in the hands of the Soviet spies disguised as U.S. soldiers at the beginning of the film. This is slightly inconsistent with their disguises because the Thompson M1928A1 was phased out by the M1A1 by 1942, due to the drum magazines for it was being more prone to jamming, rattling when moving, and being bulky and heavier. It is presumed that these are Lend-Lease models that the Roosevelt administration shipped to the Soviets as a form of military aid during the Second World War.

M1928A1 Thompson with 30-round stick magazine - .45 ACP

Screen-used rubber prop Thompson.

The Thompson Submachine Gun seen in the hands of the Soviet infiltrators disguised as US soldiers at the beginning of the film.

A Soviet infiltrator disguised as a US soldier holds the Thompson on Mac.

The metal buckle of the Thompson's sling is attracted to the alien container in Hangar 51.

Ray Winstone as Mac with the Thompson in a promotional still.

Mac with the Thompson.

Machine Guns

Browning M1919A6

A Browning M1919A6 machine gun with the stock removed is seen on the GAZ 46 MAV in this movie. It is lost during the waterfall scene. It is possible this weapon could be a 'captured example' from WWII/Korea used by the Soviets prior to the PK machine gun, or on lease from communist South American countries aiding the Soviets. A more likely possibility that the weapon was an attempt (and a fairly poor one at that) to imitate the design of the Soviet KPV.

Browning M1919A6, post WWII manufacture - .30-06

A production still of Cate Blanchett as Irina Spalko behind the Browning mocked up to resemble the KPV.

As Spalko holds the Crystal Skull, the MG mockup is seen to her right on the Soviet "Duck".

Spalko fires the Browning on Marion.

Another view of the Browning as Indy drives the "Duck".

Shotguns

Winchester Model 1897 "Trench Gun"

A Soviet spy disguised as a US soldier is armed with a Winchester Model 1897 "Trench Gun" at the beginning of the film.

Winchester Model 1897 12 gauge Trench Gun

A Soviet spy posing as a US soldier armed with a Winchester Model 1897 unloads a shell for Indy.

Other

Type 69 RPG

An RPG-type launcher is seen used by Indy to take out a Soviet vehicle. This particular launcher resembles a Chinese Type 69 RPG and is meant as a substitute for the Soviet RPG-2, which was in use with the Red Army in 1957 (the date the film was set). In the film, the weapon is loaded with a PG-2 antitank rocket (a round which only the RPG-2 can fire), but the launcher still has the folding carry handle and thicker heat shield of the Type 69. CGI is utilized when the round is fired.

Type 69 RPG - 40mm

A production still of Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones with a Type 69, mocked up to resemble the RPG-2.

The PG-2 round is seen in the launcher as it is revealed to Marion and Mutt.

"I'd cover my ears if I were you".
Indy prepares to use the launcher. While the correct PG-2 round is loaded, the folding carry handle and thicker heat shield of the Type 69 launcher is visible here.

Mk 2 hand grenade

Jones uses gunpowder from several Mk 2 hand grenades to locate the highly magnetic box. The Mk. II grenade was filled with EC blank fire (smokeless firearm) powder, rather than the black powder depicted in the film.

Mk 2 "Pineapple" World War II-made High-Explosive Fragmentation hand grenade

Colonel Dovchenko empties one of his Mk 2 grenades for Jones.

Soviet infiltrators emptying their Mk 2 hand grenade powder into a military cover in order to find the magnetic box they are looking for.

Trivia

In the United States, the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) does not allow firearms to be directly pointed at a person in the same screenshot in movie trailers that are deemed "approved for appropriate audiences" (so-called "Green Band" trailers). Thus, the studio resorts to CGI to disguise this fact. Below is an example:

A screenshot from the US "Green Band" trailer. Note how the soldier in front is holding the M1 Carbine down, the protruding arm holding the Thompson on the left side, and the soldier with the Thompson in the back is holding the weapon to his side.

The scene as it appears in the film.

For other examples, please see Cop Out, World War Z, and Iron Man.