World of Guns 2 - Sub machine Guns (Series 1)

The submachine gun is an automatic or selective-fired shoulder weapon that fires pistol-caliber ammunition. The concept of submachine gun dates back to World War One; the trench warfare of this war required effective and compact weapons for short-range fighting in trenches; additionally, a lightweight and maneuverable fully automatic weapon was desirable to complement light machine guns in both defensive and offensive scenarios, to cover last 200 meters of assault on enemy positions. The first weapon which can be considered to some extent as the world's first submachine gun was the Italian Villar-Perosa, which was a twin-barreled automatic weapon that fired 9mm Glisenti pistol ammunition from top-mounted box magazines. It was compact, but its primary tactical role was of short-range machine gun; therefore it was usually fired from some sort of mount, and fitted with machine-gun type spade grips instead of more conventional rifle-type stock.

Villar-Perosa submachine gun in museum exposition.

The first true submachine gun was the Bergmann / Schmeisser MP.18,I, which saw some action during closing days of the Great war. This was a shoulder-fired weapon, that set the basic pattern for all following weapons of its class. The inter-war decades produced a significant number of submachine guns, but the tactical niche for these weapons was still unclear for many military experts. It was the Grand Chako war, the Spanish Civil war and Russo-Finnish Winter war of 1940 that proved the viability of submachine guns as general-issue weapons for fighting troops. Nevertheless, regardless of the large number of available models, by the start of World War Two in most armies submachine guns were relegated to secondary role. For example, the very technically advanced Wehrmacht (Hitler's army) issued MP-38 and MP-40 submachine guns to infantry troops in proportion of about one SMG per ten bolt action rifles. It was the Red (Soviet) army which issued PPSh-41 submachine guns as primary infantry weapons to entire companies and battalions. Despite the success of several new submachine guns, developed during the WW2, this war marked the start of decline of submachine guns as primary infantry weapons. The appearance of assault rifle, which, while being only slightly heavier than most SMGs, had much longer effective range, put an abrupt end to infantry use of submachine guns in Soviet army. On the other hand, the NATO countries still issued 9mm submachine guns to many non-infantry units and certain soldiers in infantry (i.e. scouts, machine gun and mortar crews etc) to complement relatively large and heavy semi-automatic or fully-automatic rifles firing powerful 7,62x51 NATO ammunition. The appearance (and wide distribution) of small-caliber assault rifles marked the final phase of history of submachine gun as general-issue infantry weapon.

Despite of all said above, it must be noted that submachine guns still posses several qualities that are very useful in certain military scenarios. For example, submachine guns can be easily silenced, making them very useful for various special operations forces.

The police and security use of submachine guns, on the other hand, has been greatly increased during last 30 or 40 years. Proliferation of international terrorism, drugs trafficking, gang crime and other violent crimes forced many police forces to adopt a variety of submachine guns for special police teams. Compact submachine guns, which appeared during 1960's and 1970's, such as Micro-Uzi or HK MP5k, were quickly adopted by various VIP protection teams that favored compact size combined with massive short-range firepower of such guns. Of cause, the other side of the law also saw benefits of submachine guns; for example, more than few gangsters, outlaws and terrorists used various submachine guns, starting with "Chicago typewriter" (Thompson submachine gun) and up to Czechoslovak Scorpion or Croatian Agram 2000.

Russian law enforcement officer holds compact submachine gun during counter-terrorism operation (2005).

Owen machine carbine / submachine gun (Australia)

Owen 32ACP prototype submachine gun (1940)

Owen Mk.1-43 submachine gun in camouflage paint

Owen Mk.1-42 submachine gun, field stripped

Characteristics

Caliber: 9x19mm Luger/Para 

Weight: 4.22 kg unloaded

Length: 813 mm

Barrel length: 247 mm

Rate of fire: 700 rounds per minute

Magazine capacity: 32 rounds

Effective range: 100-200 meters

Evelyn Owen, an Australian, developed his first automatic weapon, chambered for .22LR cartridge, by 1939, and offered it to Australian army. This weapon was a strange-looking revolver-type contraption with fixed "cylinder" instead of magazine, and thumb-operated trigger. However, by 1940 Owen produced its next design, in somewhat more potent (but still relatively mild) .32ACP / 7.65x17 Browning cartridge. This was more "usual" weapon, with traditional trigger, dual pistol grips and detachable box magazine, inserted under the receiver and inclined rearward and to the left. By 1941, Owen produced several more prototypes, chambered in .45ACP, 9mm Luger and even .38 Special revolver cartridges; this work was done at Lysaghts Newcastle Works in New South Wales, Australia. 9mm prototype, made by Lysaghts, was tested against Thompson and Sten submachine guns, and found superior to both. Adopted in 1942, this gun was manufactured until 1945 in three basic versions, Mark 1-42, Mark 1-43 (or Mark 1 Wood butt), and Mark 2. About 45 000 Owen SMGs were made by Lysaghts, and these remained in service with Australian forces until 1960s, through World War 2, Korean and Vietnam wars. In general, these weapons were well liked by soldiers due to their robustness, reliability and simplicity. The only downside of Owen SMG was its somewhat heavy weight.

Owen submachine guns are blowback operated, top-fed weapons that fired from open bolt. Receiver is of tubular shape, with the bolt body separated from the cocking handle by the small bulkhead inside. This precluded the dirt to enter the receiver area through the cocking handle slot, but also required the barrel to be made removable, as the bolt and return spring were pulled forward out of receiver. Barrel was held in place by simple latch, located at the front of the receiver, ahead of the magazine housing. Muzzle was equipped with recoil compensator. Pistol grips were made from wood, detachable buttstock was made of steel wire on Mk.1-42 Owens and from wood on later models. Due to the top mounted magazine, fixed sights were offset to the left.

Steyr TMP (Austria)

Characteristics

Caliber: 9x19mm Luger/Parabellum

Weight: 1,3 kg empty

Length: 282 mm

Rate of fire: 800-900 rounds per minute

Magazine capacity: 15 or 30 rounds

Steyr TMP is a modern compact SMG. It is blowback operated, locked breech design, with rotating barrel. This mean that after the shot bolt with barrel locked to it are moving backward for some 4 millimeters. Then, the barrel rotates clockwise slightly, and thus unlocks the bolt. Rotaton controls via small cam on the barrel that follows the spiral groove inside the receiver.

Both upper and lower receiver are made from polymer. TMP has no stock and could be fired only from off-hand position.

Safeties featured automatic off-battery safety, drop safety and the manual safety switch.

TMP is reported as a very controllable and comfortable to fire firearm.

Steyr AUG Para 9mm submachine gun (Austria)

Steyr AUG A1 Para 9mm submachine gun, original version.

Steyr AUG A3 XS 9mm submachine gun.

Characteristics

Data for current production Steyr AUG A3 XS submachine gun

Caliber 9x19mm Luger/Parabellum

Weight 3,0 kg empty

Length 610 mm

Barrel length: 325 mm

Magazine capacity 25 rounds

Rate of fire ~700 rounds/minute

The original Steyr AUG Para 9mm submachine gun is a reversible conversion of the original Steyr AUG assault rifle, intended mostly for short-range police and special operations work. This weapons combines relatively compact dimensions with very good accuracy (compared with other 9mm submachine guns), thanks to a long barrel and closed-bolt firing. If necessary, Steyr AUG 9mm submachine gun also can be fitted with silencer.

Steyr AUG Para 9mm submachine gun utilizes basic components (aluminum receiver and polymer stock of bullpup configuration) from the Steyr AUG assault rifle. The 9mm barrel is installed (original Steyr AUG assault rifles have quick detachable barrels), and a gas-operated locked bolt action is replaced with simple blowback (unlocked) bolt. Original firing system with hammer and pull-through selective trigger (short pull results in single shots, long pull - in full automatic fire) is retained, and a special magazine adapter is installed into the magazine housing. Depending on the basic version of the Steyr AUG assault rifle, which is used for conversion, 9mm version will retain its parent sighting equipment - 1.5X telescope sight in A1 version of Picatinny rail with optional open or optical sights in A2 and A3 versions.

STEN submachine guns (Great Britain) 

STEN Mk.IV (STEN Mark 4) submachine gun.

STEN Mk.V (STEN Mark 5) submachine gun.

STEN Mk.VI (STEN Mark 6 silenced) submachine gun.

Characteristics

	STEN Mk.II	STEN Mk.IIS	STEN Mk.III	STEN Mk.V
Caliber	9x19mm	9x19mm	9x19mm	9x19mm
Weight, empty	3,26 kg	3,48 kg	3,18 kg	3,86 kg
Length	895 mm	900 mm	762 mm	762 mm
Barrel length	196 mm	90 mm	196 mm	196 mm
Rate of fire	550 rounds per minute	450 rounds per minute	550 rounds per minute	600 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	32 rounds	32 rounds	32 rounds	32 rounds
Effective range	150-200 meters	50-100 meters	150-200 meters	150-200 meters

The STEN name came out of names of the designers (R. V. Shepard and H. J. Turpin) and from the factory where they worked (Enfield arsenal). It was one of the most crude and ugly and simply, but effective submachine guns of the WW2. Almost 4 millions of STEN guns of different versions were made between 1941 and 1945. STEN guns were made not only in Royal Small Arms factory in Enfield; other makers included famous British gunmaking company of the time BSA Ltd, as well as Royal Ordnance Arsenal in Fazakerly, England, and Long Branch Arsenal in Canada.

The first STEN, STEN Mk.I (full official name was 9mm STEN Machine Carbine, Mark 1), was developed in mid-1941. It was blowback operated, automatic weapon that fired from the open bolt. Trigger unit permitted for sigle shots and full automatic fire, controlled by the cross-bolt type button, located in front and above trigger. The tubular receiver and the barrel shroud were made from rolled steel. The gun was fed from left side mounted box magazines. The stock was of skeleton type, made from steel. Sights were fixed, pre-adjusted for 100 yards distance, peep hole rear and blade front. The Mk.1 featured spoon-like muzzle compensator. Some guns featured small folding forward grip. Total production of Mark 1 and slightly modified Mark 1* STEN machine guns was about 100 000.

The STEN Mk.II submachine gun was most widely made gun in entire STEN series, with about 2 millions of Mark 2 being made during the war. It was slightly smaller and lighter than Mk.I. Basic design was the same as Mark 1, with omission of all wooden parts of Mk.I and shorter barrel jacket, which made the Mk.II lighter than its predecessor. Magazine housing could be rotated for about 90 degrees down to close feed and ejection apertures during transportation and off-battle carry (this feature caused much troubles as the rotary unit was not very durable and magazine could be misaligned during combat, what led to feed malfunctions and jams). Another source of problems was magazine spring, so magazines were routinely loaded with 28-30 rounds instead of "full capacity" 32 rounds to reduce strain on the magazine spring.

Some Mk.II STEN guns were manufactured with integral silencers for undercover operations and were marked as Mk.II(S). These guns had shortened barrels enclosed into integral silencer. The silencer was rather effective so most audible sound when firing Mk.IIS was the clattering of the bolt moving back and forth in the receiver. Contemporary manuals advised that Mk.IIS submachine gun was to be fired in semi-automatic mode; the ful-automatic fire was reserved for emergency situations, as it decreased the service life of  silencer significantly.

The STEN Mk.III was modification of Mk.I. The major change was that the receiver and the barrel shroud were made from single tube (wrapped from sheet-steel and welded at the top) that extended almost to the muzzle. Another changes included fixed magazine housing for improved reliability and small finger guard in the front of the ejection port. Internally, Mk.III was similar to Mk.I and has same variety of skeleton stocks. Mk.III first appeared in 1943.

The STEN Mk.IV was made in experimental form only, and did not entered the production. It was originally intended for airborne troops.

The STEN Mk.V submachine gun was an attempt to made Mk.II a more "good looking'" gun. Being internally the same as Mk.II, the "STEN Mk.V machine carbine" featured wooden buttstock and rear pistol grip, new front sight and bayonet mount. Early Mk.V's also featured wooden front grips, but these were prone to breakage and thus were removed soon. STEN Mk.V appeared in 1944 and remained in service until the early 1960s', and then replaced by Sterling submachine guns.

Sterling - Patchett submachine gun (Great Britain)

Sterling L2A3 / Mk.4 submachine gun

Sterling L34A1 / Mk.5 silenced submachine gun.

Sterling L2A3 / Mk.4 submachine gun, partially disassembled.

Characteristics

	Sterling L2A3	Sterling L34A1 silenced
Caliber	9x19mm Luger/Parabellum/NATO
Weight, empty	2,7 kg	3,6 kg
Length (stock closed/open)	481 / 686 mm	660 / 864 mm
Barrel length	196 mm	196 mm
Rate of fire	550 rounds per minute	550 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	34 rounds	34 rounds
Effective range	200 meters	50-100 meters

The famous Sterling submachine gun was born in around 1942 as "Patchettmachine carbine" - a prototype submachine gun, developed by George W.Patchett and originally produced by Sterling Engineering Co in England. Several prototypes were built before the end of the war, and the Sterling-Patchett submachine gun participated in extensive trials, held in UK between 1945 and 1953, when it was finally announced as a winner of trials, and adopted as"9mm Sterling submachine gun L2A1" (factory designation was"Patchett Mk.1"). Sterling submachine guns were produced for British armed forces by Sterling company and Royal Ordnance Arsenalin Fazakerly, England; Long Branch Arsenal in Canada made a slightly modified Sterling under license for Canadian army as C1. In a slightly modified form,known in British service as L2A3 submachine gun or as "Sterling submachine gun, Mark 4" or Sterling Mk.4 in short, it served with British army until early 1990s, when it was finally replaced by troublesome L85A1 assault rifle. Nearly 400 000 of Sterling submachine guns were produced until late 1980s. In 1967, British army adopted the L34A1 /Sterling Mk.5 silenced submachine gun, which is apparently still in limited use with certain special operations elements in British army.

 Sterling submachine guns also were widely sold for export, more than 70 countries had purchased various quantities of Sterling submachine guns.

 It must be noted that Sterling submachine guns were rather popular among British troops, because of relatively compact size, adequate firepower and acuracy andgood reliability.

L2A3 /Sterling Mk.4 submachine gun is blowback operated, selective fired weapons that fires from open bolt. The fire mode selector / manual safety lever is located on the left side of trigger unit, above the grip panel. Tubular receiver, which also serves as a barrel jacket at the front, contains a cylindrical bolt with fixed firing pin. Bolt body has several spiral grooves on its outside surface which collect the dust and fouling from inside the receiver, and thus greatly improve reliability of the gun under field conditions. Feeding is from the left side;magazines are inserted horizontally, and ejection is to the right. Magazines are of slightly curved shape for improved feeding reliability. Buttstock is made from stamped steel and folds down and below the receiver to save space. Standard sights include protected front blade and flip-up rear aperture sight, marked for100 and 200 yards range, and also protected from sides by sturdy"ears".

 Special "high power, submachine-gun only" ammunition was procured by British army for Sterling submachine guns. This ammunition was absolutely safe in Sterling submachine guns, but can cause extensive wear to many 9mm pistols designed for commercial 9x19 ammunition.

 L34A1 /Sterling Mk.5 silenced submachine gun differed in the barrel section, as its barrel has some 72 small holes used to vent powder gases into the rear expansion chamber of the integral silencer. This was necessary to decrease the muzzle velocity of the bullet so it would be below the speed of sound. Like its predecessor, the STEN Mk.IIS, the silenced Sterling gun was intended to be fired mostly in semi-automatic mode; the full-automatic fire was for emergency purposes only.

Schmeisser MP submachine gun (Germany)

Bergmann / Schmeisser MP-18/I submachine gun, with 32-round snail drum magazine.

Modified Bergmann / Schmeisser MP-18/I submachine gun, with box-type 20-roundmagazine.

Schmeisser MP-28/II submachine gun, with box magazine shown separately.

Characteristics

Caliber	9x19mm Luger / Parabellum (see text for more chambering options)
Weight	4 kg empty
Length	820 mm
Barrel length	200 mm
Rate of fire	550-600 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	20 or 32 rounds
Effective range	100-150 meters

The Schmeisser MP-28/II (another variant of markings is M.P.28.II) submachine gun is a post-WW1 evolution of the first practical submachine gun, developed by same designer, the MP-18/I. MP-28/II was produced in limited numbers in Germany by C.G.Haenel company in Suhl, for police use; it was also produced under license in significant numbers in Belgium, by Pieper, and sold to someSouth African and South American countries, and also to China, Japan and Spain. MP-28/IIwas basically the same weapon asMP-18/I, with minor improvements such as added fire mode selector and tangent sight. Another difference was availability of different calibers in export models, in cluding7,63x25 Mauser, 7,65x22 Luger, 9x19 Luger, 9x23 Bergmann / Largo, 9x25 Mauser export and even an .45 ACP (11,43x25). Belgian Army adopted M.P.28.II in 1934 as Mitrailette Modele 1934, in 9x19. The M.P.28.II saw significant use during Spanish Civil War of 1936-39.

M.P.28.II submachine gun is blowback operated, selective-fire weapon that fired from open bolt. Tubular receiver was attached to the front of the wooden stock,and could be pivoted barrel down for maintenance and disassembly. Magazines are inserted from the left side, ejection is to the right. Manual safety is made in the form of locking cut, made in the receiver, which engages the bolt handle to lock bolt in open (cocked) position. Fire mode selector was made in the form of cross-bolt button, located above the trigger. Standard sights consisted of blade front and tangent rear sight, marked from 100 and up to very optimistic 1000 meters

Erma MP-38 and MP-40 submachine gun (Germany)

 MP-38 submachine gun.

MP-40 submachine gun, with shoulder stock opened.

 MP-40-II submachine gun, with sliding dual magazine housing 

Characteristics

Caliber: 9x19mm Luger/Para
Weight: 4,7 kg loaded, 4,03 kg empty
Length (stock closed/open): 630/833 mm
Barrel length: mm
Rate of fire: 500 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 32 rounds
Effective range: ca. 100 meters

The M.P. 38 submachine gun started its life under requirements from German Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Weapons Office), which saw the need for a compact submachine gun, suitable for use by armored vehicles crews and paratroopers. German arms-making company Erfurter Maschinenfabrik Gmbh,better known under its trade name Erma, began the development of a new weapon under HWA specifications. It must be noted that a new submachine gun was not built from the scratch; instead, it was just an evolution of a rarely known prototype weapon, provisionally known as Erma MP-36. MP-36 was a compact version of the better known Erma EMP submachine gun, but fitted with now-familiar underfolding metallic shoulder stock and bottom-feed magazine, which was slightly canted forward to accommodate EMP magazines. MP-36 was a selective-fired weapon, and in fact the improved MP-38 was a simplified version of its little known predecessor, adapted for different magazine. Therefore, it took only few months before the new weapon was ready for official adoption and mass production. Manufacture of a new submachine gun,designated as MP-38, commenced in summer of 1938, at Erma, and later on also at C.G. Haenel. 

 The gun was manufactured for just 2 years, when it was replaced in production by externally similar, but less expensive MP-40, which used more stamped parts instead of machined parts, found in MP-38. There also were minor variations in design of MP-38, such as shape of cocking handle etc. MP-40 was also produced in a number of variations, which differed in shape of certain parts; also, toward the end of the war, several production shortcuts were introduced to save the costs of manufacturing. probably the most interesting variation of the MP-40 were the MP-40-II and MP-40-II. These guns featured dual magazine housings which hold two magazines in a laterally sliding bracket. This increase the total ammunition capacity "in the gun" to 64 rounds, in a desperate attempt to catch up with 71-round magazine capacity of Soviet PPSh-41. The later variant, MP-40-II, was made in limited numbers, but turned out to be a failure - sliding dual-magazine housing was a constant source of jams and failures, and was very sensitive to dirt and fouling.

 Nevertheless, MP-38 and especially MP-40 submachine guns were of good design,and set the pattern for so called "second generation" of submachine guns ("first generation" being represented by the wood-stocked and carefully machined MP-18, MP-28and the like). The second generation weapons usually were of compact design, and made using mostly steel stampings and pressings, or castings.

It also must be noted that many MP-40 that survived the WW2, continued to serveup until late 1970s or early 1980s, in few European armies such as Austrian or Norwegian.

Both MP-38 and MP-40 submachine guns are blowback operated weapons that fired from open bolt. Both weapons were full-automatic only, but relatively slow rate of fire permitted for single shots with short trigger pulls. The proprietary bolt system with telescoped return spring guide served as a pneumatic recoil buffer,helping to decrease rate of fire to a very manageable level. The bolt handle was permanently attached to the bolt on early MP-38's; on late production MP-38's and MP-40's bolt handle was made as a separate part and also served as a safety- pushing the head of bolt handle inward locked the bolt either in cocked or forward position. Lack of such feature on early MP-38's resulted in field expedients such as leather harnesses with small loop, used to hold the bolt in forward position. One unusual feature on most MP-38 and MP-40 submachine guns was an aluminum or plastic rail under the barrel, which served as a barrel support /protector when firing over the board of armored personnel carrier. The short handguard was made from plastic and was located between magazine housing and pistol grip; barrel lacked any heat insulation, which often caused burns for supporting hand. Folding shoulder stock resulted for compact weapon when folded,but it was insufficiently durable for combat use and hand-to-hand combat.Single-feed, double-row box magazine was another weak point of the design; it was hard to load without additional help, and often caused jams.

Schmeisser MK.36,III submachine gun (Germany)

Caliber, mm	9x19
Length, overall, mm	1130
Weight, kg	4,8 empty
Barrel length, mm	502
Magazine capacity, rounds	20 or 32
Rate of fire, rounds per minute	~ 500

The Schmeisser MK.36,III submachine gun was interesting pre-WW2 development as it was apparently made in an attempt to produce a standard-issue infantry weapon at a time when SMGs were generally considered by the military to be “specialist” weapons. Externally it was patterned after a typical military carbine, with a relatively long 50cm barrel, a carbine-type wooden stock with a standard bayonet mount, and rifle-type tangent sights market up to 1,000 metres. However, only a few prototypes were built as its internal design with telescoped bolt spring guide infringed on patents held by Henrich Follmer (designer of the Erma EMP, MP.38 and MP.40 submachine guns).

Schmeisser MK.36,III submachine gun is a simple blowback-operated, select-fire weapon firing from the open bolt. Manual safety was provided by moving retracted bolt handle into L-shaped cut made at the rear of its slot in the receiver, select-fire capability was provided by cross-bolt selector button, located above the trigger. Feed was from detachable box magazines. Open sights were marked from 100 to 1000 meters in 100-meter increments.

Erma MP-56, Mauser MP-57 submachine gun (Germany)

Erma MP-56 submachine gun

Mauser MP-57 submachine gun

Mauser MP-57 submachine gun

Data for Mauser MP-57

Caliber, mm	9x19
Length, overall, mm	610 / 430
Weight, kg	3.15 unloaded
Barrel length, mm	260
Magazine capacity, rounds	32
Rate of fire, rounds per minute	800

Erma MP-56 / Mauser MP-57 submachine gun was originally designed by a Frenchman called Louis Camillus and in 1955-1956 this weapon was submitted to Bundeswehr (German Army) trials as Erma MP-56 (made by Erma Werke). However, in 1957 rights to this design were transferred from Erma to Mauser Werke, where it was modified and submitted to next round of trials as Mauser MP-57, but lost to Israeli Uzi (adopted by German army circa 1959 as MP-2). Only about 25 of MP-57 submachine guns were made at Mauser. It was tested in several countries besides Germany, but no orders followed, and design was promptly shelved.

Mauser MP-57 submachine gun is a blowback operated, selective fired weapon which fires from open bolt. Fire mode selection is made through the safety / selector lever on the left side of the gun, above the trigger. Gun also features automatic grip safety (at the rear of the grip). Magazines are inserted into the pistol grip. Mauser MP-57 is fitted with top-folding shoulder stock and folding foregrip below the barrel.