Danuvia, known fully as Danuvia Engineering Industries Rt. ( Hungarian: ''Danuvia Gépgyár'', lit. ''Danuvia Machinery Factory''), was a Hungarian manufacturer founded in 1920 that produced firearms, munitions, machine tools and motorcycles for the Central and Eastern European armies and markets.

History

Danuvia was founded on June 4, 1920 by the Hungarian government as an alternative to

Fegyver- és Gépgyár Fegyver- és Gépgyártó Részvénytársaság ("Arms and Machine Manufacturing Company"), known as FÉG, is a Hungary, Hungarian industrial conglomerate founded on 24 February 1891 in Csepel (now part of Budapest). The company came under the ow ...

, to produce arms for the Royal Hungarian Army and the Hungarian People's Army over the 20th century in discretion of oversight by the Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control, particularly during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Hungary at the time was under treaty following the defeat and dissolution of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

as a result of the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (french: Traité de Trianon, hu, Trianoni békeszerződés, it, Trattato del Trianon) was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference and was signed in the Grand Trianon château in ...

from

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, thus the company was originally given the title of ''Danuvia Külkereskedelmi Rt'', lit. ''Danuvia Foreign Trade Co'', and declared a foreign trading company to circumvent the restrictions on military rearmament following the treaty's signature. In 1938, Hungarian prime minister

Kálmán Darányi Kálmán Darányi de Pusztaszentgyörgy et Tetétlen (22 March 1886 in Budapest – 1 November 1939 in Budapest) was a Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1936 to 1938. He also served as Speaker of the House of Re ...

announced the Győr armament program, aiming to modernise the equipment and arms of the Royal Hungarian Army. In 1940, Danuvia operated and owned the

Magyar Lőszerművek Magyar may refer to: * Hungarians * Hungarian language * Magyar tribes, fundamental political units of Hungarians between the period of leaving the Ural Mountains and the entrance of the Carpathian Basin * Zoltán Magyar Zoltán Magyar (born ...

(lit. ''Hungarian Ammunition Works'') factory in

Veszprém Veszprém (; german: Weißbrunn, sl, Belomost) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county (comitatus or 'megye') of ...

to service this new demand. During World War II, Hungary purchased the licensing rights to various

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

and other foreign weapons, which were produced at the Danuvia factories. In 1944, Production from the Danuvia factories were largely halted due to the advancement of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

. Following World War II underneath the jurisdiction of the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, Hungarian arms development efforts declined under Soviet efforts for military standardization and preferential treatment for Soviet weaponry by the Hungarian Communist Party

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

Mátyás Rákosi, such as the mass-produced

PPSh-41 The PPSh-41 () is a Soviet submachine gun designed by Georgy Shpagin as a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40. A common Russian nickname for the weapon is "''papasha''" (), meaning "daddy", and it was sometimes called the "burp gun" ...

. From 1954 to 1966, Danuvia also manufactured motorcycles. The Danuvia factories were based in the Zugló district of

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

, on Angol utca ("English Street"). Danuvia was eventually disbanded in 1998, selling off intellectual property for their products to companies such as Intermodul Weapon Shops.

Products

During the weapon manufacturing era of Danuvia, the company employed several notable Hungarian firearms designers, including

Pál Király Pál Király (1880–1965) was a Hungarian engineer and weapons designer. Work & designs He is best known for development of lever-delayed blowback firearms, and being employed by the Danuvia company in the 1930s and 1940s to design and prod ...

, the inventor of the Danuvia 39.M and Danuvia 43M submachine guns,

József Kucher József () is a Hungarian masculine given name. It is the Hungarian name equivalent to Joseph. Notable people bearing this name include: * József Braun (also known as József Barna; 1901–1943), Hungarian Olympic footballer * József Cserm ...

, the inventor of the Danuvia M53 K1 submachine gun, and Róbert Vörös, the inventor of the Danuvia VD-01 pistol. Additionally, it was the manufacturer of the Danuvia brand of motorcycles from 1954 to 1966.

References

{{Weapons of Hungary, state = autocollapse Companies established in 1920 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1998 Hungarian brands 1920 establishments in Hungary Manufacturing companies based in Budapest hu:Danuvia Gépgyár