![Thompson-and-his-gun](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Thompson-and-his-gun.jpg)
A submachine gun (SMG) is a
magazine
A magazine is a periodical publication, generally published on a regular schedule (often weekly or monthly), containing a variety of content. They are generally financed by advertising, purchase price, prepaid subscriptions, or by a combinatio ...
-fed,
automatic carbine
A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges.
The smaller size and lighter ...
designed to fire
handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by
John T. Thompson
John Taliaferro () (anglicized to "Tolliver"http://www.nfatoys.com/tsmg/web/genthomp.htm John T. Thompson; A Brief History) Thompson (December 31, 1860 – June 21, 1940) was a United States Army officer best remembered as the inventor of the Th ...
, the inventor of the
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Stat ...
, to describe its design concept as an
automatic firearm
An automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharg ...
with notably less
firepower
Firepower is the military capability to direct force at an enemy. (It is not to be confused with the concept of rate of fire, which describes the cycling of the firing mechanism in a weapon system.) Firepower involves the whole range of potent ...
than a
machine gun
A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) a ...
(hence the prefix "
sub-"). As a machine gun must fire
rifle cartridge
A rifle cartridge is a firearm cartridge primarily designed and intended for use in a rifle/carbine, or machine gun.
Types Full-powered
A full-powered cartridge is a rifle cartridge used interchangeably between service rifles, sniper rifles ...
s to be classified as such, submachine guns are not considered machine guns.
The submachine gun was developed during
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 ...
(1914–1918) as a
close quarter offensive weapon, mainly for
trench raiding
Trench raiding was a feature of trench warfare which developed during World War I. It was the practice of making small scale night-time surprise attacks on enemy positions.
Overview
Typically, raids were carried out by small teams of men who ...
. At its peak during
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 ...
(1939–1945), millions of SMGs were made for use by
regular troops,
clandestine
Clandestine may refer to:
* Secrecy, the practice of hiding information from certain individuals or groups, perhaps while sharing it with other individuals
* Clandestine operation, a secret intelligence or military activity
Music and entertainme ...
commando
Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin">40_Commando.html" ;"title="Royal Marines from 40 Commando">Royal Marines from 40 Commando on patrol in the Sangin area of Afghanistan are pictured
A commando is a combatant, or operativ ...
s and
partisan
Partisan may refer to:
Military
* Partisan (weapon), a pole weapon
* Partisan (military), paramilitary forces engaged behind the front line
Films
* ''Partisan'' (film), a 2015 Australian film
* ''Hell River'', a 1974 Yugoslavian film also know ...
s alike. After the war, new SMG designs appeared frequently.
[Military Small Arms Of The 20th Century. Ian Hogg & John Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. p93] However, by the 1980s, SMG usage decreased.
Today, submachine guns have been largely replaced by
assault rifles,
which have a longer
effective range and are capable of penetrating the
helmet
A helmet is a form of protective gear worn to protect the head. More specifically, a helmet complements the skull in protecting the human brain. Ceremonial or symbolic helmets (e.g., a policeman's helmet in the United Kingdom) without protect ...
s and
body armor
Body armor, also known as body armour, personal armor or armour, or a suit or coat of armor, is protective clothing designed to absorb or deflect physical attacks. Historically used to protect military personnel, today it is also used by variou ...
used by modern
infantry
Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...
.
[David Crane (December 11, 2011)]
Submachine Guns (SMG’s): Outpaced by Today’s Modern Short-Barreled Rifles (SBR’s)/Sub-Carbines, or Still a Viable Tool for Close Quarters Battle/Close Quarters Combat (CQB/CQC)?
Defense Review. However, submachine guns are still used by
military special forces and
police SWAT teams for close-quarters battle (CQB) because they are "a pistol-caliber weapon that's easy to control, and less likely to
overpenetrate the target".
Name
There are some inconsistencies in the classification of submachine guns.
[Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. pages 93–94.] British Commonwealth sources often refer to SMGs as "machine carbines".
Other sources refer to SMGs as "machine pistols" because they fire pistol-caliber ammunition, for example, the
MP-40
The MP 40 (''Maschinenpistole 40'') is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War II.
Designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with ...
and
MP5
The Heckler & Koch MP5 (german: Maschinenpistole 5) is a 9x19mm Parabellum submachine gun, developed in the 1960s by a team of engineers from the German small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch. There are over 100 variants and clones of the MP5, ...
, where "MP" stands for ''Maschinenpistole'' ("Submachine gun" in German, but cognate with the English term "Machine pistol"). However, the term "
machine pistol
A machine pistol is an autoloading pistol capable of fully automatic fire. The term can also be used to describe a stockless handgun-style submachine gun. The term is a calque of ''Maschinenpistole'', the German word for submachine guns. Machine ...
" is also used to describe a
handgun
A handgun is a short- barrelled gun, typically a firearm, that is designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun (i.e. rifle, shotgun or machine gun, etc.), which needs to be held by both hands and also braced ...
-style
firearm
A firearm is any type of gun designed to be readily carried and used by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see Legal definitions).
The first firearms originated in 10th-century China, when bamboo tubes ...
capable of
fully automatic
An automatic firearm is an auto-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharge ...
or
burst fire
In automatic firearms, burst mode or burst-fire is a firing mode enabling the shooter to fire a predetermined number of rounds, usually two or three rounds on hand held weapons and 50-100+ on anti-aircraft weapons and autocannons, with a single ...
, such as the
Stechkin,
Beretta 93R
The Beretta 93R is an Italian selective-fire machine pistol, designed and manufactured by Beretta in the late 1970s for police and military use, that is derived from their semi-automatic Beretta 92. The "R" stands for ''Raffica'', which is It ...
and the
H&K VP70. Also,
personal defense weapon
Personal defense weapons (PDWs) are a class of firearms intended for self-defense and security rather than warfare and infantry. Most PDWs fire a small-caliber (less than ), centerfire bottleneck cartridge resembling a scaled-down intermediate ...
s such as the
FN P90
The FN P90 is a compact 5.7×28mm personal defense weapon designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. It can also be considered a submachine gun. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, t ...
and
H&K MP7
The Heckler & Koch MP7 (German: ''Maschinenpistole 7'') is a personal defense weapon chambered for the HK 4.6×30mm armor-piercing cartridge designed by German defence manufacturer Heckler & Koch.
It was designed (together with the new cartri ...
are often called submachine guns.
In addition, some
compact assault rifles, such as the Colt XM177 and
HK53, have been historically referred to as submachine guns as they served in the latter's role.
History
![Arty08](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6a/Arty08.jpg)
In 1895 Hiram Maxim produced the 'miniature Maxim' which was a 27 pound pistol-calibre Maxim which was sold in small quantities to various countries and tested by the US military but not adopted. In 1896 a select-fire pistol was patented by the British inventor Hugh Gabbett-Fairfax.
World War I
During
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 ...
,
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 ...
introduced the world's first
machine pistol
A machine pistol is an autoloading pistol capable of fully automatic fire. The term can also be used to describe a stockless handgun-style submachine gun. The term is a calque of ''Maschinenpistole'', the German word for submachine guns. Machine ...
: the
Steyr Repetierpistole M1912/P16, and in addition, the
Standschütze Hellriegel M1915 although it never saw use in combat. The Germans also experimented with machine pistols by converting
pistol
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...
s such as the
Mauser C96
The Mauser C96 (''Construktion 96'') is a semi-automatic pistol that was originally produced by German arms manufacturer Mauser from 1896 to 1937. Unlicensed copies of the gun were also manufactured in Spain and China in the first half of the 2 ...
and
Luger P-08 from
semi-automatic to fully automatic operation and adding detachable stocks. Carbine-type automatic weapons firing pistol rounds were developed during the latter stages of World War I by Italy,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
and the United States. Their improved firepower (800-1000RPM) and portability offered an advantage in
trench warfare
Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artillery. Trench warfare became a ...
, where most troops were issued
bolt-action rifles
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are right-handed).
Most bolt-action ...
, such as the
Gewehr 98
The Gewehr 98 (abbreviated G98, Gew 98, or M98) is a German bolt-action rifle made by Mauser, firing cartridges from a five-round internal clip-loaded magazine. It was the German service rifle from 1898 to 1935, when it was replaced by the Ka ...
or
Lee–Enfield
The Lee–Enfield or Enfield is a bolt-action, magazine-fed repeating rifle that served as the main firearm of the military forces of the British Empire and Commonwealth during the first half of the 20th century, and was the British Army's st ...
.
![Beretta M1918](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cd/Beretta_M1918.jpg)
In 1915, the
Kingdom of Italy
The Kingdom of Italy ( it, Regno d'Italia) was a state that existed from 1861, when Victor Emmanuel II of Kingdom of Sardinia, Sardinia was proclamation of the Kingdom of Italy, proclaimed King of Italy, until 1946, when civil discontent led to ...
introduced the
Villar-Perosa aircraft machine gun
The Pistola Mitragliatrice Villar Perosa M1915, official named FIAT Mod. 1915, was an Italian portable automatic firearm, automatic weapon developed during World War I by the ''Officine di Villar Perosa''.
Originally designed to be used by the sec ...
. It fired pistol-caliber
9mm Glisenti ammunition, but was not a true submachine gun, as it was originally designed as a mounted weapon. This odd design was then modified into the
OVP 1918
The OVP was a submachine gun developed in Italy.
Development
The Italians were among the first armies ever to adopt a submachine gun, or more correctly, a light automatic gun firing a pistol cartridge. This was the Villar Perosa made by Offi ...
carbine-type submachine gun, which then evolved into the
9×19mm Parabellum
The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge.
Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun a ...
Beretta Model 1918
The Moschetto Automatico Revelli-Beretta Mod. 1915 (Commonly known as the Beretta Model 1918) was a self-loading carbine that entered service in 1918 with the Italian armed forces. Designed as a semi-automatic rifle, the weapon came with an overh ...
after the end of World War I. Both the OVP 1918 and the Beretta 1918 had a traditional wooden
stock
In finance, stock (also capital stock) consists of all the shares by which ownership of a corporation or company is divided.Longman Business English Dictionary: "stock - ''especially AmE'' one of the shares into which ownership of a company ...
, a 25-round top-fed
box magazine
A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges withi ...
, and had a cyclic
rate of fire
Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. This can be influenced by several factors, including operator training level, mechanical limitations, ammunition availability, and weapon condition. In m ...
of 900 rounds per minute.
![Bergmann MP18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/85/Bergmann_MP18.1.JPG)
The Germans initially used heavier versions of the
P08 pistol
A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...
equipped with a detachable stock, larger-capacity snail-
drum magazine
A drum magazine is a type of high-capacity magazine for firearms. Cylindrical in shape (similar to a drum), drum magazines store rounds in a spiral around the center of the magazine, facing the direction of the barrel. Drum magazines are contrast ...
and a longer
barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
. By 1918, Bergmann Waffenfabrik had developed the 9 mm Parabellum
MP 18
The MP 18, manufactured by Theodor Bergmann ''Abteilung Waffenbau'', was arguably the first submachine gun used in combat. It was introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I as the primary weapon of the '' Sturmtruppen'' ...
, the first practical submachine gun. This weapon used the same 32-round snail-drum magazine as the Luger P-08. The MP 18 was used in significant numbers by German
stormtroopers employing
infiltration tactics
In warfare, infiltration tactics involve small independent light infantry forces advancing into enemy rear areas, bypassing enemy frontline strongpoints, possibly isolating them for attack by follow-up troops with heavier weapons. Soldiers ta ...
, achieving some notable successes in the final year of the war. However, these were not enough to prevent
Germany's collapse in November 1918. After World War I, the MP 18 evolved into the MP28/II SMG,
which incorporated a simple 32-round box magazine,
selective fire
Selective fire is the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector switch, which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective-fire we ...
, and other minor improvements. Though the MP18 had a rather short service life, it was influential in the design of later submachine guns, such as the
Lanchester,
Sten
The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cost ...
and
PPD-40
The PPD (''Pistolet-Pulemyot Degtyaryova'', Russian: Пистоле́т-пулемёт ''Дегтярёва'', Degtyaryov's machine pistol) is a submachine gun originally designed in 1934 by Vasily Degtyaryov. The PPD had a conventional wooden sto ...
.
![Campbell Thompson](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bf/Campbell_Thompson.jpg)
The
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Stat ...
had been in development at approximately the same time as the Bergmann and the Beretta. However, the war ended before prototypes could be shipped to Europe.
[Frank Iannamico, ''American Thunder: The Military Thompson Submachine Gun 1928, 1928A1, M1, M1A1'', Moose Lake Publishing, 2000.] Although it had missed its chance to be the first purpose-designed submachine gun to enter service, it became the basis for later weapons, and was much more successful than the other submachine guns produced during World War I.
Interwar Period
In 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 ...
, the Thompson, nicknamed "Tommy Gun" or "Chicago Typewriter" became notorious in the U.S. due to its employment by the
Mafia
"Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...
: the image of pinstripe-suited
James Cagney
James Francis Cagney Jr. (; July 17, 1899March 30, 1986) was an American actor, dancer and film director. On stage and in film, Cagney was known for his consistently energetic performances, distinctive vocal style, and deadpan comic timing. He ...
types wielding drum-magazine Thompsons caused some military planners to shun the weapon. However, the
FBI
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and its principal Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement age ...
and other U.S. police forces themselves showed no reluctance to use and prominently display these weapons. Eventually, the submachine gun was gradually accepted by many military organizations, especially as World War II loomed, with many countries developing their own designs. The
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...
adopted the Thompson during this period, they used them during the
Banana Wars
The Banana Wars were a series of conflicts that consisted of military occupation, police action, and intervention by the United States in Central America and the Caribbean between the end of the Spanish–American War in 1898 and the inception ...
in Central America and it was also used by the
China Marines
The term China Marines, originally referred to the United States Marines of the 4th Marine Regiment, who were stationed in Shanghai, China from 1927 to 1941 to protect American citizens and their property in the Shanghai International Settlemen ...
.
During the
1924 uprising the soviets supplied four Thompsons to Estonian Communist militants; those were used against Estonian soldiers in a failed attempt to storm the Tallin barracks. Some of the defenders were armed with the MP18s; and this was possibly the first engagement where submachineguns were used on both sides.
Germany transferred its MP 18s to the German police forces after World War I. They also saw use in the hands of various
paramilitary
A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...
''
Freikorps
(, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, regar ...
'' during the aftermath of the
German Revolution
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 ...
. In the 1920s a new, more reliable box magazine was developed for the MP 18 to replace the older snail-drum magazines. In 1928 a new version of the MP 18, the MP 28, saw the light of day, it featured the new box magazine as standard, a bayonet lug and a single shot mode. The MP 28 was manufactured in Belgium and Spain and was widely exported from there, including to China and South America. Another variant based on the MP 18 was the
MP 34
The MP34 (''Maschinenpistole 34'', literally "Machine Pistol 34") is a submachine gun (SMG) that was manufactured by '' Waffenfabrik Steyr'' as Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 and used by the Austrian Army and Austrian Gendarmerie and subsequently by un ...
that was manufactured by the Germans through the Swiss
front company
A front organization is any entity set up by and controlled by another organization, such as intelligence agencies, organized crime groups, terrorist organizations, secret societies, banned organizations, religious or political groups, advocacy gr ...
Solothurn. The MP 34 was manufactured from the very best materials available and finished to the highest possible standard. Consequently, its production costs were extremely high. It was adopted by the Austrian police and army in the 1930s, and they were taken over by the Germans after
German annexation of Austria in 1938. The
MP35
The MP35 (''Maschinenpistole 35'', literally "Machine Pistol 35") was a submachine gun used by the Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS and German police both before and during World War II. It was developed in the early 1930s by Emil Bergmann (son of Theodor B ...
was another interwar German submachine gun, designed by the Bergmann brothers. It was exported to Sweden and Ethiopia and also saw extensive use in the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
. About 40,000 of the type were manufactured until 1944, with many going into the hands of the
Waffen SS
The (, "Armed SS") was the combat branch of the Nazi Party's ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) organisation. Its formations included men from Nazi Germany, along with volunteers and conscripts from both occupied and unoccupied lands.
The grew from th ...
. The
Erma EMP
The German submachine gun EMP (''Erma Maschinenpistole'') also known as MPE (Maschinenpistole Erma) was produced by the Erma factory, and was based on designs acquired from Heinrich Vollmer. The gun was produced from 1931 to 1938 in roughly 10,00 ...
was yet another submachine gun from this period, based on a design by
Heinrich Vollmer
Heinrich Vollmer (1885 in Altdorf, Esslingen–1961 in Tübingen) was a German small-arms designer.
Vollmer began his manufacturing career by making parts for the German copies of the Maxim gun during the First World War. His first innovation wa ...
, about 10,000 were manufactured. It was exported to Spain, Mexico, China and Yugoslavia, but also used domestically by the SS, as well as being produced under license in
Francoist Spain
Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...
.
World War II
![Beretta 38](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2c/Beretta_38.jpg)
Changes in design accelerated during the war, with one major trend being the abandonment of complex and finely made pre-war designs like the
Thompson submachine gun
The Thompson submachine gun (also known as the "Tommy Gun", "Chicago Typewriter", "Chicago Piano", “Trench Sweeper” or "Trench Broom") is a blowback-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed selective-fire submachine gun, invented by United Stat ...
to weapons designed for cheap
mass production
Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
and easy replacement like the
M3 Grease Gun
The M3 is an American .45-caliber submachine gun adopted by the U.S. Army on 12 December 1942, as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3.Iannamico, Frank, ''The U.S. M3-3A1 Submachine Gun'', Moose Lake Publishing, , (1999), pp. 14, 22 ...
.
The Italians were among the first to develop submachine guns during World War I. They were slow to produce them under
Mussolini
Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...
; the 9 mm Parabellum
Beretta Model 38
The MAB 38 (''Moschetto Automatico Beretta Modello 1938''), ''Modello'' 38, or Model 38 and its variants were a series of official submachine guns of the Royal Italian Army introduced in 1938 and used during World War II. The guns were also use ...
(MAB 38) was not available in large numbers until 1943. The MAB 38 was made in a series of improved and simplified models all sharing the same basic layout. The MAB 38 has two triggers, the front for semi-auto and rear for full-auto. Most models use standard wooden
stocks
Stocks are feet restraining devices that were used as a form of corporal punishment and public humiliation. The use of stocks is seen as early as Ancient Greece, where they are described as being in use in Solon's law code. The law describing ...
, although some models were fitted with an MP40-style under-folding stock and are commonly mistaken for the German SMG. The MAB 38 series was extremely robust and proved very popular with both
Axis
An axis (plural ''axes'') is an imaginary line around which an object rotates or is symmetrical. Axis may also refer to:
Mathematics
* Axis of rotation: see rotation around a fixed axis
*Axis (mathematics), a designator for a Cartesian-coordinate ...
and
Allied troops (who used captured MAB 38s). It is considered the most successful and effective Italian small arm of World War II. During the later years of the war, the
TZ-45
The TZ-45 was an Italian blowback-operated submachine gun produced between 1944 and 1945, with an estimated 6,000 made.
History
The TZ-45 submachine gun was designed by two Italians; Tonon ("Toni") Giandoso, a colonel in the RSI Army and Zorzo ...
submachine gun was manufactured in small numbers in the
Italian Social Republic
The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...
. A cheaper alternative to the MAB 38, it also sported an unusual
grip safety
Close-up shot of a safety of an M16A2 rifle
In firearms, a safety or safety catch is a mechanism used to help prevent the accidental discharge of a firearm, helping to ensure safer handling.
Safeties can generally be divided into subtypes suc ...
.
![MP 40 AYF 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7c/MP_40_AYF_2.JPG)
In 1939, the Germans introduced the 9 mm Parabellum
MP38
The MP 40 (''Maschinenpistole 40'') is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War II.
Designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with in ...
which was first used during the
invasion of Poland
The invasion of Poland (1 September – 6 October 1939) was a joint attack on the Republic of Poland by Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union which marked the beginning of World War II. The German invasion began on 1 September 1939, one week aft ...
of September that year. The MP38 production was still just starting and only a few thousand were in service at the time. It proved to be far more practical and effective in close-quarters combat than the standard-issue German
Karabiner 98k
The Karabiner 98 kurz (; "carbine 98 short"), often abbreviated Karabiner 98k, Kar98k or K98k and also sometimes incorrectly referred to as a K98 (a K98 is a Polish carbine and copy of the Kar98a), is a bolt-action rifle chambered for the 7.92×5 ...
bolt-action rifle
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by ''directly'' manipulating the bolt (firearms), bolt via a cocking handle, bolt handle, which is most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the weapon (as most users are r ...
. From this experience, the simplified and modernized
MP40
The MP 40 (''Maschinenpistole 40'') is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War II.
Designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with in ...
(commonly and erroneously referred to as the Schmeisser) was developed and made in large numbers; about a million were made during
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 ...
. The MP40 was lighter than the MP38. It also used more stamped parts, making it faster and cheaper to produce.
[Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. pages 118–120] The MP38 and MP40 were the first SMGs to use plastic furniture and a practical folding stock, which became standard for all future SMG designs.
The Germans used a large number of captured Soviet PPSh-41 submachine guns, some were converted to fire 9 mm Parabellum while others were used unmodified (the German
7.63×25mm Mauser
The 7.63×25mm Mauser (.30 Mauser Automatic) round was the original cartridge for the Mauser C96 service pistol. This cartridge headspaces on the shoulder of the case.Wilson, R. K. ''Textbook of Automatic Pistols'', p.247. Plantersville, SC: Smal ...
cartridge had identical dimensions to the 7.62×25mm Tokarev, albeit slightly less powerful).
![Suomi M31 Torpin Tykit 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Suomi_M31_Torpin_Tykit_2.JPG)
During the
Winter War
The Winter War,, sv, Vinterkriget, rus, Зи́мняя война́, r=Zimnyaya voyna. The names Soviet–Finnish War 1939–1940 (russian: link=no, Сове́тско-финская война́ 1939–1940) and Soviet–Finland War 1 ...
, the badly outnumbered Finnish used the
Suomi KP/-31
The Suomi KP/-31 ( or "Finland-submachine gun mod. 1931") is a submachine gun (SMG) of Finnish design that was mainly used during World War II. It is a descendant of the M-22 prototype and the KP/-26 production model, which was revealed to the p ...
in large numbers against the Russians with devastating effect. Finnish ski troops became known for appearing out of the woods on one side of a road, raking Soviet columns with SMG fire and disappearing back into the woods on the other side. During the
Continuation War
The Continuation War, also known as the Second Soviet-Finnish War, was a conflict fought by Finland and Nazi Germany against the Soviet Union from 1941 to 1944, as part of World War II.; sv, fortsättningskriget; german: Fortsetzungskrieg. A ...
, the Finnish
Sissi patrols often equipped every soldier with KP/-31s. The Suomi fired 9 mm Parabellum ammunition from a 71-round drum magazine (although often loaded with 74 rounds). "This SMG showed the world the importance of the submachine gun in modern warfare", prompting the development, adoption and
mass production
Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and batch ...
of submachine guns by most of the world's armies. The Suomi was used in combat until the end of the
Lapland war
During World War II, the Lapland War ( fi , Lapin sota; sv, Lapplandskriget; german: Lapplandkrieg) saw fighting between Finland and Nazi Germany – effectively from September to November 1944 – in Finland's northernmost region, Lapland. ...
, was widely exported and remained in service to the late 1970s. Inspired by captured examples of the Soviet
PPS submachine gun
The PPS ( Russian: ППС – "Пистолет-пулемёт Судаева" or "Pistolet-pulemyot Sudayeva", in English: "Sudayev's submachine-gun") is a family of Soviet submachine guns chambered in 7.62×25mm Tokarev, developed by Alexei Su ...
, a gun that was cheaper and quicker to manufacture than the Suomi, the Finns introduced the
KP m/44 submachine gun
The KP m/44 (), nicknamed "Peltiheikki" or "Pelti-kp", which could be translated as "sheet-metal Heikki" and "sheet-metal machine pistol"/"sheet-metal submachine gun" respectively, was a Finnish 9mm copy and modification of the Soviet mass-produced ...
in 1944.
![PPSh-41 from soviet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/PPSh-41_from_soviet.jpg)
In 1940, the Soviets introduced the
7.62×25mm PPD-40
The PPD (''Pistolet-Pulemyot Degtyaryova'', Russian: Пистоле́т-пулемёт ''Дегтярёва'', Degtyaryov's machine pistol) is a submachine gun originally designed in 1934 by Vasily Degtyaryov. The PPD had a conventional wooden sto ...
and later the more easily manufactured
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" ...
in response to their experience during the Winter War against Finland. The PPSh's 71-round drum magazine is a copy of the Suomi's. Later in the war they developed the even more readily mass-produced
PPS submachine gun
The PPS ( Russian: ППС – "Пистолет-пулемёт Судаева" or "Pistolet-pulemyot Sudayeva", in English: "Sudayev's submachine-gun") is a family of Soviet submachine guns chambered in 7.62×25mm Tokarev, developed by Alexei Su ...
- all firing the same small-caliber but high-powered Tokarev cartridges. The USSR went on to make over 6 million PPSh-41s and 2 million PPS-43s by the end of World War II. Thus, the Soviet Union could field huge numbers of submachine guns against the
Wehrmacht
The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmacht''" replaced the previous ...
, with whole infantry battalions being armed with little else. Even in the hands of
conscripts
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
with minimal training, the volume of fire produced by massed submachine guns could be overwhelming.
![Sten Mk II IMG 4764 (Nemo5576)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Sten_Mk_II_IMG_4764_%28Nemo5576%29.jpg)
Britain entered the war with no domestic submachine gun design but instead imported the expensive US M1928 Thompson. After evaluating their battlefield experience in the
Battle of France
The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
and losing many weapons in the
Dunkirk evacuation
The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo and also known as the Miracle of Dunkirk, or just Dunkirk, was the evacuation of more than 338,000 Allied soldiers during the Second World War from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, in the ...
, the
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy (RN) is the United Kingdom's naval warfare force. Although warships were used by English and Scottish kings from the early medieval period, the first major maritime engagements were fought in the Hundred Years' War against F ...
adopted the 9 mm Parabellum
Lanchester submachine gun
The Lanchester is a submachine gun (SMG) manufactured by the Sterling Armaments Company between 1941 and 1945. It is a copy of the German MP28/II and was manufactured in two versions, Mk.1 and Mk.1*; the latter was a simplified version of the ...
. With no time for the usual research and development for a new weapon, it was decided to make a direct copy of the German
MP 28. Like other early submachine guns it was difficult and expensive to manufacture. Shortly thereafter, the simpler
Sten
The STEN (or Sten gun) is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm which were used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cost ...
submachine gun was developed for general use by the British armed forces, it was much cheaper and faster to make. Over 4 million Sten guns were made during World War II. The Sten was so cheap and easy to produce that towards the end of the war as their economic base approached crisis, Germany started manufacturing their own copy, the
MP 3008
The 9×19mm MP 3008 (''Maschinenpistole 3008'' or "machine pistol 3008", also Volks-MP.3008 and Gerät Neumünster) was a German last ditch submachine gun manufactured towards the end of World War II in early 1945.
Also known as the ''Volksmas ...
. After the war, the British replaced the Sten with the
Sterling submachine gun
The Sterling submachine gun is a British submachine gun (SMG). It was tested with the British Army in 1944–1945 as a replacement for the Sten but it did not start to replace it until 1953. A successful and reliable design, it remained as stan ...
.
![M3 and M1A1 Wings Over Wine Country 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7b/M3_and_M1A1_Wings_Over_Wine_Country_2007.JPG)
The United States and its allies used the Thompson submachine gun, especially the simplified
M1. The Thompson was still expensive and slow to produce. Therefore, the U.S. developed the
M3 submachine gun
The M3 is an American .45-caliber submachine gun adopted by the U.S. Army on 12 December 1942, as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3.Iannamico, Frank, ''The U.S. M3-3A1 Submachine Gun'', Moose Lake Publishing, , (1999), pp. 14, 22 ...
or "Grease Gun" in 1942, followed by the improved M3A1 in 1944. While the M3 was no more effective than the Tommy Gun, it was made primarily of stamped parts and welded together and could be produced much faster and at a fraction of the cost of a Thompson; its much lower rate of fire made it a lot more controllable. It could be configured to fire either
.45 ACP
The .45 ACP ( Automatic Colt Pistol) or .45 Auto (11.43×23mm) is a rimless straight-walled handgun cartridge designed by John Moses Browning in 1904, for use in his prototype Colt semi-automatic pistol. After successful military trials, it ...
or
9 mm Luger
9 (nine) is the natural number following and preceding .
Evolution of the Arabic digit
In the beginning, various Indians wrote a digit 9 similar in shape to the modern closing question mark without the bottom dot. The Kshatrapa, Andhra and ...
ammunition. The M3A1 was among the longest-serving submachine gun designs, being produced into the 1960s and serving in US forces into the 1990s.
![MAS-38](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/74/MAS-38.jpg)
France produced only about 2,000 of the
MAS-38 submachine gun (chambered in
7.65×20mm Longue) before the Fall of France in June 1940. Production was taken over by the occupying Germans, who used them for themselves and also put them into the hands of the
Vichy French
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
.
![CompletedOwenGun1942](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/CompletedOwenGun1942.png)
The
Owen Gun
The Owen gun, known officially as the Owen machine carbine, was an Australian submachine gun designed by Evelyn Owen in 1938. The Owen was the only entirely Australian-designed and constructed service submachine gun of World War II and was used ...
is a 9 mm Parabellum Australian submachine gun designed by
Evelyn Owen
Evelyn Ernest Owen (15 May 1915 – 1 April 1949) was an Australian who developed the Owen gun which was used by the Australian Army in World War II, Korea and Vietnam wars.
Early life
Evelyn Owen was born on 15 May 1915 in Wollongong, New ...
in 1939. The Owen is a simple, highly reliable, open bolt, blowback SMG. It was designed to be fired either from the shoulder or the hip. It is easily recognisable, owing to its unconventional appearance, including a quick-release barrel and butt-stock, double pistol grips, top-mounted magazine, and unusual offset right-side-mounted sights. The Owen was the only entirely Australian-designed and constructed service submachine gun of World War II and was used by the Australian Army from 1943 until the mid-1960s, when it was replaced by the F1 submachine gun. Only about 45,000 Owens were produced during the war for a unit cost of about A$30.
![Japanese smg and bayonet](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Japanese_smg_and_bayonet.jpg)
While most other countries during World War II developed submachine guns, the Empire of Japan had only produced one, the Type 100 submachine gun, based heavily on the German MP28. Like most other small arms created in Imperial Japan, the Type 100 could be fitted with a bayonet. It used the 8×22mm Nambu cartridge, which was about half as powerful as a standard Western 9 mm Parabellum round.
Production of the gun was even more inadequate: by the war's end, Japan had only manufactured about 7,500 of the Type 100, whereas Germany, America, and other countries in the war had produced well over a million of their own SMG designs.
The German military concluded that most firefights took place at ranges of no more than about . They therefore sought to develop a new class of weapon that would combine the high volume of fire of the submachine gun with an intermediate cartridge that enabled the shooter to place accurate shots at medium ranges (beyond that of the range of the typical submachine gun). After a false start with the FG 42, this led to the development of the select-fire assault rifle (assault rifle is a translation of the German ). In the years following the war, this new format began to replace the submachine gun in military use to a large extent. Based on the StG44, the Soviet Union created the AK-47, which is to date the List of most-produced firearms, world's most produced firearm, with over 100 million made.
Post World War II
After World War II, "new submachine gun designs appeared almost every week to replace the admittedly rough and ready designs which had appeared during the war. Some (the better ones) survived, most rarely got past the glossy brochure stage." Most of these survivors were cheaper, easier and faster to make than their predecessors. As such, they were widely distributed.
![US soldier with Carl Gustav SMG](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6d/US_soldier_with_Carl_Gustav_SMG.jpg)
In 1945, Sweden introduced the 9 mm Parabellum Carl Gustaf m/45 with a design borrowing from and improving on many design elements of earlier submachine-gun designs. It has a tubular stamped steel receiver with a side folding stock. The m/45 was widely exported, and especially popular with CIA operatives and U.S. Special Forces during the Vietnam War. In U.S. service it was known as the "Swedish-K". In 1966, the Swedish government blocked the sale of firearms to the United States because it opposed the Vietnam War. As a result, in the following year Smith & Wesson began to manufacture an m/45 clone called the Smith & Wesson M76, M76. The m/45 was used in combat by Swedish troops as part of the United Nations Operation in the Congo, during the Congo Crisis during the early 1960s. Battlefield reports of the lack of penetrative power of the 9 mm Parabellum during this operation led to Sweden developing a more powerful 9 mm round designated "9 mm m/39B".
In 1946, Denmark introduced the Madsen M-46, and in 1950, an improved model the Madsen M-50. These 9 mm Parabellum stamped steel SMGs featured a unique clamshell type design, a side folding stock and a grip-safety on the magazine housing. The Madsen was widely exported and especially popular in Latin America, with variants made by several countries.
![Samopal Vz 25](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/af/Samopal_Vz_25.JPG)
In 1948, Czechoslovakia introduced the Sa vz. 23 series. This 9 mm Parabellum SMG introduced several innovations: a progressive trigger for selecting between semi-automatic and full auto fire, a telescoping bolt that extends forward wrapping around the barrel and a vertical handgrip housing the magazine and trigger mechanism. The vz. 23 series was widely exported and especially popular in Africa and the Middle East with variants made by several countries. The vz. 23 inspired the development of the Uzi submachine gun.
![MP IMG 1690](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/MP_IMG_1690.JPG)
In 1949, France introduced the MAT-49 to replace the hodgepodge of French, American, British, German and Italian SMGs in French service after World War II. The 9 mm Parabellum MAT-49 is an inexpensive stamped steel SMG with a telescoping wire stock, a pronounced folding magazine housing and a grip safety. This "wildebeast like design" proved to be an extremely reliable and effective SMG, and was used by the French well into the 1980s. It was also widely exported to Africa, Asia and the Middle East.
1950s
![Uzi of the israeli armed forces](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Uzi_of_the_israeli_armed_forces.jpg)
In 1954, Israel introduced a 9 mm Parabellum open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine gun called the Uzi (after its designer Uziel Gal). The Uzi was one of the first weapons to use a telescoping bolt design with the magazine housed in the pistol grip for a shorter weapon. The Uzi has become the most popular submachine gun in the world, with over 10 million units sold,
more
than any other submachine gun.
![M12S Beretta](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/M12S_Beretta.jpg)
In 1959, Beretta introduced the Beretta M12, Model 12. This 9 mm Parabellum submachine gun was a complete break with previous Beretta designs.
[Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. pages 138–139] It is a small, compact, very well made SMG and among the first to use a telescoping bolt design.
The M12 was designed for mass production and was made largely of stamped steel and welded together.
It is identified by its tubular shape receiver, double pistol grips, a side folding stock and the magazine housed in front of the trigger guard. The M12 uses the same magazines as the Model 38 series.
Submachine guns in the Korean War
Submachine guns proved to be an important weapon system once again in the Korean War (25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953). The Korean People's Army (KPA) and the Chinese People's Volunteer Army (PVA) fighting in Korea received massive numbers of the PPSh-41, in addition to the North Korean Type 49 and the Chinese Type 50, which were both licensed copies of the PPSh-41 with small mechanical revisions. Though relatively inaccurate, the Chinese PPSh has a high rate of fire and was well-suited to the close-range firefights that typically occurred in that conflict, especially at night.
United Nations Command forces in defensive outposts or on patrol often had trouble returning a sufficient volume of fire when attacked by companies of infantry armed with the PPSh. Some U.S. infantry officers ranked the PPSh as the best combat weapon of the war: while lacking the accuracy of the U.S. M1 Garand and M1 carbine, it provided more firepower at short distances.
As infantry Captain (later General) Hal Moore, stated: "on full automatic it sprayed a lot of bullets and most of the killing in Korea was done at very close ranges and it was done quickly – a matter of who responded faster. In situations like that it outclassed and outgunned what we had. A close-in patrol fight was over very quickly and usually we lost because of it."
U.S. servicemen, however, felt that their M2 carbines were superior to the PPSh-41 at the typical engagement range of 100–150 meters.
Other older designs also saw use in the Korean war. The Thompson had seen much use by the U.S. and South Korean military, even though the Thompson had been replaced as standard-issue by the M3/M3A1. With huge numbers of guns available in army ordnance arsenals, the Thompson remained classed as Limited Standard or Substitute Standard long after the standardization of the M3/M3A1. Many Thompsons were distributed to the US-backed Nationalist Chinese armed forces as military aid before the fall of Chiang Kai-shek's government to Mao Zedong's communist forces at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949 (Thompsons had already been widely used throughout China since the 1920s, at a time when several Chinese warlords and their military factions running various parts of the fragmented country made purchases of the weapon and then subsequently produced many local copies). US troops were surprised to encounter communist Chinese troops armed with Thompsons (amongst other captured US-made Nationalist Chinese and American firearms), especially during unexpected night-time assaults which became a prominent Chinese combat tactic in the conflict. The gun's ability to deliver large quantities of short-range automatic assault fire proved very useful in both defense and assault during the early part of the war when it was constantly mobile and shifting back and forth. Many Chinese Thompsons were captured and placed into service with American soldiers and marines for the remaining period of the war.
1960s
![Hkmp5count-terr-wiki](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3a/Hkmp5count-terr-wiki.jpg)
In the 1960s, Heckler & Koch developed the 9 mm Parabellum MP5 submachine gun. The MP5 is based on the G3 rifle and uses the same closed-bolt roller-delayed blowback operation system. This makes the MP5 more accurate than open-bolt SMGs, such as the Uzi. The MP5 is also one of the most widely used submachine guns in the world,
[Hogg, Ian (2002). ''Jane's Guns Recognition Guide''. Jane's Information Group. .] having been adopted by 40 nations and numerous military, law enforcement, and security organizations.
![Steyr-MP-69](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Steyr-MP-69.jpg)
In 1969, Steyr AUG, Steyr introduced the MPi 69. This 9 mm Parabellum open-bolt, blowback-operated SMG has a telescoping bolt and is similar in appearance to the Uzi SMG.
[Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. pages 97–98] It has a vertical pistol-grip into which the magazine is inserted, a longer horizontal front grip area and a telescoping wire buttstock. The receiver is a squared stamped steel tube that partly nestles inside a large plastic molding (resembling a lower receiver) which contains the forward hand-grip, vertical pistol-grip and the fire control group, making the MPi 69 one of the first firearms to use a plastic construction in this way. It has a progressive trigger and is also unusual among modern SMGs, as the MPi 69 is cocked by a dual-purpose lever also used as the front sling attachment point.
1970s
![MAC10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/db/MAC10.jpg)
In the 1970s, extremely compact submachine guns, such as the .45ACP Mac-10 and .380 ACP Mac-11, were developed to be used with suppressor, silencers or suppressors.
[Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. page 166] While these SMGs received enormous publicity, and were prominently displayed in films and television, they were not widely adopted by military or law enforcement agencies.
These smaller weapons led other manufacturers to develop their own compact SMGs, such as the Micro-UZI and the H&K MP5K.
1980s
![Ejercito Argentino](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Ejercito_Argentino.jpg)
By the 1980s, the demand for new submachine guns was very low and could be easily met by existing makers with existing designs.
However, following H&K's lead, other manufacturers began designing submachine guns based on their existing assault rifle patterns. These new SMGs offered a high degree of parts commonality with parent weapons, thereby easing logistical concerns.
In 1982, Colt's Manufacturing Company, Colt introduced the Colt 9mm SMG based on the M16 rifle.
The Colt SMG is a closed bolt, blowback (arms), blowback operated SMG and the overall aesthetics are identical to most M16 type rifles. The magazine well is modified using a special adapter to allow the use of the smaller 9mm magazines. The magazines themselves are a copy of the Israeli UZI SMG magazine, modified to fit the Colt and lock the bolt back after the last shot. The Colt is widely used by US law enforcement and the United States Marine Corps, USMC.
1990s
![HKUMP45](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/HKUMP45.JPG)
In 1998, H&K introduced the last widely distributed SMG, the Heckler & Koch UMP, UMP "Universal Machine Pistol". The UMP is a 9mm, .40 S&W, or .45 ACP, closed-bolt blowback-operated SMG, based on the H&K G36 assault rifle.
[Jane's Guns Recognition Guide. by Ian Hogg & Terry Gander. HaperCollins Publishers. 2005. page 192] It features a predominantly polymer construction and was designed to be a more cost effective, lighter weight, and less complex design alternative to the MP5.
The UMP has a side-folding stock and is available with four different trigger group configurations. It was also designed to use a wide range of Picatinny rail mounted accessories
2000s
![PP-19-01 (351-01)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/PP-19-01_%28351-01%29.jpg)
In 2004, Izhmash introduced the Vityaz-SN a 9 mm Parabellum, closed bolt Blowback (arms), straight blowback operated submachine gun. It is based on the AK-74 rifle and offers a high degree of parts commonality with the AK-74. It is the standard submachine gun for all branches of Russian military and police forces.
In 2009, KRISS USA introduced the KRISS Vector family of submachine guns.
Futuristic in appearance, the KRISS uses an unconventional delayed blowback system combined with in-line design to reduce perceived recoil and muzzle climb. The KRISS comes in 9mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, .45 ACP, 9×21mm, 10mm Auto, and .357 SIG. It also uses standard Glock pistol magazines.
2010s
By 2010, assault rifle#Compact assault rifles, compact assault rifles and personal defense weapons had replaced submachine guns in most roles.
Factors such as the increasing use of ballistic vest, body armor and logistical concerns have combined to limit the appeal of submachine guns. However, SMGs are still used by police (especially SWAT teams) for dealing with heavily armed suspects and by military special forces units for close-quarters combat, due to their reduced size, recoil and muzzle blast. Submachine guns also lend themselves to the use of suppressors, particularly when loaded with subsonic ammunition. Variants of the Sterling submachine gun, Sterling and Heckler & Koch MP5 have been manufactured with integral suppressors.
Personal defense weapons
![FN P90 PDW](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/FN_P90_PDW.jpg)
First developed during the 1980s, the personal defense weapon (PDW) is touted as a further evolution of the submachine gun. The PDW was created in response to a NATO request for a replacement for
9×19mm Parabellum
The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge.
Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun a ...
submachine guns. The PDW is a compact automatic weapon that uses specially designed rifle-like cartridges to fire armor-piercing bullets and are sufficiently light to be used conveniently by non-combatant and support troops, and as an effective close quarters battle weapon for special forces and counter-terrorist groups.
Introduced in 1991, the
FN P90
The FN P90 is a compact 5.7×28mm personal defense weapon designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. It can also be considered a submachine gun. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, t ...
features a bullpup design with a futuristic appearance. It has a 50-round magazine housed horizontally above the barrel, an integrated reflector sight, reflex sight and fully ambidextrous controls.
[Kevin, Dockery (2007). Future Weapons. New York: Berkley Trade. .] A simple blowback (firearms), blowback automatic weapon, it was designed to fire the proprietary FN 5.7×28mm cartridge which can penetrate soft body armor.
The P90 was designed to have a length no greater than an average-sized man's shoulder width, to allow it to be easily carried and maneuvered in tight spaces, such as the inside of an infantry fighting vehicle.
The P90 is currently in service with military and police forces in over 40 nations.
[Tirans, Ivars (2009). "Baltic Defence Research and Technology 2009 Conference Proceedings". Military Review: Scientific Journal for Security and Defence (), Nr. 3/4 (132/133), p 103.]
Introduced in 2001, the Heckler & Koch MP7 is a direct rival to the FN P90. It is a more conventional-looking design, and uses a gas operation#Short-stroke piston, short-stroke piston gas system as used on H&K's Heckler & Koch G36, G36 and Heckler & Koch HK416, HK416 assault rifles, in place of a blowback system traditionally seen on submachine guns.
The MP7 uses 20-, 30- and 40-round
box magazine
A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun (internal/fixed magazine) or externally attached (detachable magazine). The magazine functions by holding several cartridges withi ...
s and fires the proprietary 4.6×30mm ammunition which can penetrate soft body armor. Due to the heavy use of polymers in its construction, the MP7 is much lighter than older SMG designs, being only with an empty 20-round magazine. The MP7 is currently in service with military and police forces in over 20 nations.
See also
*Assault rifle
*Firearm action
*List of submachine guns
*Machine gun
*Machine pistol
*Overview of gun laws by nation
*Personal defense weapon
*Semi-automatic pistol
*Sputter Gun
References
External links
Submachine Gunat the ''Encyclopædia Britannica''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Submachine Gun
Submachine guns,
Law enforcement equipment
Military equipment
World War I weapons