Submachine Gun Designer’s Handbook © 1981 by George Dmitrieff Published by Desert Publications 215 S. Washington El Dorado, AR 71731-1751 870-862-2077 [email protected] ISBN 0-87947-100-X 10 9876543 Printed in U. S. A. Desert Publications is a division of The DELTA GROUP, Ltd. Direct all inquiries & orders to the above address. All rights reserved. Except for use in a review, no portion of this book may be reproduced by any means known or unknown without the express written permis- sion of the publisher. Neither the author nor the publisher assumes any responsibility for the use or misuse of the information contained in this book. II Table Of Contents Introduction V Section I. Submachine Gun History & Design Characteristics 1 1. Future Trends 3 2. Historical Notes 5 3. Basic Requirements 7 4. Design 15 Section II. Ammunition 31 External Ballistics Of Various SMG Cartridges 33 9mm Parabellum 34 .45ACP 36 .30 Ml Carbine 38 7.62x24mm Mauser 40 Flechette 42 Section III. Working Drawings — Sten & PPSh 41 43 StenMkII 45 PPSh 41 67 U.S. Standard/Metric Conversion Chart . 93 III . Introduction Submachine guns have been the subject of The historical and anecdotal aspects of the many books, some not so good. Most of these subject are kept to the minimum. The questions of books contain detailed descriptions of various the basic parameters of the design, manufacturing models plus an abundance of photographs. and product requirements are described in more The submachine gun, although a relative new- detail. comer to the firearms arsenal, has captivated the To compensate for the lack of color photos public interest as the favorite arm of the G-men and illustrations, this book contains complete and the Chicago gangsters. World War II films made engineering drawings of several models of well the “Burp Gun” and the “Grease Gun” household known submachine guns and the ammunition they words. use. The present work is intended not as an encyclo- It is hoped that the present book will stimulate pedia of various models, but rather as an introduc- future arms designers in their challenging and tion for the serious student of this type of weapon interesting work. V SECTION I. Submachine Gun History & Design Characteristics Future Trends The current weapon development and the light machine guns are also chambered for this organization and tactics of the ground troops will round. generation of stimulate the development of a new A more logical and functional approach would submachine guns. be to consider the machine gun, both light and present (1980’s) army the number In the day medium, and the sniper rifle as special weapons in vehicles as tanks, self- of armored combat such the same class as grenade launchers and/or rocket personnel carriers, self- propelled artillery, armored launchers, and to retain the classic full power etc., to propelled AA and AT weapons, increased cartridge. The individual weapon required for close Furthermore, the number unprecedented numbers. defense of personnel should be a light (4-5 lbs.), of crew-served weapons and special equipment, compact submachine gun with suitable muzzle guns, rocket such as mortars, heavy machine brake to allow controlled offhand automatic fire. grenade launchers, surveillance radars, launchers, The round wall deliver 1200-1500 ft. lbs. of muzzle communications equipment, computer units, etc., energy, with an effective range of 150 meters. in basic infantry units increased to the point where existing Parabellum), 7.62x25 the number of individual riflemen, whose primary The 9x19 (9ram (7.63 Mauser) and the .30 Ml carbine cartridges function is rifle fire, is severely reduced. with improved ballistics would satisfy these require- The personnel in combat vehicles and those attached to crew-served weapons require only a ments. personal weapon suitable for close combat against A new submachine gun of this type would make enemy personnel. This trend is evidently demon- maximum use of aluminum castings and/or extru- strated in the proliferation of light rifles with sions, plastic materials, stamped components, etc., folding stocks and short barrelled models, tele- without additional machining. A simple blowback scoped construction types, etc. These rifles are system and expendable plastic magazine with feed chambered for medium powered cartridges. To lips integral in the weapon receiver would assure make a virtue of necessity, the standard rifles and reliable operation at minimum cost. 3 SUBMACHINE GUN DESIGNER'S HANDBOOK Prior to the development of the submachine gun, numerous pistols were fitted with detachable butt- stocks in an attempt to provide a weapon with the effectiveness of a rifle or carbine and the con- venience of a pistol. From top to bottom, also illustrating several steps in the evolution of pistols in general, are a German flintlock, Colt 1860 Army revolver, Mauser Model 1898 and the P'08 Luger. Historical Notes The need for a light and compact arm, more incorporated: simplification of the mechanism and accurate than an ordinary pistol has been felt by a larger magazine for adequate ammunition supply. soldiers since the introduction of firearms. The first The first submachine gun designed along these lines step in this direction was the carbine. A carbine, as was the Villar Perosa, which was discarded after a understood originally, was a shortened musket, or short time because of its extremely high cyclic rate. rifle, firing the same cartridge as the standard The first successful blowback model, incorporating primary weapon and lighter only by the weight of practically aU characteristics of today’s submachine the barrel and stock, which were cut off. This guns, was the Bergman “Muskete”, chambered for solution was not satisfactory because the weight the 9mm Parabellum cartridge. The efficiency and and size reduction of the rifle were not sufficient lethality of this type of weapon were later con- to meet the desired objectives. firmed throughout the world by the Thompson Another approach to the problem was a pistol submachine guns Models of 1921, 1927 and 1928. with a detachable buttstock. A pistol, or revolver The need for such weapons in close combat and in the hands of the average man is a relatively under conditions of limited visibility, such as fog, ineffective weapon, due to the short sighting radius, night, woods, etc., has been recognized by all the heavy recoil and the unsteady base offered by major governments. The submachine gun was the one hand hold. Consistently hitting a stationary widely used in the Spanish Civil War and the Gran 12 inch target at 100, or even 50 yards, with a Chaco conflict, but it was in the Russo-Finnish military pistol or revolver is possible only by War that the Suomi model established the reputa- experienced shooters. One of the first buttstock tion of submachine guns as qualified members of equipped pistols was a German flintlock (see the military family. The hard learned lesson was forgotten photo) . Such a pistol, fired with buttstock attached, not by the Red Army with the advent of was practicaUy the equal in accuracy to the Brown World War II. During the course of the war, the Bess musket at 100 yards. This approach was quite number of submachine guns in the Soviet units successful and was adopted for the Colt 1860 increased until 55 percent of all hand held weapons Army revolver and the famous Mauser Model 1898 in infantry companies were of this type. The Ger- pistol and the even more famous Luger. The butt- mans followed suit and their reports indicate that stock equipped pistol is perpetuated today by the in the northern sectors of the Eastern Front, Soviet Stechkin pistol. practically all rifles issued to the infantry were The present day submachine gun was bom replaced by the Schmeisser MP40. The British during World War I, when it was found that auto- necessity for a submachine gun resulted in the matic pistols could not be controlled during full development of the excellent Sten, which is a automatic fire. In the subsequent development of classic example of a simple, reliable and low the submachine gun, two other changes were cost mass produced weapon. The ultimate in 5 SUBMACHINE GUN DESIGNER'S HANDBOOK simplicity and ease of manufacture in the sub- M-2 carbine and the Sturmgewehr use ammunition machine gun field remains the US M3A1 “Grease which is at least twice as powerful as the .45 AGP Gun”. Although designed and used during World or 9mm Parabellum cartridges, it was considered War II it is still the best weapon of its type when necessary to use a locked breech rather than the considered from the production point of view. plain blowback system. Because of this method of Further development of submachine guns was con- locking and the more powerful ammunition used, tinued after the last war, as evidenced by the it is sometimes assumed that a new class of infantry Danish Madsen MP-45, the Swedish “Karl Gustav” weapon was introduced. However, and the latest upon closer Israeli Uzi model. look, it will be seen that these guns are only one The brief history of submachine gun develop- step further in the ment evolution of the submachine would not be complete without mention of gun. As the early Thompson models used the Blish the locked breech types. When the U.S. Army block because the plain blowback was adopted the considered semi-automatic M-1 carbine, the fully inadequate, so the M-2 carbine uses a rotary bolt automatic version was the next logical step. The to keep the breech closed. Actually it is entirely German Army in turn introduced the MP43/44 feasible to design a six pound submachine gun using Sturmgewehr, or “assault rifle”.