The ZK-383 submachine gun was developed during late 1930s by Czechoslovak arms designers brothers Koucky, who at the time worked at the Zbrojovka Brno arms factory. Produced since 1938, this submachine gun was exported to certain smaller European countries, as well as to Latin America (most notably the Venezuela and Bolivia). Production of the ZK-383 continued at Brno during German occupation, with most wartime guns being supplied to German Waffen-SS troops and occupation police forces. The ZK-383 was also briefly produced after the war, before being replaced in production with more modern and compact weapons such as Cz. Vz.48 / Sa 23. One of most notable European users of ZK-383 was the Bulgarian army, which used these guns until about 1966. The ZK-383 is an interesting weapon because it was initially developed more like a squad support weapon rather than an individual weapon – it was heavy, solidly made, and capable of some serious firepower (considering the pistol ammunition used, of cause). It was also fitted with ‘long range’ rifle type sights and integral folding bipod. there also were two later versions of the ZK-383 – the ‘Police’ ZK-383P which had no bipod, and post-war ZK-383H which also had no bipod and had folding forward magazine housing below the receiver (rather than fixed housing on the left side). Total production of all three versions of ZK-383 is estimated as no less than 20,000 guns.

The ZK-383 submachine gun is blowback operated, selective fired weapon. Unlike most other submachine guns, it had a quick-detachable barrel, with barrel lock / release mechanism located in the front sight base, at the front of the barrel jacket.ZK-383 fired from open bolt, and featured removable bolt weight which, when removed, increased cyclic rate of fire from about 500 to roughly 700 rounds per minute. Feed was from box magazines, inserted from the left side, with magazine slightly canted down, ejection was to the right. Manual safety was made in the form of the cross-bolt button located above the trigger, and fire mode selector was located on the left side of the receiver, above and to the front of the trigger. Gun was quipped with two-piece wooden stock and folding bipod, which was attached to the barrel jacket. When folded, bipod was partly concealed within the cut made in the bottom of the forend. Sights were adjustable for range between 50 and 600 meters.

ZK-383 submachine gun, right side

ZK-383 submachine gun, left side

ZK-383P submachine gun; note that it has no facilities to mount a bipod

ZK-383H submachine gun of post-WW2 manufacture, with bottom-feed magazine that can be folded forward for carrying

Data for ZK-383 submachine gun

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.

STEN Mk.I (STEN Mark 1) submachine gun, with magazine removed

STEN Mk.II (STEN Mark 2) submachine gun

STEN Mk.IIS (STEN Mark 2 Silenced) submachine gun

STEN Mk.III (STEN Mark 3) submachine gun

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

	STEN Mk.II	STEN Mk.IIS	STEN Mk.III	STEN Mk.V
Caliber	9×19mm	9×19mm	9×19mm	9×19mm
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

]]> http://fire-arms.info/archives/sten/feed 0 http://fire-arms.info/archives/famae-saf http://fire-arms.info/archives/famae-saf#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 20:52:27 +0000 Megan http://fire-arms.info/?p=138

The S.A.F. SMG was developed and is manufactured by Chilean company FAMAE. The S.A.F. design is based on SIG 540 assault rifle, designed in Swiss and manufactured in Chile by FAMAE under license from SIG.

The S.A.F. SMG is in service with Chilean Armed Forces and Police.

Technically, the S.A.F. is a recoil operated select fire gun, firing from closed bolt. The triger/hammer group and floating firing pin design is similar to SIG 540, but the bolt is of new design. The receiver is similar in design to SIG 540, and is of folding type (upper and lower receivers are assembled by two steel pins, much like the M16 receiver does). The S.A.F. has ambidextrous safety/fire selector switch with four settings – safe, single shot, 3 round bursts and full auto. S.A.F. SMGs are manufactured with side-folding or fixed polymer buttstocks. Silenced version, with folding buttstock and integral silencer is available for special forces use. S.A.F. has post front sight, ajustable wor elevation, and aperture rear sight, ajustable for windage. S.A.F. uses 20 or 30 rounds magazines made from transluscent polymer. Magazines had special studs and slots that allowed two or more magazines to be clipped together for quicker magazine change.

FAMAE S.A.F.

FAMAE S.A.F. with integral silencer


FAMAE S.A.F. field stripped into main parts

Caliber: 9×19mm Luger/Para
Weight: 2.7 – 3 kg without magazine (depending on variant)
Lenght (stock closed/open): 410 / 640 mm
Barrel lenght: 198 mm
Rate of fire: 1120 – 1280 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 20 or 30 rounds
Effective range: 100-150 meters

The story of this weapon start in around 1919, when German arms-making company Rheinmetall produced a prototype submachine gun designated MP.19. This weapon was developed by Lous Stange to same specifications as Schmeisser’s MP.18/I, but MP.19 came too late to see any action during WW1. After the end of WW1, Germany was severely limited in design and production of small arms by treaty of Versailles. When Hitler came into power, German military-oriented companies began to move the R&D outside of Germany to avoid treaty limitations. In 1929, Rheinmetall purchased the small Swiss-based company Wafenfabrik Solothurn, which was used to finalize some Rheinmetall small arms which were developed under secrecy in Germany. One of those weapons was an improved version of MP.19 submachine gun, which was announced by Waffenfabrik Solothurn under company index “S1-100″. This was an excellent weapon, reliable, controllable and accurate, but Solothurn company lacked production capabilities. To make guns on industrial scale, Solothurn teamed with famous Austrian gun-making company Waffenfabrik Steyr, and formed trade company Steyr-Solothurn Waffen AG in Zurich, Switzerland. This company sold weapons designed by Rheinmetall and Solothurn and made by Steyr, and S1-100 submachine gun was among first products of this international conglomerated. In the 1930 Austrian police adopts the S1-100 as Steyr MP.30, chambered for standard Austrian 9×23 Steyr pistol cartridge. It was also exported to Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay and El Salvador; it also was sold in limited numbers to China, in 7,63×25 Mauser caliber.Portugal adopted the S1-100 in 7,65×22 Luger caliber in 1938, and in 1942 purchased more S1-100’s from Steyr but this time in 9×19 Luger. For South American markets, Steyr produced version of S1-100 in .45ACP caliber; this version was distinguished by additional pistol grip under the forearm. Austrian army adopted the S1-100 as Steyr MP.34, chambered for powerful 9×25 Mauser ammunition. When Hitler’s Germany occupied Austria in 1938, it quickly consumed most of Austrian MP.30’s and MP.34’s, and after rebarreling to 9×19 ammunition these weapons were issued to German troops as MP.34(ö). Production of Steyr-Solothurn submachine guns has ceased in around 1940, when, under German administration, it was replaced in production at Steyr by much simpler and less expensive MP-40 submachine gun of German design. It must be noted that S1-100 was one of the finest submachine guns made prior to WW2, and probably one of most expensive.

Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 submachine gun was blowback operated, selective-fired weapon which fired from open bolt. Unlike most other submachine guns, the return spring was located in the buttstock and was linked to bolt via long push-rod, pivotally attached to the rear of the bolt. The basic action of the gun was accessible through the top cover, which was hinged at the front and opened up and forward to expose bolt and trigger unit below it. The fire mode selector was made in the form of a sliding switch, located at the left side of the stock. Early guns had Schmeisser-style bolt-locking safety in the form of hook-shaped cut which was used to engage the bolt handle when bolt was cocked. Later on, additional manual safety was added to the top cover, in front of the rear sight. this safety locked bolt either in cocked or closed position. The feed was from left side, with magazine housing slightly canted forward for more positive feeding Ejection was to the right. The magazine housing had an unusual magazine filler device, with slots for magazine at the bottom and for stripper clip – at the top. removed magazine was inserted into this device from the bottom, and then shooter placed stripper clips into the top of device and pushed cartridges down into magazine. Four standard 8-round clips were required to fill the magazine.
All S1-100 guns were fitted with wooden stock with semi-pistol grip. Barrel was enclosed into perforated jacket, which had provisions for mounting a bayonet. Sights included hooded front and tangent type rear, marked from 100 to 500 meters. One most unusual accessory, which was briefly advertised for S1-100 during mid-1930s, was a compact machine-gun type tripod, which was to provide additional stability for weapon when firing from ground. It seems that this tripod was never made in quantity.

Steyr MP-34 submachine gun, left side

Steyr MP-34 submachine gun, right side

Steyr MP-34 partially disassembled

Drawing from original patent, covering S1-100 integral magazine loading device

Caliber	9×19mm Luger / Parabellum, 9×23 Steyr, 9×25 Mauser Export
Weight	4,25 kg empty
Length	850 mm
Barrel length	200 mm
Rate of fire	400-500 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	32 rounds
Effective range	150-200 meters

]]> http://fire-arms.info/archives/steyr-solothurn-s1-100-mp-34/feed 0 http://fire-arms.info/archives/shipka http://fire-arms.info/archives/shipka#comments Wed, 29 Jul 2009 15:40:49 +0000 Megan http://fire-arms.info/?p=92

The “Shipka” SMG was developed by Bulgarian company ARSENAL for police and military use, and currently is offered for export. It appeared on the market circa 1996. According to some sources, it is used by Bulgarian police and security forces.

“Shipka” (named after historical place in Bulgaria) is a straightforward design, using simple blowback operation and firing from open bolt. The lower receiver along with pistol grip and triggerguard is made from polymer, the upper receiver is made from steel. Simple buttstock is made from steel wire and folds to the left side of gun.

Shipka SMG in 9×18 Makarov.

Caliber: 9×18mm Makarov; 9×19mm Luger/Para
Weight: 2.0 – 2.2 kg withouth magazine
Lenght (stock closed/open): 338 / 625 mm
Barrel lenght: 150 mm
Rate of fire: 700 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 32 rounds (25 rounds for 9×19mm)
Effective range: 150 meters

The FN P90 submachine gun (SMG) was developed in the late 1980s as a personal defense weapon for the troops whose primary activities does not include small arms, such as vehicle and tank crew members, artillery crews etc. Standard pistols and submachine guns chambered for pistol rounds were proved ineffective against enemy soldiers, wearing body armor; Therefore FN designers first developed a new round with enhanced penetration, initially known as SS90. To achieve necessary high penetration while keeping recoil impulse low, FN used a small-bore approach, creating a round that looked much like the scaled down 5,56NATO round. It must be noted that similar concepts were tried in other countries, most notably in USA, several decades before FN; for example, US Army tested M1 carbines chambered for .221 Johnson Spitfire round back in late 1950s; later on, Colt produced its .22 SCAMP and 5,6×30 MARS ammunition for special SCAMP machine pistol and MARS “mini assault rifle” (a scaled-down M16 rifle) respectively.It must be noted that 5,6×30 MARS round was in a sense a direct predecessor to 5,7×28 FN SS90 round, although the latter featured slightly lighter and faster bullet. By late 1980s a concept of a small-bore, low-impulse “personal defense weapon” (PDW) with good accuracy and lethality at ranges of up to 200-250 meters was well established, although there were no weapons adopted for service yet. FN decided to follow this concept and to create its own PDW using clean sheet approach. Basic ideas used for this development, designated as “Project 9.0″, included the following: minimal size and weight of weapon; large magazine capacity; complete ambidexterity; ease of use and maintenance.
To save on size and weight, FN designers put new weapon into compact and lightweight stock of bullpup layout, made of impact-resistant polymer. The high-capacity magazine also was made from semi-translucent polymer, and holds 50 rounds in two rows. To made loaded weapon as compact as possible, FN designers followed the idea of American designer Hall, and placed the magazine above the barrels, with cartridges stored in horizontal position with bullets pointing to the left. While Hall system employed a rotary feed unit, operated by the bolt, to put new cartridge in line with the barrel, FN designers incorporated a stationary helical ramp into each magazine, which rotates cartridge for 90 degrees prior to placing it into feed lips. Complete ambidexterity was achieved by using ambidextrous controls (including dual charging handles and dual back-up open sights), and bottom ejection. Finally, simplicity of aiming was achieved by use of integral reflex type collimating sight and integral laser aiming module (LAM).
Resulting weapon appeared in around 1990 as FN P90 personal defense weapon, along with improved 5,7×28 SS190 ammunition, which replaced polymer-cored bullets with heavier dual-core (steel / aluminum) bullets with better penetration against body armor. Several other types of ammunition were developed for this weapon, including tracer, subsonic ball and soft-core training ball.
First sales of P90 were made to Saudi Arabia in early 1990s; today it is believed that FN sold more than 20 000 of P90’s to a wide variety of law enforcement agencies and military special operation units worldwide, including US Secret Service, Austrian Army rangers, Dutch BBE special operations forces, Belgian Army and others. Most interesting fact about adoption of P90 is that so far it has been adopted for the role, directly opposite to its original niche of “personal defense weapon”. In fact, most services and agencies that adopted P90 use it for offensive roles, as a specialist or even a primary weapon for various assault teams, and other “professional small-arms users”, as opposed to military personnel which primary functions do not include use of small arms.
In around 1995 FN supplemented the P90 with pistol, firing the same 5,7×28 ammunition, designated as FN Five-seveN. Recently, FN also introduced a civilian version of P90, designated as PS90 carbine. This is a self-loading weapon with longer barrel (408 mm / 16″).

FN P90 personal defense weapon is blowback operated, selective-fired weapon which fires from closed bolt. The firing is controlled by a removable trigger unit with conventional hammer. A manual safety is located directly below the trigger. Magazine lies at the top of the weapon, feeding from front-to-back, with spiral ramp built into the “rear” part of the magazine. Spent cartridges are ejected straight down through the chute, which exits just behind the pistol grip. The standard sighting equipment includes a non-magnifying collimating sight with “ring and dot” illuminated aiming reticule. Back-up open sights are provided at either side of the primary collimating sight. The so-called P90 USG version is provided with two additional Picatinny rails at either side of the collimating sight base; FN also offers a version with no standard sighting equipment; user has to make its own choice of day and/or night sights and additional equipment, which can be installed on three Picatinny rails – top, left and right. This version is designated as P90 TR (triple rail). The front part of the forward handgrip on P90 is shaped as hand protector, and it can contain integral laser aiming module, which sends either visible or IR laser beam to mark the intended target. For special missions P90 can be fitted with a special silencer, which is used in conjunction with special subsonic ammunition.

FN P90 personal defense weapon / submachine gun in basic configuration, left side

FN P90 personal defense weapon / submachine gun in basic configuration, right side

FN P90 TR (triple rail version) personal defense weapon / submachine gun, with installed accessories including optical sight on top rail, flashlight on left rail, and silencer on the barrel

FN PS90 – a civilian semi-automatic only version of P90 with long barrel

Bottom view on the filed FN P90 magazine, showing position of the stored cartridges and cartridge in feed position

FN P90 partially disassembled

Caliber: 5.7×28mm SS190
Weight: 2.54 kg empty; 3 kg loaded with magazine with 50 rounds
Length: 500 mm
Barrel length: 263 mm
Rate of fire: 900 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 50 rounds
Effective range: 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 / 7.65×17 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.

Owen 32ACP prototype submachine gun (1940)

Owen .45ACP prototype submachine gun (1941)

Owen Mk.1-43 submachine gun in camouflage paint

Owen Mk.1-42 submachine gun, field stripped