Submachine gun

The Heckler & Koch MP5 is one of the most common sub-fusiles between police and military forces.

The submachine gun or submachine gun is a fully automatic weapon, designed to fire pistol ammunition; It is therefore a long automatic firearm with a shot selection (semiautomatic, automatic and burst of two or three shots) but with a smaller size and less firepower and short range (about 150 m maximum)., designed to provide a high rate of fire at short distances and closed spaces, it has rails to place accessories (flashlights, laser sight, sights, etc.) and fixed or folding stock.

It differs from a submachine gun in that while it is a short weapon (pistol), the submachine gun is a long weapon, designed to be used preferably with two hands and often resting its stock on the shoulder.

This weapon has sometimes been mentioned as "submachine gun", in a completely literal translation of the English term for it (submachine gun).

History

Origins

A Bergmann MP-18 with loader TM08 "caracol".

The idea of a small but more powerful weapon than the pistol, capable of launching a stream of bullets in several bursts to neutralize the enemy when storming a position, was born in World War I. Although the first model was the Italian Villar-Perosa, created by Abiel Revelli as a support light machine gun, it was the Germans who brought the specific idea to the battlefield. In 1916 they formed a specialized military corps, the Sturmtruppen (assault troops). These soldiers needed a small weapon to be able to crawl across the battlefield and the barbed wire, but at the same time give them great firepower. The designer Hugo Schmeisser created for them the first submachine gun in history, the MP-18 Schmeisser, fed by a crude, heavy, but effective 32-round 9mm magazine.

World War II

The MP40 was widely used by the Wehrmacht during World War II.

In the Second World War, all the armies had copied and improved the original idea, although in the Spanish civil war the Si35, TN35 models of the STAR house and the MP28 II were used. The Germans had the famous MP38 and MP40 (incorrectly called by many Schmeisser, despite the fact that Hugo Schmeisser had nothing to do with the design of it) widely used in the shock troops. The Italians had the MAB 38.

Given the success of the submachine gun, the English created their Sten, a cheap weapon because it was practically made of stamped sheet metal, produced by millions and used by anti-fascist partisans from all over Europe who received weapons from Great Britain through various channels.

Thompson 1928A1 (replication) with straight charger.

The submachine gun was adapted to the tactics and needs of the Red Army and the Soviets created their PPSh-41, called "Pepeshina", characterized by its 71-round drum magazine that used 7.62 ammunition x 25 Tokarev (the same as the TT-33 pistol, with an effective range of 200 m) and which the Germans even adapted for their efficiency. Reviled by the military before the war, the Americans ended up incorporating their Thompson.

Genealogy

SMGs can be classified into four "generations":

• First-generation models include pre-World War II models, such as MP18 or Thompson M1928.

• The second generation were smaller and cheaper, and mechanically easier, like many used during World War II (MP38, MP40, Sten, M3, etc.).

• The third generation appeared from the 1950s. The Israeli Uzi is the most famous and used, simple, practical, resistant, reliable, safe and cheap.

• The fourth generation are modern and more sophisticated. Some point to HK MP5 (very popular among police elite units for their benefits) as the first example. But others mention even more modern designs, such as Spectre M4 or P90. They are accurate and quality weapons.

Date and rebirth

With the advent of the assault rifle after World War II, the submachine gun was increasingly considered obsolete.

But the emergence of threats, such as terrorism, and the creation of elite assault commandos in the police, along with advanced fourth-generation designs, seem to prolong its life.

Submachine gun in Spain

The submachine gun was a popular weapon in the Spanish Civil War. The Spanish army always held it in high esteem and has used various models.

In Spain they were developed by the Eibar company STAR, Bonifacio Echeverría S.A. the models based on the Z-45, giving rise to new submachine guns Z-62 (and Z-63), and later the Z-68 and Z-70 (and Z-70B), which would be the officers in the police and Civil Guard and other military and police forces in various countries.

Gallery

Heckler & Koch MP5 Uzi Heckler & Koch UMP Ingram MAC-10 FN P90 PP-19 Bizon Heckler & Koch MP7 Skorpion vz. 61 FAMAE SAF TDI Vector FMK-3 Beretta M12 SIG MPX