Submachine gun

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A submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the ammunition of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size. They were first experimented with in the form of stocked pistols being converted from semi to fully-automatic, in the late 1800s and early 1900s.

The first dedicated designs were developed in the latter stages of World War I both as improvement on earlier stocked pistols, and to offer an advantage in trench warfare. They rose to prominence as a frontline and commando weapon during World War II, and are now widely used by police and paramilitary organizations. They are ideal for close-range combat in enclosed urban environments, where a weapon's range and accuracy is less important than the ability to easily and instinctively spray a target with bullets. They were also popularized in the 1920's and 30's as weapon of choice of gangsters, in the form of the famous Thompson submachine gun, commonly referred to as the "Tommy Gun". Submachine guns lack long-range power and accuracy compared to higher power rifles, limiting their use in the open.

Stocked automatic weapons firing pistol rounds were developed around the same time during World War I, by Italy, Germany, and the United States.

1 History
2 Modern
3 Covert Use
4 Legality
5 Famous Submachine Guns
6 See also

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History

Image:Machinenpistole 18.jpg Image:Maschinenpistolen Thompson A1.jpg

The submachine gun (sometimes abbreviated "SMG") appeared during the later stages of WWI and was a product of trench warfare. By 1918, fighting in the trenches had become a clumsy and brutal art, involving grenades, pistols, sharpened entrenching tools, and bayonets.

The Italians were the first to have a subMachine gun in the war, the Beretta 1918, which beat the Bergmann MP18 by a couple of months to service in 1918. It had a traditional wooden stock, a 25-round box magazine, and fired at 900 rounds per minute. Its development was aided by the Villar Perosa (introduced in 1915), sometimes called the first SMG because it fired a 9 mm pistol round. Originally intended as an aircraft weapon, it also saw use by infantry, as a light machine gun.

The Germans had been using heavier versions of Luger pistols, equipped with larger capacity snail magazine, and longer barrel; these were semi-automatic. A stocked purposed designed automatic pistol was worked on by Bergmann, which by 1918 had developed the MP18. The MP18 was used in large numbers by the stormtroopers which, in conjunction with appropriate tactics, achieved some notable successes in the final year of the war. They were not enough to prevent Germany's collapse in November 1918.

The Thompson submachine guns had been in development at the same time and even earlier as the Bergman and Beretta, but development was put on hold in 1917, when the US and the weapon's designer entered the war. The design was completed afterwards and used a different internal system from the MP18 or Beretta, but it had missed its chance to be the first purpose-designed SMG to enter service. It would however go on to serve as the basis for later weapons and have the longest active service life of the three.

In the inter-war years the submachine gun became notorious as a gangster weapon; the iconic image of zoot-suited James Cagney types wielding drum-magazine Thompson SMGs caused some military planners to shun the weapon. It was also used by the police, and many criminals favored the BAR. It was nevertheless gradually accepted by many militaries, with many countries developing their own designs over the period, especially in the 1930's.

In the USSR, the PPD34 and PPD34/38, were developed. In France the MAS-35 was developed into the MAS-38. In Germany some improvements on the MP18 were employed, namely the MP28/II and the MP34. Also, Nazi Germany adopted the MP38, unique in that it used no wood and a folding metal stock, though it used similar amount of stampings as the MAS. Italy further developed a number of its own designs (see List of Italian submachine guns), with similar attempts at improvements in lower production cost, quality, or weight. Image:Maschinenpistole MP40.jpg

During the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany in 1939, the MP38 production was still just starting and only a few thousand were in service, but it proved very popular especially in towns and cities. From it, the nearly identical, but safer and cheaper to make, MP40 was developed; about a million MP40's were made in WW2. The MP40's design used even more stampings, and less important metals such as aluminium, but still managed to be lighter because it avoided some of the heavier machined parts of the MP38.

Britain adopted the Lanchester submachine gun, based on the MP28/II. However the cost of manufacture was and rate of production led to the much simpler, cheaper and faster to make Sten guns. The Sten was so cheap to make that near the end of WWII, Nazi Germany made a few thousand of a copy of the design. Britain also used many M1928 Tommy Guns early on (the one of the intra-war period with a drum magazine), and also many of the improved version M1 (the one seen only with a stick magazine). After the war, the Sten would be replaced by the Sterling submachine gun.

America and its allies used the Thompson SMG, especially the simplified M1 version that did away with the Tommy's drum magazine and some of the machined parts. Because it was still expensive to produce, the M3 "Grease Gun" was adopted in 1942, followed by the slightly improved M3A1 in 1944. The M3 was not necessarily more effective, but was made with cheap stamped metal, making it much more affordable. It could be configured to fire either .45 ACP ammunition, which the Thompson and M1911 pistol also fired, or the 9 mm Parabellum, widely used by Allies and Axis. It would be among the longest serving of the SMGs designed during the war, being produced into the 1960s and serving in US forces officially into the 1980s.

By the end of WW2, the USSR had fielded the largest number of submachine guns, with whole infantry battalions being armed with little else. Even in the hands of conscripted soldiers just out of basic training, the volume of fire produced by massed SMGs could be overwhelming.

After WW2, the submachine gun's popularity in the military continued but began a slow decline, primarily being replaced by assault rifles, which filled a niche between the SMG and the battle rifle. The Personal defense weapon is another proposed replacement. Significantly the submachine gun continues to be used by police and special operations forces, however.

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Modern

Following World War II, the role of submachine guns was greatly diminished with the introduction of modern compact assault rifles, such as the CAR-15 and Heckler & Koch HK 53. Submachine guns are still used by special forces, air crews, armored vehicle crews, counter-terrorist units, and Naval personnel.

Submachine guns lend themselves to moderation with suppressors, particularly so in cases where the weapon is loaded with subsonic ammunition. The Sten and modern-day Heckler & Koch MP5 have all been manufactured with quiet, integral silencers, and such weapons are favourites of special forces and police units.

Prominent recent examples of the submachine gun are the Israel Military Industries Uzi submachine gun, the Heckler & Koch MP5 series, the Ingram MAC-10, the Skorpion, the Sterling and the FN P90 (itself part of a new generation of 'personal defence weapons', firing cartridges intermediate in power between a pistol and assault rifle round). A small number of pistols have been available in fully-automatic or burst-fire variants, such as the GLOCK 18, the Stechkin, the Beretta 93R and the Heckler & Koch VP70.

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Covert Use

The submachine gun offers the small size concealment and close quarters combat advantages. Many special forces and covert operators use SMGs as the primary weapon, due to small size and effectiveness in close quarters enviornment. A couple of SMGs in particular were designed as a VIP personal defense weapon (PDW). High ranking officials can use the SMG as a defensive weapon in case of a kidnapping. Winston Churchill was known to keep a Sten in his staff car. Some PDWs can be disguised as another object. See ARES FMG and PP-90.

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Legality

In the United States, submachine guns have been categorized as NFA weapons (also known as Title II weapons), so being because they are regulated under the National Firearms Act of 1934 and as amended by Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968. NFA firearms can be legally owned only if state and local law permit it, all the proper paperwork is submitted and approved, and a one time tax of $200 is paid. Certain submachine guns have also been available in specially-modified semi-automatic form, with non-removable 16 inch (406 mm) barrels and receivers modified so as to prevent conversion into a fully-automatic firearm; in this case, the submachine guns are treated as rifles, and are not subject to further regulations beyond those required for ownership of a rifle.

In Europe, Switzerland allows the private ownership of semi-automatic submachine guns as sporting firearms. Fully automatic submachine guns may only be owned by collectors and may not be fired in fully automatic mode. Czech Republic allows the ownership of all kinds of automatic weapons up to .50 cal, to those collectors who obtain an exception from the ministry of interior. It is relatively hard to obtain, and depends a lot on the local police department.

Compare machine pistol, carbine.

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