Benelli CB M2

Benelli CB M2
Type	Submachine gun
Place of origin	Italy
Production history
Designed	1980s
Manufacturer	Benelli
Specifications
Mass	3.40 kg
Barrel  length	200 mm
Cartridge	9×25 mm AUPO
Caliber	9 mm
Action	Blowback, open bolt
Rate of fire	800–1000
Muzzle velocity	390
Feed system	40-round detatchable box magazine
Sights	Fixed iron sights

The Benelli CB-M2 was an Italian simple blowback submachine gun resulting from a joint venture between Benelli and Fiocchi Munizioni. ^[1]

Overview

The weapon was chambered for the semi-caseless 9mm AUPO round. The AUPO bullet had an elongated, hollow base that acted as the case. The propellant filled the hollow space, and was sealed into the bullet with a fulminate plug. The AUPO round was "semi-caseless" because the hollow base of the bullet detached from the bullet itself after firing. However, it was not necessary to eject it from the side of the weapon as in a normal cartridge, because the base followed the bullet down the barrel and exited at the muzzle, in a similar fashion to a sabot. This simplified the action of the weapon, allowing it to move back and draw another round from the magazine, since there was no case to eject. With the omission of the ejector mechanism and the ejection step in the action, there were fewer moving parts to jam and cause unreliable functioning of the weapon. ^[2] The weapon used an open bolt fired simple blowback operation that used instead of a bolt, a rammer sealed with gas rings to chamber the round, with the hammer/firing pin striking the primer of the round sideways when chambered. The CB M2 never found any customers and the project was shelved. ^[1]

See also

• Lightweight Small Arms Technologies
• Caseless ammunition
• List of submachine guns

References

1. Hogg, Ian V. (2001). Submachine Guns. Greenhill Books. p. 88. ISBN   978-1-85367-448-8. This remarkable weapon was a cooperative venture by Armi Benelli and Fiocchi, the cartridge manufacturers. numerous countries tried it but in the end nobody adopted it and by the end of the 1980s the CB M2 and its AUPO cartridge were history.
2. Konig, Klaus-Peter; Hugo, Martin (1992). 9 MM Parabellum: A History of the World's 9mm Pistols and Ammunition. Schiffer Pub Limited. p. 299. ISBN   978-0-88740-342-2.

External links

• Benelli CB-M2 at Modern Firearms
• 9mm AUPO self-propelled caseless ammunition (in Spanish)