A drum magazine is a type of high-capacity magazine for firearms. [1] Cylindrical in shape (similar to a drum), drum magazines store rounds in a spiral around the center of the magazine, facing the direction of the barrel. Drum magazines are contrasted with more common box-type magazines, which have a lower capacity and store rounds flat. [1] The capacity of drum magazines varies, but is generally between 50 and 100 rounds. [1]
In 1853, the first revolving drum magazine was patented by Charles N. Tyler, [2] and the first modern one by William H. Elliot, better known as the inventor of the Remington Double Derringer, in 1871. [3] [4]
A drum magazine was built for the Luger (Pistole 1908) pistol; [5] although the Luger usually used an 8-cartridge box magazine, the optional 32-cartridge Schneckenmagazine ("snail magazine") was also sometimes used. [6]
Moubray G. Farquhar and Arthur H. Hill applied for a British patent for "A New or Improved Cartridge Magazine for Small Arms and Machine Guns" in 1915 for their Farquhar–Hill rifle, and it was accepted in 1919. [7]
In 1915, the Standschütze Hellriegel M1915 (German: Maschinengewehr des Standschützen Hellriegel, "Machine gun from reservist Hellriegel"), an Austro-Hungarian water-cooled submachine gun, was produced during World War I in very limited prototype numbers.
The Soviet PPD submachine gun originally designed in 1934 by Vasily Degtyaryov could use either a 35-round box magazine, or a 71-round drum magazine copied from the Finnish Suomi KP/-31 submachine gun that however used 9x19mm Parabellum instead, and the latter magazine was most common. The Soviet PPSh-41 submachine gun and PPS-43 which replaced the PPD were cheaper and more reliable weapons designed in 1941 and 1943, respectively. They too used 7.62×25mm Tokarev ammunition, could use either a 35-round box magazine or a 71-round drum magazine, and the latter was most common. [8]
The Thompson submachine gun ("Tommy gun") used a drum magazine in its classic form, but the drum magazines for this weapon were abandoned on the World War II models. [9] The M1921 Thompsons could accommodate either 20-round box magazines or 50-round cylindrical drum magazines; the latter were known as "L drums" because "L" is the Latin numeral for 50. [10] A 100-round "C drum" magazine (the letter standing for the Roman numeral for 100) was available, but weighed more than eight pounds and pushed the total weight of the gun to almost 20 pounds (9.1 kg). [10] The M1928 Navy and M1928A1 variants, used by the US Navy and US Marine Corps, could also accept drum magazines, but standard box magazines were more popular due to the drum magazines' weight and tendency to jam. [11]
An example of a machine gun with an optional belt drum magazine, containing a starter tab and 50-round length coil of ammunition belt, is the MG 42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42, or "machine gun 42"), a 7.92×57mm Mauser general-purpose machine gun designed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. The 50-round Gurttrommel (belt drum) was also used by the preceding MG 34 general purpose machine gun. Designed to be low-cost and easy to build, the MG 42 proved to be highly reliable and easy to operate. It is most notable for its very high cyclic rate for a gun using full power service cartridges, averaging about 1,200 rounds per minute compared to around 850 for the MG 34, and perhaps 450 to 600 for other common machine guns like the M1919 Browning or Bren.
Pan magazines (also called "disc magazines") are also often referred to as a drum magazine. The pan magazine differs from other drum magazines in that the cartridges are stored perpendicular to the axis of rotation, rather than parallel, and are usually mounted on top of the firearm. This type is used on the Lewis gun, Vickers K, Bren gun (only used in anti-aircraft mountings), [12] Degtyaryov light machine gun, and American-180 submachine gun. A highly unusual example was found on the Type 89 machine gun fed from two 45-round quadrant-shaped pan magazines (each magazine had a place for nine 5-round stripper clips).
Media related to Pan magazines at Wikimedia Commons
In the 2010s, drum magazines are manufactured for a variety of firearm platforms, including, among others, the Ruger Mini-14 in .223 caliber; the Kalashnikov rifle (AK) and its variants; firearms using STANAG magazines, and the H&K MP-5. [5]
Drum magazines once had a reputation for unreliability issues such as feed jams, but technological improvements resulted in better performance, while also reducing their cost. [13] As a result, drum magazines became more common in the civilian market in the United States, although they are far less common than standard, lower-capacity box magazines. [13] As of 2019, about six manufacturers produced drum magazines in the United States, retailing for about $100 each. [13] Manufacturers include KCI USA and Magpul Industries; the latter produces the same drum magazines for both civilian and military use. [13]
Drum magazines have been used in a number of high-profile mass shootings in the United States, fueling calls to ban drum magazines and other high-capacity magazines from civilian use. [13] Drum magazines were used in the shooting massacres in Aurora, Colorado, in 2012; [14] [15] Las Vegas, Nevada in 2017 (the deadliest mass shooting in the history of the United States by a non-state actor); and Dayton, Ohio, in 2019, allowing gunmen to fire dozens of rounds in very short periods of time, without the need to stop to reload. [13] [16] Experts have identified restrictions on high-capacity magazines as a factor that could make mass shooting attacks less deadly. [16]
Between 1994 and 2004, the Federal Assault Weapons Ban prohibited new magazines over 10 rounds in the United States. [5] [13] After the expiration of the ban, there is no nationwide prohibition against the possession of drum magazines, which are considered a regulated firearm accessory. [13] However, as of 2023, twelve states (California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington) [13] and the District of Columbia [16] [17] set a maximum limit on the capacity of magazines.
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A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries.
A machine pistol is a handgun that is capable of fully automatic fire, including stockless handgun-style submachine guns.
A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automatic firearm with notably less firepower than a machine gun. As a machine gun must fire rifle cartridges to be classified as such, submachine guns are not considered machine guns.
Bolt-action is a type of manual firearm action that is operated by directly manipulating the bolt via a bolt handle, most commonly placed on the right-hand side of the firearm. The majority of bolt-action firearms are rifles, but there are also some variants of shotguns and handguns that are bolt-action.
The Thompson submachine gun is a blowback-operated, selective-fire submachine gun, invented and developed by Brigadier General John T. Thompson, a United States Army officer, in 1918. It was designed to break the stalemate of trench warfare of World War I, although early models did not arrive in time for actual combat.
The MG 34 is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower – the Einheitsmaschinengewehr – and is generally considered the world's first general-purpose machine gun (GPMG). Both the MG 34 and MG 42 were erroneously nicknamed "Spandau" by Allied troops, a carryover from the World War I nickname for the MG 08, which was produced at the Spandau Arsenal.
The Maschinengewehr 30, or MG 30 was a German-designed machine gun that saw some service with various armed forces in the 1930s. It was also modified to become the standard German aircraft gun as the MG 15 and MG 17. It is most notable as the design pattern that led to the MG 34 and MG 42, and thus is one of the major ancestors of many of the weapons in service which would later find widespread use into the 21st century.
The 9×19mm Parabellum is a rimless, centerfire, tapered firearms cartridge.
An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm is a self-loading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharge to feed a new ammunition round into the chamber, and then igniting the propellant and discharging the projectile by delivering a hammer or striker impact on the primer.
The Suomi KP/-31 is a Finnish submachine gun that was mainly used during World War II. It is a descendant of the M-22 prototype and the KP/-26 production model, which was revealed to the public in 1925. It entered service in Finland in 1931, and remained in use until the 1980s.
A magazine, often simply called a mag, is an ammunition storage and feeding device for a repeating firearm, either integral within the gun or externally attached. The magazine functions by holding several cartridges within itself and sequentially pushing each one into a position where it may be readily loaded into the barrel chamber by the firearm's moving action. The detachable magazine is sometimes colloquially referred to as a "clip", although this is technically inaccurate since a clip is actually an accessory device used to help load ammunition into a magazine or cylinder.
Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge.
The MP 18 is a German submachine gun designed and manufactured by Bergmann Waffenfabrik. Introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I, the MP 18 was intended for use by the Sturmtruppen, assault groups specialized in trench combat, as a short-range offensive weapon that would provide individual soldiers with increased firepower over a pistol.
An ammunition belt is a firearm device used to package and feed cartridges, typically for rapid-firing automatic weapons such as machine guns. Belt-fed systems minimize the proportional weight of the ammunition apparatus to the entire weapon system, and allow high rates of continuous fire without needing frequent magazine changes. The capacity of belts and associated belt containers is typically a function of weight and bulk, and their size is limited by caliber and the combined portability of the weapon and ammunition. Typical capacities for man-portable weapon systems range from 50 to 300 rounds of ammunition.
The PPD is a submachine gun originally designed in 1934 by Vasily Degtyaryov. The PPD had a conventional wooden stock, fired from an open bolt, and was capable of selective fire. It was replaced by the PPSh-41.
The PPSh-41 is a selective-fire, open-bolt, blowback submachine gun that fires the 7.62×25mm Tokarev round. It was designed by Georgy Shpagin of the Soviet Union to be a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40.
A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long barreled gun which typically is intended to be held by both hands and braced against the shoulder. Handguns have shorter effective ranges compared to long guns, and are much harder to shoot accurately. While most early handguns are single-shot pistols, the two most common types of handguns used in modern times are revolvers and semi-automatic pistols.
The following are terms related to firearms and ammunition topics.
The Leichtes Maschinengewehr Modell 1925 is a Swiss recoil operated light machine gun designed by Colonel Adolf Furrer of Waffenfabrik Bern in the 1920s and produced from 1925 to the 1960s. It was the first machine gun in the Swiss Army that could be carried by a man. It takes the 7.5 mm Swiss Service cartridge from a 30-round box magazine and has a cyclic rate of fire of about 500 rounds-per-minute. In 1957, the LMG 25 was replaced by the Stgw 57-Assault rifle.
The Standschütze Hellriegel 1915 was an Austro-Hungarian water-cooled submachine gun produced during World War I in very limited prototype numbers.
