KIS (weapon)

KIS
KIS submachine gun
Type	Submachine gun
Place of origin	Poland
Service history
In service	1943 to 1945
Used by	Poland
Wars	WW2
Production history
Designed	1943 [1]
Produced	1943 to 1944 [2]
No. built	~37–38
Variants	None
Specifications
Length	600 mm
Barrel  length	220 mm [2]
Cartridge	9×19mm Parabellum
Caliber	9 mm
Action	Open-Bolt Blowback
Muzzle velocity	335.36 m/s (1,100 ft/s)
Effective firing range	100 m
Feed system	32 round box magazine

KIS was the name of a Polish submachine gun from the time of the Second World War. It was designed and manufactured by engineers in Jan Piwnik's "Ponury" ("Grim") partisan group that was operating in Holy Cross Mountains region. ^[2]

The weapon was patterned after Sten, retaining its left-side magazine. Main differences were a longer barrel, with conical rear part, and lack of stock – the gun had a pistol grip instead. ^{[3] [2]}

See also

• Bechowiec-1
• Błyskawica submachine gun
• Choroszmanów submachine gun

References

1. "Polish Underground Sten Gun Production During World War Two". cruffler.com. 7 April 2014. Archived from the original on 5 December 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2023. Between November 1943 and summer 1944, a group including Polikarp Rybicki, Witold Szafranski and Stanislaw Skorupka made 37 parts kits for a simplified Sten lookalike called the KIS at a base in the Swietokrzyskie Mountains. The KIS lacked a stock and had an integral pistol grip. Unlike the Sten, it had no barrel nut. The barrel was thick at the breech end, tapering toward the muzzle.
2. Uzbrojenie: Pistolet maszynowy "KIS"
3. "Small Arms Illustrated: Pre-1946 Small Arms, Poland". thinlineweapons.com. Archived from the original on 10 July 2023.

Bibliography

• Kazimierz Satora - "Produkcja Uzbrojenia w Polskim Ruch Oporu 1939-45", Warszawa 1985
• Kazimierz Satora "Podziemne zbrojownie polskie 1939-1944", Dom Wydawniczy Bellona, Warszawa 2001