The MCEM-2 (Machine Carbine Experimental Model 2) was a prototype submachine gun, which never saw widespread production, but was one of the first submachine guns to combine a wrap-around bolt and magazine in pistol grip, features later copied in the Czechoslovak Sa vz. 23, Israeli Uzi, among others. The MCEM-2 was the second prototype in a line of experimental submachine guns designed in Britain in 1944. It was envisaged as a possible replacement for the STEN submachine gun then in service. Jerzy Podsedkowski, a Polish constructor who worked on the Vis and Mors and who fled from occupied Poland to Britain, developed the MCEM-2. It is believed that prototypes of MCEM-2 were made before the end of WW2, and its derivatives MCEM-4 and MCEM-6 were tested soon after the war. The latter modifications differed mostly in adoption of the rate-reducing mechanism, incorporated into the trigger unit; the rate of fire therefore was decreased from 1000 to 600 rounds per minute. Nevertheless, neither prototype was found suitable for adoption, and several years later the British army adopted a more conventional submachine gun, the Sterling-Patchett.
The MCEM-2 is blowback-operated, selective fire weapon that fires from an open bolt. it uses a telescoping bolt, with most of its mass in front of the breech face. The receiver is made from steel, and the pistol grip is attached below. The magazine is inserted into the pistol grip – a feature copied from the Mors.
A machine pistol is a self-loading pistol capable of burst or fully automatic fire. It can also be used to describe a stockless handgun-style submachine gun. The term is a calque of Maschinenpistole, the German word for submachine guns. Machine pistols were developed during World War I and originally issued to German artillery crews who needed a self-defense weapon that is lighter than a rifle but more powerful than a standard semi-automatic pistol. Today, they are considered a special purpose weapon with limited utility, and without a shoulder stock, difficult to control for all but the best shooters.
A submachine gun, abbreviated 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.
The Uzi is a family of Israeli open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine guns. The Uzi was one of the first weapons to use a telescoping bolt design which allows the magazine to be housed in the pistol grip for a shorter weapon.
The Thompson submachine gun is an American submachine gun first invented by John T. Thompson in 1918 during World War I that became infamous during the Prohibition era, being a signature weapon of various organized crime syndicates in the United States. It was a common sight in the media of the time, being used by both law enforcement officers and criminals. The Thompson submachine gun was also known informally as the "Tommy Gun", "Street Sweeper", "Annihilator", "Chicago Typewriter", "Trench Broom", "Chicago Submachine", "Chicago Piano", "Chicago Style", "Chicago Organ Grinder", "Drum Gun", "the Chopper", "the Tommy Boy" or simply "the Thompson".
The STEN is a family of British submachine guns chambered in 9×19mm and was used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout World War II and the Korean War. They had a simple design and very low production cost, making them effective insurgency weapons for resistance groups, and they continue to see usage to this day by irregular military forces. The STEN served as the basis for the Sterling submachine gun, which replaced the STEN in British service until the 1980s, when it, and all other submachine guns, were replaced by the SA80.
The FG 42 is a selective-fire 7.92×57mm Mauser automatic rifle produced in Nazi Germany during World War II. The weapon was developed specifically for the use of the Fallschirmjäger airborne infantry in 1942 and was used in very limited numbers until the end of the war.
The PP-19 Bizon is a 9x18mm Makarov submachine gun developed in 1993 at Izhmash by a team of engineers headed by Victor Kalashnikov Alexei Dragunov, youngest son of Yevgeny Dragunov, was also a member of the design team.
The PM-63 RAK is a Polish 9×18mm submachine gun, designed by Piotr Wilniewczyc in cooperation with Tadeusz Bednarski, Grzegorz Czubak and Marian Wakalski. The RAK combines the characteristics of a self-loading pistol and a fully automatic submachine gun.
The Owen gun, which was known officially as the Owen machine carbine, was an Australian submachine gun designed by Evelyn Owen in 1939. The Owen was the only entirely Australian-designed and constructed service submachine gun of World War II and was used by the Australian Army from 1943 until the mid-1960s.
The Jatimatic is a Finnish 9 mm submachine gun developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s by Jali Timari. The submachine gun made its debut in 1983. The Jatimatic was manufactured in very limited numbers initially by Tampereen Asepaja Oy of Tampere and later—Oy Golden Gun Ltd. The firearm was designed primarily for police, security forces and armored vehicle crews. It was never adopted into service by the Finnish Defence Forces, although the later GG-95 PDW version was tested by the FDF in the 1990s.
The PPSh-41 is a Soviet submachine gun designed by Georgy Shpagin as a cheap, reliable, and simplified alternative to the PPD-40. A common Russian nickname for the weapon is "papasha" (папа́ша), meaning "daddy", and it was sometimes called the "burp gun" because of its high fire rate.
A telescoping bolt is a firearm bolt which telescopes over, that is, wraps around and past, the breech end of the barrel. This feature reduces the required length of a weapon such as a submachine gun significantly, and it allows rifle designs to be balanced around the pistol grip in a way that gives "pointability" similar to a pistol's.
The Mendoza RM2 was a light machine gun similar to the M1918 BAR manufactured in Mexico by Productos Mendoza, S.A.. Rafael Mendoza have been producing machine guns for the Mexican Army since 1933 and all have been noted for their lightness, simplicity, ease of maintenance, and economic construction without sacrificing reliability.
The KRISS Vector is a series of weapons based upon the parent submachine gun design developed by the American company KRISS USA, formerly Transformational Defense Industries (TDI). They use an unconventional delayed blowback system combined with in-line design to reduce perceived recoil and muzzle climb.
The Vigneron is a submachine gun manufactured in Belgium during the 1950s. It used the 9×19mm NATO cartridge and was used by the Belgian Army until the 1980s. The Vigneron is a selective-fire weapon for short-range street and brush fighting. It remains reasonably accurate up to 100 m using sighted semi-automatic fire. For close-range combat, 2- or 3-shot bursts are recommended.
The FMK-3 is a selective fire, blowback operated submachine gun of Argentine origin and was designed by Fabricaciones Militares in 1974. Around 30,000 were produced for the Argentine military by 1991.
The CF05 submachine gun developed by Chongqing Changfeng in early 1990s in response to China's demand for a new submachine gun design.
The M3 is an American .45-caliber submachine gun adopted for U.S. Army service on 12 December 1942, as the United States Submachine Gun, Cal. .45, M3. The M3 was chambered for the same .45 ACP round fired by the Thompson submachine gun, but was cheaper to produce and lighter, although, contrary to popular belief, it was less accurate. The M3 was commonly referred to as the "Grease Gun" or simply "the Greaser", owing to its visual similarity to the mechanic's tool.
The BSA Experimental Model 1949 was a submachine gun of British origin intended to replace the Sten submachine gun. The weapon was fed from a 32-round box magazine inserted in the side and had an unusual twist-action bakelite-covered handguard.
The PPS is a family of Soviet submachine guns chambered in 7.62×25mm Tokarev, developed by Alexei Sudayev as a low-cost personal defense weapon for reconnaissance units, vehicle crews and support service personnel.
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