Mamba Pistol

Last updated
Mamba
Usa imported mamba.jpg
Mamba pistol with original gun brochure and box
Type Semi-automatic pistol
Place of origin Rhodesia
Production history
DesignerRelay Products (Pty) Ltd.,
Salisbury, Rhodesia
Designed1976 [1]
ManufacturerViper Engineering (Pty) Ltd.,
a division of Sandock Austral; Boksburg, South Africa [1]
Produced1977 [1]
Specifications
Mass1190 g [2]
Length218 mm
Barrel  length127 mm (barrel) [2]

Cartridge 9×19mm Parabellum
7.65×21mm Parabellum [3]
Action Recoil-operated, locked breech semi-automatic, double-action [2]
Rate of fire Semi-automatic
Feed system15-round box magazine [4]
20, 25, 30, and 40-round box magazines (Planned, but never produced) [3]
SightsIron

The Mamba is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Rhodesia and later produced in South Africa, intended for military and police duty. Named for the venomous snake indigenous to southern Africa, the Mamba was the first semi-automatic pistol to be manufactured wholly out of stainless steel components. [2]

Contents

History

The Mamba was designed in Rhodesia in 1976 and was initially intended to be manufactured there, in anticipation of a domestic military or police contract. [1] The Rhodesian Security Forces were then fighting a long and bitter counter-insurgency campaign against two rival insurgent armies; however, much of their small arms were well-worn and obsolete due to an arms embargo imposed on the country by the United Nations. [5] The embargo had severely limited Rhodesia's ability to acquire new weapons, forcing the country to source most of its material from a sympathetic South Africa and from international arms dealers willing to violate the embargo. [5] However, Rhodesian engineers also showed great resourcefulness in utilising the country's limited industrial capacity to manufacture 9×19mm Parabellum ammunition, and a number of small arms chambered for that round. [5] The Mamba was one of several such designs; its Rhodesian developers envisioned it as a combat pistol which combined all the most desirable features of preexisting 9x19mm semi-automatic handguns in widespread military use, with the added feature of being manufactured entirely of stainless steel. [1] Instrumental in the design process was Joe Hale, an American expatriate who was also involved in a number of other independent small arms projects in Rhodesia. [1] Hale claimed he helped design the Mamba in concert with a multi-national team which included Swiss, British, and other American expatriates then living in Rhodesia. [1]

In 1977, production of the Mamba's components was outsourced to Viper Engineering, a South African firm, likely because of the sophisticated nature of the manufacturing process. [1] By mid-1977, a few individual pistols had been assembled in Rhodesia from the South African-produced parts; however, by the following year production and assembly seems to have been undertaken entirely in South Africa at Viper's facilities. [1] Hale emigrated to South Africa in 1978 to personally oversee production. [1] That year, the United Nations also imposed an arms embargo on South Africa, and Hale hoped that a locally-manufactured pistol design like the Mamba would be competitive for military or police contracts in that country as well, once the embargo limited its ability, like Rhodesia's, to source pistols from abroad. [2] The end of the Rhodesian war and South Africa's ability to continue sourcing semi-automatic pistol designs from various foreign suppliers in spite of the embargo led to these hopes evaporating, and the urgency for the producing the weapon died down. [2] Consequently, a number of the completed Viper-produced pistols were imported into the United States for commercial sales by Navy Arms, which also acquired the rights to manufacture the Mamba under licence. [2] Navy Arms produced the Mamba chambered in 9x19mm and reportedly offered a version chambered for 7.65×21mm Parabellum as well. [3]

Technical description

It is entirely made in stainless steel (a first for semi-auto pistols), [3] with polymer grips and high-capacity magazine. The Mamba works in semi-automatic, recoil-operated, locked-breech single/double action based on the Browning principle. Its only safety was a Browning-style frame mounted safety that locks the hammer and the slide. Like the M1911 and FN GP-35/Browning Hi-Power pistols, the hammer could be locked either in cocked or in lowered position, allowing the gun to be carried in "cocked and locked" state, with safety on. The Mamba doesn't have any decocking system, which is unusual for a SA/DA pistol. The grip-mounted magazine release and the slide stop are placed only on the left side of the pistol, but the frame-mounted safety is placed ambidextrously. The standard magazine issued with the Mamba was a 15-round high capacity type with a single position feed. Also planned were 20, 25, 30, and 40-round high-capacity magazines, but none of these were actually produced. [3]

The Mamba's barrel has 12-groove 'button rifling', an unusual feature which is said to increase muzzle velocity by up to 10%. In addition to the rifling, instead of being supported by a bushing, the barrel is supported only by the machined hole at the front of the pistol's slide to increase accuracy. [3]

A select-fire version of the Mamba was planned and a prototype made, but it never reached production. The selector had semi automatic and three-round-burst settings. The select fire version has a cyclic rate of fire of 1800 rounds per minute on the three round burst setting. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Browning Hi-Power</span> American-Belgian semi-automatic pistol

The Browning Hi-Power is a single-action, semi-automatic pistol available in the 9×19mm Parabellum and .40 S&W calibers. It was based on a design by American firearms inventor John Browning, and completed by Dieudonné Saive at FN Herstal. Browning died in 1926, several years before the design was finalized. FN Herstal named it the "High Power" in allusion to the 13-round magazine capacity, almost twice that of other designs at the time, such as the Luger or Colt M1911.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Semi-automatic pistol</span> Type of pistol

A semi-automatic pistol is a handgun that automatically ejects and loads cartridges in its chamber after every shot fired. Only one round of ammunition is fired each time the trigger is pulled, as the pistol's fire control group disconnects the trigger mechanism from the firing pin/striker until the trigger has been released and reset.

The Beretta 92G-SD and 96G-SD Special Duty handguns are semi-automatic, locked-breech delayed recoil-operated, double/single-action pistols, fitted with the heavy, wide Brigadier slide, chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge (92G-SD) and the .40 S&W cartridge (96G-SD), framed with the addition of the tactical equipment rail, designed and manufactured by Beretta.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SIG Sauer P220</span> Swiss-German semi-automatic pistol

The SIG Sauer P220 is a semi-automatic pistol. Designed in 1975 by the SIG Arms AG division of Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, and produced by J. P. Sauer & Sohn, in Eckernförde; it is currently manufactured by both SIG Sauer companies: SIG Sauer GMBH, of Eckernförde, Germany; and SIG Sauer, Inc., of New Hampshire, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beretta M1951</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Beretta M1951 is a 9×19mm semi-automatic pistol developed during the late 1940s and early 1950s by Pietro Beretta S.p.A. of Italy. The pistol was produced strictly for military use and was introduced into service with the Italian Armed Forces and other Italian security forces as the Modello 1951 (M1951), replacing the Modello 1934 pistol chambered for the 9×17mm Short cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther P38</span> Type of semi-automatic pistol

The Walther P38 is a 9 mm semi-automatic pistol that was developed by Carl Walther GmbH as the service pistol of the Wehrmacht at the beginning of World War II. It was intended to replace the comparatively complex and expensive to produce Luger P08. Moving the production lines to the easier mass producible P38 once World War II started took longer than expected, leading to the P08 remaining in production until September 1942, and pre-existing copies remained in service until the end of the war.

The BXP is a 9×19mm submachine gun developed by Andries Piek, with the fully automatic version finalised in 1978, and the semi-automatic version for civilians coming later in 1984. Due to an international arms embargo against South Africa, South Africans designed and manufactured some weapons as a small firearms industry developed locally. The BXP was one of these locally designed and developed firearms, and is considered the final stage of development of the line of hand machine carbines that started with the LDP in Rhodesia and the Kommando in South Africa. Produced originally by the South African company Milkor (Pty) Ltd, its name 'BXP' stands for 'Blowback eXperimental Parabellum', hinting both at its operating mechanism as well as its caliber. The original automatic version of the BXP was intended for use by South African law enforcement, including the South African Police, the Correctional Services, and the specialised airport security unit based at the then Jan Smuts International Airport, Johannesburg.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson Model 910</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Smith & Wesson Models 908, 908s, 909, 910, and 915 are 9×19mm Parabellum, short-recoil-operated double-action/single action (DA/SA) semi-automatic pistols Value Series pistols. All of these pistols utilize a stainless barrel, an aluminum alloy frame, and either a carbon steel or stainless steel slide. The S&W Model 915 was produced from 1992 to 1994, while the S&W Model 910 was introduced in 1995 as a replacement for the Model 915 and was manufactured through 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Star Model BM</span> Semi-Automatic Pistol

The Star Model BM is a single-action semi-automatic pistol that fires the 9 mm Parabellum pistol cartridge. It was produced by Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. in Spain. Although its external appearance resembles the classic M1911, its design is different in several respects. For example, the Star does not have the 1911's grip safety. In addition, the thumb safety on the Star BM blocks the hammer, whereas it blocks the motion of the sear on a 1911 and the Star's trigger pivots on a roll pin rather than moving straight back like a 1911A1's trigger to trip the sear. The pistol is fed by an 8-round detachable box magazine.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Smith & Wesson Model 39</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Smith & Wesson Model 39 is a semi-automatic pistol developed for the United States Army service pistol trials of 1954. After the Army abandoned its search for a new pistol, the Model 39 went on the civilian market in 1955 and was the first of Smith & Wesson's first generation semi-automatic pistols. A modified version saw limited use with Naval Special Warfare units as the Mk 22 Mod 0.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanfoglio Force</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Tanfoglio Force, also known as Force 99, Force 2002, EAA Witness Polymer or EAA Witness P-Carry, is a modified clone of the Czech CZ-75/CZ-85 semi-automatic pistol. It is made in Gardone Val Trompia near Brescia, Italy by Fratelli Tanfoglio S.N.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther PPS</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Walther PPS is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for concealed carry for civilians and plainclothes law enforcement personnel. It is available in either 9×19mm Parabellum or .40 S&W chamberings. It was first shown in 2007 at the IWA & OutdoorClassics and is a slim polymer framed weapon of similar size to the Walther PPK pistol. The PPS is however technically much more based on the Walther P99 pistol.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glock</span> Series of pistols

Glock is a brand of polymer-framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FN HP-DA</span> Semi-automatic pistol

FN HP-DA is a 9mm semi-automatic pistol developed by Belgian Fabrique Nationale arms factory in Herstal. In North American markets, it was marketed as Browning BDA and is also referred to as Browning DA and Browning Hi-Power BDA.

Llama Firearms, officially known as Llama-Gabilondo y Cia SA, was a Spanish arms company founded in 1904 under the name Gabilondo and Urresti. Its headquarters were in Eibar in the Basque Country, Spain, but they also had workshops during different times in Elgoibar and Vitoria. The company manufactured moderate-priced revolvers and self-chambering pistols in a wide variety of models. These were popular mainly in the European and Latin American export market, as well as domestically in Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanfoglio T95</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Tanfoglio Combat or Standard, also known as T(A)95 or EAA Witness Steel, is a modified clone of the Czech CZ-75/CZ-85 pistol. It is made in Gardone Val Trompia near Brescia, Italy by Fratelli Tanfoglio S.N.C.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">7.65×21mm Parabellum</span> Pistol cartridge designed by Georg Luger and Hugo Borchardt

The 7.65×21mm Parabellum is a pistol cartridge that was introduced in 1898 by German arms manufacturer Deutsche Waffen- und Munitionsfabriken (DWM) for their new Pistol Parabellum. The primary developers of the pistol cartridge were firearms designers Georg Luger and Hugo Borchardt, who developed the round from the earlier 7.65×25mm Borchardt while working at DWM.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beretta M1923</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Beretta Model 1923 pistol was a service pistol used by the Italian Army from 1923 until 1945. The M1923 was designed to consolidate the improvements of the 1915/19 model and to use the 9mm Glisenti round. However, due to the vast amount of handguns available after the end of World War I only 3000 samples, of about 10.000 produced, were purchased by the Italian Army.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kahr P series</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Kahr P series is a product line of double action only (DAO) hammerless, striker-fired, short recoil operated, semi-automatic pistols manufactured by Kahr Arms. The target market for the P line is the civilian concealed carry firearms market, as well as being intended as backup weapons for law enforcement officers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Walther PPQ</span> Semi-automatic pistol

The Walther PPQ is a semi-automatic pistol developed by the German company Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen of Ulm for law enforcement, security forces and the civilian shooting market as a development of the Walther P99. It is available in 9×19mm Parabellum, 9×21mm, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP chamberings.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Locke, Peter G.; Cooke, Peter D.F. (1995). Fighting vehicles and weapons of Rhodesia, 1965-80. Wellington: P&P Publishing. p. 108. ISBN   978-0473024130.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Hogg, Ian (1983). Modern Small Arms. London: Bison Books. pp. 48–49. ISBN   0861241231.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Kokalis, Peter. Mamba: Deadly Serpent or Dangerous Fiasco?. Shotgun News, 2006, Volume 60 Issue 15 p. 10.
  4. "Mamba". Security Arms.com. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  5. 1 2 3 Nelson, Harold (1983), Zimbabwe: a country study, The American University (Washington, D.C.), p. 255, ISBN   0160015987