Smith & Wesson Model 76

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Smith & Wesson M76
Smith & Wesson M76 SMG AM.007171 (2).jpg
S&W M76 Submachine Gun
Type Submachine gun
Place of originUnited States
Service history
Wars Vietnam War
Production history
Designed1967
Manufacturer Smith & Wesson
Produced1967–1974
VariantsSee Variants
Specifications
MassUnloaded: 7.25 lb (3.29 kg)
Loaded: 8.75 lb (3.97 kg)
LengthStock folded: 22.5 in (570 mm)
Stock extended: 30.50 in (775 mm)
Barrel  length8 in (200 mm)

Cartridge 9×19mm Parabellum
Action Blowback, open and closed bolt
Rate of fire 720 rounds/min
Feed system14-, 24- or 36-round box magazine
SightsFront: protected blade, rear: fixed aperture

The Smith & Wesson M76 submachine gun (SMG) was produced by Smith & Wesson from 1967 to 1974.

Contents

History

The history of the Model 76 submachine gun started in April of 1966 with a call from Smith & Wesson's Washington, D.C. sales representative; he had been contacted by the US Navy Department to see if Smith & Wesson would be interested in designing, and producing a 9mm submachine gun. [1]

The US Navy had the need for a submachine gun for their SEAL special operations team in Vietnam. The SEALs' weapon of choice was the Swedish Carl Gustaf m/45―a well-made and reliable submachine gun.

Because Sweden was a neutral country, a problem arose; they objected to their product being used in a war zone. Therefore, the supply of the Carl Gustaf m/45 to the US Navy was cut off, which meant they had to find another submachine gun to take its place.

Although they appear similar, the M76 was designed from scratch from a list of requirements, which the US Navy SEALs provided, they are:

It was from this list that the M76 was created. According to the Director of Research and Development and head of the Model 76 project at the time, Dwayne W. Charron, was quoted as saying, "[He] had never seen, held or fired a Swedish K before starting design work on the M76...". The M76 fires 9mm rounds; the Carl Gustaf m/45 has an open bolt design and also fires 9×19mm Parabellum ammunition.

The SEALs also requested a limited number of suppressors for the M76. These suppressors were to be used under certain situations to reduce the gun's sound, and hide the flash so there would be no point of reference for return fire. Being an open bolt system, some sound would always be emitted, but the muzzle flash could be eliminated.

Due to the ongoing war, and a critical need to fill, Smith & Wesson designated the M76 a top priority project. The total time to take the concept of the M76 from the drawing board to production was just nine months. Many people comment that the gun is ugly or rough. Due to the urgency at the time, the M76 skipped the finishing department where welds and rough edges would normally be smoothed.

Due to lack of market demand, Smith & Wesson ceased production of the M76 in 1974. Despite the gun's lack of market demand, it gained some measure of popularity in action movies of the 1970s and 1980s, including Prime Cut , The Omega Man , The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, and more recently in The Dark Knight . [2]

Variants

MK760

In 1983, Mike Ruplinger and Kenneth Dominick started a company called MK Arms and acquired the rights to the Smith & Wesson M76. They began producing copies of it with the designation MK Arms MK760, and the US Navy, which still had some original M76s in its inventory, began purchasing replacement parts from MK Arms. MK Arms also produced carbine, and pistol configurations of the MK760. In 1986, due to the Hughes Amendment to the Firearm Owners Protection Act, which banned any newly manufactured automatic weapons from being registered for civilian ownership, MK Arms went out of business.

M76A1

In 1984, Dominick separated from Ruplinger and began producing his own copy of the M76 under the trade name Global Arms with a designation of M76A1.

SW 76

The SW 76 was manufactured by JMB Distribution in Ohio from virgin tubes that were originally registered by John Stemple in 1986. All of the parts of the SW 76 will interchange with an original Smith & Wesson M76 except for the bolt. The bolt is not interchangeable due to the reorientation of the extractor and the Stemple receiver tubes have an inside diameter that is slightly larger than that of an original S&W M76, requiring two sleeves that act as bearing surfaces to be placed on the bolt to take up the extra space inside the receiver. [3]

Omega 760 Carbine

During 2001 the Tactical Weapons Company of Arizona was engaged to manufacture the parts and receivers for a weapon that would be marketed as the Omega 760 carbine, a semiautomatic-only copy of the Smith & Wesson Model 76 that accepted Sten gun magazines. Initial sales of the Omega 760 were brisk but quickly dropped off. The disappointing sales of the Omega ultimately drove the decision to cease production and the decision left a number of parts that were never assembled into guns. [3]

Users

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References

  1. Charron, Dwayne (2012). My Life Journey with Smith & Wesson. DWC Publishing. pp. 63–75. ISBN   978-0-615-68842-8.
  2. "The M76 Machine-Gunned Vampires". 26 April 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2024.
  3. 1 2 Iannamico, Frank. "The New SW76 Submachine Gun". Small Arms Review. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
  4. Ezell, Edward (1988). Small Arms Today. Vol. 2nd. Stackpole Books. p. 317. ISBN   0811722805.
  5. Ezell, Edward (1988). Small Arms Today. Vol. 2nd. Stackpole Books. p. 400. ISBN   0811722805.
  6. Pike, Travis (8 September 2022). "Guns of the Stakeout Squad". Gun Mag Warehouse. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
  7. Rogers, Patrick (March 2007). "Sub caliber machine guns still practical". SWAT magazine. Retrieved 28 August 2024.