A fully illustrated cuideto the Sul Machine Guns of World War llVolume 1 CONTENTS Sub-machine guns of World War II OnenGun ita TKK 1a Suomimv/831 18 Sten sub machine gms 1 ‘mningthe French Resistance its lanchesersub-machine gurs 18 MASMode! 1988 18 Steyr SolothumI-100 Ww Type to te wMe 108 MBand MSA 18 ‘Thompson sub-mactine guns uo TheBatlefor Okinawa i Resin Model 50 and Model 8 ui MPlBard MP2s li MP and MPSS us MP8, MP3840 and MP4O us PPD. 190498 Ty PPShl ut TheSiegeotleingrad 18 PPS-2and PPS-13 ug Berettasub-machine gus i) Armed Forces of the World ‘USRapid Deployment Force (Pat2) ii Picture acknowledgements Sorc it ayer acai Ger WP at (rts fen oe. Proeaps npn fom he eee | Forthcoming issues feature: Modern Assault Ships Heavy Bombers of World War Il Mobile SAM Systems | inder offer applies ire and Australia only. ‘Australia: Gack sumbars ate obtainable ffom Wat MACHINE Bock Numbers or don Gotcha is, 114 Winm Soe BO doc Tore aboumes ves Sead nate sure se eles over pe om your Newaagont In ease ST etka are to he sens yout any et Tor Sige Sout Aten ‘eoder shuld add tn How'to obtain binders for WAR Macuine UK & Ee Details of how to obtain your Bits fond of our spol fet wal Sein feeve' Se ene Ff en: diffcuty wana to WAR MACHINE Binders iene ener vad 8 oie wo ante AERA seater eas Sere awn Sees erate a Se oe © rect Marketing Director: Binders and Back Numbers ae abl subst ray of sock Wan MACHINE al iors aapaed UK market only sna ray not nesoscarly bogentenl co Yeorr produced for ane ude the UK Bears araesues maybe Forse months (5 Ssues £7380; for ope Year 62 aves) £4780. Send your oxor rd remango to Puneh saben demining Scam tay. thnen ale tianunber of tetra ss emtod Beck Numbers (Ok aire: Bock rumbors ae obagaie foe your Newport ot am WA Une 2028 Seaordouy, Cenaon Wea BT at cover pio Vis eto. The, WAR MACHINE putistad by OriSub-machine guns of WWII ‘The sub-machine gun was born out of the trenches of World Warl. In the confined, close-quarter fighting troops began to feel the need for some form of compact automatic weapon that would be less awkward to handle than a bayonetted.ifle. Faced with this demand, manufacturers turned their hands to producing sucha weapon. ‘The Italians were the first to introduce what might be termed a ssub-machine gun, This was the Vilar-Perosa which, wile often quoted as being the first sub-machine gun. was in many ways a blind alley, for the Villar-Perosa was used only as alight machine-gun. The first rue ‘example of what was to be termed the machine-pistol or sub-machine ‘gun was thus the Garman MPI8. This appeared in frontline servio Guring 1918 and to this day the MP1S remains the best example ofall the attributes of the sub-machine gun. The MPI8 used @ pistol cartridge (@ small. relatively low-powered charge firing a small bat heavy bullet). Ifa hand-held weapon was to be used to fire fully automaticaly the round fired had to be light and the Pistol cartridge was the obvious choice, The MPI@ fired the mm Parabellum cartridge and in the years that followed this became an almost universal choice for most designs. Using a pistol cartridge also allowed the employment of an operating principle t tised on automatic pistols, the blow-back principle. "The blow-back principle is very simple. On the MPIB the magazine was fitted and the gun cocked by using a side-mounted lever in a slot. When the trigger was pulled it released the breech block to move forward under the eneray from a large spring, As it moved forward the breech block picked up a cartridge from the feed, pushed it into the battel chamber and once the round and breech block were in position firing pin fired the cartridge. The recoll forces produced by the rriige were inially overcome by the forward eneray produced by 358 ofthe breech block and the spring, but the block remained in Jang enough to lock the system until the recoil forces were able to Dash back the breech block and its spring o their original condition, If the triguer was stl pulled, the eycle began again and went on unt the trigger was re Armed withthe MP0 sub-machine ‘gun, members of tho Wallen SS pose Ierapropaganda photograph. These ‘reFrench volunteers, ag indicated By the tcolourarm patch Ifthis simple operating principle was ever abandoned, the resu ‘usually less than satisfactory, fr the mechanism would be over-complex ‘and would have more pieces o break or jam. But ifthe operating system could be kept basic and light, and the MPI8 was light enough to be carried and used by one man, the overall concept could be kept simple, ‘At frst this was not always realized as gunsmiths lavished their consider- able skillson many ofthe early sub-machine gun types. When the needs (of World War Il arrived it did not take long for th frills to be ditched in the rush to produce serviceable weapons rapidly. Things reached the point where the resultant sub-machine guns were horrible to lookt, the obvious examples being the British Stenand the American M3. But these types lent themselves fo rapid and simple mass production. Welding took the place of machining from solid metal, pins took the place of time-consuming jointing methods, rivets tok the place of screws and so oon. Al first the front-line soldiers looked askance at such products but they soon learned that they worked. Those crude weepons could pro ‘duce as lethal a stream oflead as many ofthe more refined designs from the arsenals, they were easy to learn how to use, they were easy 10 maintain and their aramunition was usually easy to procure, often from the enemy. "The sub-machine gun is still with us, now in many refined forms by close examination will usually reveal the shadow of the basic MPIS lurking in ils interior. From the MPI8 came all the others that followed, even including the famous Thompson Gun. Designs such asthe Sten, the (MB, the German MP3E and the Soviet PPSh-41 all had their part to play during World War Il and their impact will be with us for years to come. ‘A Thompson gunner inaction during the battle for Cassin. Firepower and ase of handling made the sub-machine gun idealin the confinement of sweet ‘ghtingBI Owen Gun Ittock sometime an some aiy des: rate measures before Lieutenant velyn Owen Wa able to persuade the Rustaian miliary alone t adopthisdesgnofsubmechine gunn 1540. At the tme the Ausalan sem thc its oF no interest nthe weapon and by the tine they realized the ‘orlance ofthe weapon ey expected 1B fecoive al the Sten guns they Te quired fom the Unies kingdom. ft {Bok some time belore they epprec: ied the fact that they were aa fo ecelve no Sion quis as the Bish frm wanted all that could be rer diced’ So they desided afer mich procrastination te adopt tbe Owen ‘Gum but even then they were not sue Inhat calibre Consequently the fst thls batches were preduced in four calbres before the universal Smt vas opted “he Owen Cn canbe eal 00. nized bythe magazine, which pons Wertically upwards over the tubular ‘gun boy, This odd seeming arrange Ment was apparently chovea for to ‘ther aso fan hat worked and Tnustbe said hat it worked very wellto the extont that once the Atstraban sl dlrs get ther tands onthe type they prelered ttoalloiers andine Oven Bin was kept service untl well ino the 1880s and ils suocessor, the 8 Sil retains the overhead magazine Th fet of the in wa ay come lignal and very robust to the point vere it seemed fe be abl io take all fazoe fete oe wood oped nua, dust, ate ar Nstabour anything els. As production thereased various changes tere nr duced to the design. The eary ins Sound the barrel Were removed and Seme changes were made tthe bu Which could be found in versions with fst a wie skeleton, an al-weod de Sgn. anc one veraon that wes bal autine and all wood. One feature of the Owen that was unique fot abart from the overhead mageaine, Was at the barrel could be quickly removed fbr changing Exactly why thie feature ‘was incorporated i uncertain fr trould have ilen a long period of Eng forthe barrel fo become urus: biy tot but the feature was retained through the design ie of the mespon ‘nother oda point regarding the Gen was tht once In service they wwere often painted in camouflage Above: The Owen submachine gun ‘wasasturdy andreliabe weapon hat soon gained tselfahigh reputation The example has ‘camouflage pain scheme. Right: The Australian Owen sub- ‘nachine gun smst prominent tionfentre wasthe Yertcallpimounted box magazine Theoramploshown oreisoneo! ‘hecarly production models. schemes to suit the loal eran, For the Australian army (and the Owen ‘was used by no. other forces) tha Tpeant the hot and seroaty ungles of Now Guinea, whore the Australia so dlers found the Owen ideal for The ‘lose-quavter combat thatthe jales ‘enioroad Ir was to that the Owen ‘was father heavier than most comp ‘ble models bute orware-meonten {Grip and the pistol arp made it easy 0 fanaa slight didvaniage ortho vers ine 1945 but m 1682 many were vitually Calibre: iam Iagazine position meant that the rebult and provaion was made for 2 Length: 81 mm (22in) Sighshad tobecftsetfoterightside long bayonet to befited othe muzzle; Length of bart 20 mm (84 in) ofthe body, anawhward arrangement Some versone made in 18 Used a Weight loaded: 419 kg (108 0) Dut ona that mattered litle once tne much shortor bayonet that fited over Magazine: 8Sound vertical box ‘weapon Yat used in action on Ue ‘hemuesle whan alma unique usu Rate offre, eye 700 tom Imoslaubmachine quns the Oven es lar migunt but tey mere tol widely Migee veloety: 4207 (1380) per Almost always fred fom the hip issued second Dei 2K 383° ‘The Coach ZK 988s one of hose sub- machine guns thats now ile known {the West or the simple reason that ‘Was ile used outside Eastetn Europe {a ts combat we was mainly ites {o the war aganst the Somet Unon However, be 2388 wasaveryuibr eee pa cee en Considered good enough fo say in reduction fom te late 18905 unt ine Furst designed during the early 1930s the ZK 183 went mo production ‘The Crech 2K 383 was very wel) ‘made{rom machined partsand had Such uturies asa bipodanda Veriablerate lire. Therewas.ven laquick-change barrel The bulkot thaso weapons was later produced Iorthe German Wallen, who found Mahoavy butrelablewespon. rs i "The lop mounted magazine had one Production of the Owen ceased in Specification: |7K 983(continued) atthe famous Czech Bro arms plant ‘nown or the later inuoduction of weat ‘wastobethe Bren gun, The ZK 983 as 4 elauvaly large and heavy wespon forthe submachine gun class, a fox ‘ure emphasized by uncommon ap. plicaton ofa bipod under tebarrelon Sone models This bipod waa tere Sit of the Czech army tactical phic IBeophy fpritrecarded the weapon 33 a form of light machine-gun in cect ontradicuon of the usually accepted role of @ close-quarter combat weapon This odd approach was it~ feremphaszed by the use of what Was ‘te of tho ZK s8Ss odes! leatutes in the fom ofa capabilty for wo rates of ‘me. The 2 389 cole fire a the rate of 500 or 700 rpm, the fre rate being altered by the aden or subtraction of a small Q17-ky (82) weight © the breech block — with the weight removed the breech block could ‘move fastor and thus the rate of fre (ould be increased. The slower Fate of fre was used when the 2K 389 wae usod with ts ipod asa ight machine- and the faster fire rate wen the "yas carried ae an acon meapon. But that was only the Gzech army's point of view, and te feature docs not ‘Sppearis have besnueedimach bythe ‘lier customers or the weapon The ‘amy adopted the fype a thet standard submachine gun (i ‘used the ZK 280 unt at eas the ely 1960s), but by fr the largest nuiser of 2K 383s were produced afer 1899 for {he German army. When they took ‘over Caocheslovalia In 1899 the Gor ‘Mas found the 2K 363 production ine sflintac and it was @ sensible move ‘sfaras they were concerned tokeep {Pintact for thelr gm uses, The Brno Sactary was taken over for SS weapon production an this the ZK 383 pat Sub-machine guns of World War II ‘was diverted to the Wallen $3. who ‘ted the Weapon only onthe Eastern Front The Wallen 8 examples ware all known asthe ve 8 (ver vor, the (Czech for model) and the Wallen SS found i effective enough fr Io be: ‘ome one of their standard weapons ‘Numbers were kepein Cuechosiovaia forse by the Czech cil police Who had thew own version. the, Zi S892 ‘which was produced Without the Bigod “The only nations other than Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria end Ger Many that purchased the ZK S33 Were Brazil and Venezuela and oven then ‘he aunbers involved were not large ‘Apatt fom the uoe in Eastern Europe the 2383 had few points to atact ttfention and in many aya Iwas too ‘Complicated for the Tole wa called Upon Pay Toe Cech ays px ection for the design at @ Light ‘machine-gun led tall manner ofdetall (utvas bat the Weapon di not need ‘Tho dual rate of Are feature has ready boon mantoned. as has the ‘ipod but the sub machine gan does ‘ot really ead a complex barrel Change mechanism an allmachined ‘Rechanism made om te fines stools avallablo or an angled breech block Tetum spring angled into the But. The 1K 363 bad al tines, along ita very TWlable sound wespon but one that ‘was really too complex fri Tole. ai eens eae ees wolochy Seb (13508) per = BE suomi m/1931 ‘The Suomi mv/1631 is now ie kxown Dut in iis day 1s one ofthe most sought-after and admired sub: Machine guns produced anywhere ‘The design of ts weapon went back ‘9 the eaty 18808 and Wes alest oer fainly influenced by somo Gorman weapon designers Who used Finland sameansof escaping he turmol an iproar ol post-war Germany. Using the ‘uence and advice of sich German the inns gradually produced a series Of very sound and effective sub machino guas that resuted in The wvlesl ‘AS sub-machine gun designs go there os tle remankable with fe HUIGOL for t used a conventions Dlowback Scton and an erin ay Ou Where sid score over many ef [sing designs was that it was extrome Well made. almost to he point of iavishness inthe quality of material sed and the excellence of ihe ‘machining. andthe other point was the {Red systems employed. Teaco feed ‘Systems used a number of magazines ‘Gat were so effactve tat they were teronsiely copied Inter. even Dy The Soviets who normally prelerred their ome protuced denna Tee were Heal box magazin and the other @T1- round. drum magazine. In the box ‘agp te nova ony bukof20 By baming the magazine spit nt two vertical columns. Rounds were fod omone.olumnandthen theather In action this feed system wes much f2voured ast enabled a sole car Fy info action far more ready rounds than would be posable with a conver tonal magazine despite ths here was 4 normal 8-round box magazine for the Som, “The, mI9S1. was producod for the hoi my some mambo proved isl aetion during the 1940 Russian invasion of Finland There were several export models of the midi, some of them with smal ipods inder the barrel or bey anc those were purchased by Sweden and ‘Storr wo both st up their oon production lines a did a company in Barrark "The type was adopted by the Folsh police befre 1505, and ex amples popped up daring te Spanish (Gir War an othstces Sines tana Above: The Suomimy1831 wasone of ‘he mest well-manufactured sub ‘machine guns ever made, fo! ‘practically every part was machined ‘From soid metal Right: The Suomim/1981 inaction, ‘ted withthe 7/-round magazine. Unie many other submachine guns thom 1931 had along barrel that was accurate enough or aimed ‘reatmosi combat ranges. 1/180) has kopt appoaring up allover theplice whenever conf arise. is Sillinmied service mSeanainawa 9 this day and tis longevity can be ex Plaod by two simple factors One is thatthe mv183) 96 well made that Just all ot wear out The samo sound Tnanufacur alge explain tho rehab ig forthe mush one of those Weapons iat will work under any Cor litons without ever seemung to 90 wrong and as mentioned above the {eed system for Ihe ammunition |S ‘almost legendary in sts relabality ‘These twa factory alone expla the high regara sso tothe m3 in he pas, but Ihere was another factor ‘When the miles! was produced ‘alms were sparedon detall machining ‘Ena such cate wat taken on tia that the whole ofthe gun, tbebody and bot inchided were machined from the sold metal Consequently the gun was, and stl is, very accurate for its we ‘Most sub-machine gua yas ae aces Tate only toa few yards and mest ae almost wleas at range over 80m (95 Yards) The /I83l can be used accu tly at rangestp to 300 m (30 yar). Ip rolatve numbers few were Used dluging World War lout ihe nfixence ofthe desig can be detected in many Warne model ‘The design Was Ie ‘ence: produced im Swzeriand forthe Swiss army during 149. Specification bre: mn Length (butt extended): £70 mn Gain of barrel: $14 mi (12:8 in) ‘eight loaded (drum: 2 OH Kg (15.5210), Magan’ 9-050 20und ox oT Rate oftire, cyte: 900 rom Male veloc 400m (S10 per 10sEe Sten sub-machine guns [Ate the Dunkirk evacuation of mi 180 ie Britsh amy had few weapons Jot Inanatiemptto ream quickly the nay aufhoriies but out sn urgent eques for simple submachine guns {hat could. be produced in quant, ad using tho concopt ofthe MP38 as an example the designers went 10 ‘ore ue woos there were ‘adopiod Ia te produ of two de ‘Major RY. Shephera and H, an who wotkedal the Eile Locke ‘Spall Arma Paciry, and fiom thse ‘nee names came tho universally Accepted name Sten for the new ‘Weapon, "The fist recut was the Sten Mc ‘which must be regarded as one ofthe Unbovelest weapon designs fall time it'was designed for production as quickly and cheaply as posible using ‘Simple tools and a marumum of tme- Songuming maciang, she ten Was made up ftom sieel tubes. shee! taming and easly produced parts held together wath welds, piss and Dols, The main ody was a stl tube fod the butt seal mamework. The DBacel was a steel drawn tie wih thar two or ax ning grooves fu Iy carved. The magazine Was again Sheet soe] and on the Sen Mle the trigger mechanism was shrouded in a wooden stock ‘Thare wae 4 small ‘osden faregrip and a rudimentary ash hider ft fosked hornble and ‘caused some vory caustic comments ‘hon tas rst asued, butt worked 3nd the toope soon learned fo accept ior what was, basctaling device produced in sxireme circumstances "The Sten Mle was produced to te ‘une afabout 100.000 examplosall dl ered witun months. By 194] the Sten ‘Mic was on the sen an this yas ‘Sven simpler than the MeL intima the Sten Mil became regarded as the ‘lassie Sten gun ard twas an al ‘etal version, Gone was the wooden Stock over the tigger mechanism, re placed by # simple shectmetal box ‘The butt bocame a eng tube wih = fetiburplateatigend. The barel was redesigned to be unscrewed for ‘Changing and the magasine Rossing ‘with the box magazine protruding to the left, was destaned fo be a simple ‘Un that could be Tole dewmawarcs fee the magazine Was Yemoved to ep out dist an dit. The butt coule be easly Temoved for remomng the breach Block and pnng fr cleaning. By the time all these parla (barrel magazine and butt) Had been re- moved. the Whole Weapon oecupied ory ile space and this turned out to De one ofthe Sen's great advantages, ‘When the ital needs of tne ered Iproes ad been met ftom several bro histo ines, chong those set up Canada ana’ New Zealand, the Sion ‘was ell produced in tens of rousance fbr paracrop into occupied Europe for tse by resance loroes end partisans. ‘Thora ound its own particular place tncombat history for he very simplic- ify Sten and the ease with which {could be broken down for hiding proved to be a major asl and the Cetmans cama to fear the Sien and ‘what it could do. The Germans Tamed, as did many olbers that the Bullet oma Sten was pstasothalasa Ballet fem something more fancy. ‘Asilenood version ofthe Stan MeL ‘yap produced in small numbers (or Commande and raiding forees as the Sten Me IS, and then came the Sion 104 Above: The Sten MkII was one ofthe ‘mostwidely- used ofall he Allied fubsmachine guns. tlooked crude Butitworked,itcould be stripped own for easy concealment, anit twas avalabioin quanti Right: The Sten was one ofthe first ‘weapons issued (othe net) formed [irbore troops ofthe British aay. ‘and thisexampleis unusual being ‘Bttedwithasmallspike bayonet. ‘Mic This was basically an even sm pler version ofthe avail Mie as is Earel could not be veroved end i was encased in a simple stec-ube Panel jacket. Again tens of thousands ‘ware produced aud mere Wi ed Te Sten Mle IV vasa development ‘model intended for parachute tops Butt was not placed nto preduction By the ume the Sten Mie Vis te ene things were gong better forthe ‘Alias ana tbe Mie V could be po: ‘daved with rather moze fesse. The ‘Me V vrs easly the best of the Stes for i Was prediced to much higher ‘andar sd even iad sich extras st 3 wooden batt, restock and a fting {prasnall baycnot tad ine foresight ofthe Lee Ena No. rile and the ‘etal was even fished to hgh de (ee, woereas the earlor marks had {hes metal nf ina baze sate wih @ ‘minimum of fine nih ‘The Mk V wes {Sued fo the Aiborne Foreas in 1o4t fand afer World War lt Beoamo the Standard Bnish army submachine oun “The Sten was a crude weapon in early every way, butt Worked ad Right: Street fighting inthe Mediterranean. Thisexample has hadanon standard foregrp added toenhance handling. Below: By the time the Sten MEV was ‘produced there was time for sme finesse tobe added tothe basic Gesign. While the originaloutline Wwas retained a wooden but and istelgrip and aN. rife foresight adibeon aed. could be produced in large numbers ‘Sta time when it was desperstely feedod Inccupied Europe taste: ‘Yealed as an ideal venstance weapon nd all over the world uncergrau foroeshave been busy copying ine de- Sign alot cect. The Germans even pprocioed their om copiestn 1944 and Tewas one af the more emake able weapons of World War I Specification: Sten Mie Galbre: Sra Length Téa mm 3000) enh of bere 3 (in ree fondee 37 3 ‘2round box Bate of re, cyl 95 tp Bede Welty 8m (200% peArming the French Resistance Ittook a few years to organize the French Re- sistance movements after the fall of France in 1940, For about 18 months very litle could be achieved, mainly as a result of the morale shock that folovied tie German occupation Bul gradually a few bold souls started fo form the core of a number of small groups deter mined to camry on the war in some way. This underground movernent towards resisiance had been presupposed in London and else where by the esiablishment of some low- ‘Brloity cadres of unconventional warfare spe Cialisis wino aredually started to land agents ‘and subversivesin occupied France fo discov- ‘@rhow people were thinking and to determine what armed support there might be for the cesiablishment of @ guernila warfare move 1@ London-based organizations (there ‘wer6 intially several) wore grouped under an ‘organization mown as the Special Operations Executive, or SOE, Headquartered in Baker Street this organization was abe to function as ithad a virtual direct access to the Prime Min ter, who was very keen fo stir up any under- Ground warfare movements to harry the Ger man occupation forces. Using this access to high places, SOE was able io comer afar area ter share of weapons and olher facilities than ‘might otherwise have been the case in a more Orthodox administration, and the organization took full advantage ofthis. Infiltrators fromSOE ‘The general plan was for the higher eche- Jons of SOE to infiltrate agents into occupied France over a number of routes from direct ‘coastal landings to open crossings of the bor- der with unoccupied Vichy France, Once in- side the occupied zone these agents estab lished the lie of the land and generally travelled about making contacts, assessing potential saboiage targets and establishing Small cells of potential resisters. Once these had been established London then trained and sentin permanent agents to organize and tain the cells These agents were offen Free French ‘or other locals who hal escaped in 1940 or who came from some of the French colonies, but fonce esiablished in the occupied zone they talled on London to send in equipment ‘The equipment sent into France ranged from radios to explosives and weapons. Small Amounts of material were landed on secluded Stretches of coasline, but the bulk ofthe mate- tial was paradropped from Royal Air Force >omberaircraft sometimes small transport air- craft landed to deliver special loads ‘The usual ‘method was to use aircraft such as the Arm strong Whitworth Whitley or the Vickers Wel- lington to drop special containers, These were oftwo types, the Type C and the Type, the Jatter being the mote important as there vere several standard loads already laid out for them: the Hl, for instance, was always used to op explosives and their accessories such as Cetonators and exploders, wiule the H2 always carried joad ofSten guns, and the H could be ‘used to drop rifles or Bren guns, the H4to drop incendiary materials and the HS to deliver a wide range of sabotage equipment The Type ‘C container was used for just about everything else. Supply drops were arranged by radio and a team was always on the ground to pick up the containers and then immediately to distribute and hide their contents Contents were sup posed tobe packed to facilitate tisdistnbution and it was heve that easy hidden weapons Sich as the Sten gun came into their own A Shen gin coule bo easy broken dow int i component pars end concealed in ll manner SP stall paces ftom where t codld be re ttoved for ise: Operators could be either Controlled ftom London or organized local In Bath eases preparation was the Keyword with entehi pre-piscing of ams and equipmen well Befbre the operation Most Resistance op trations involved the se of stall amounts of Sxpbsties wih weapons ted ely or sl prstecton Kao fot unt 1946 that widespread and large-scale Resistance operations were totnied in suppor of te Normandy landings Again, well planned i advance and co Srcinaled fem Londoe, such operations wore stimedat cating commanicnons tthe cons talarens especialy aound Normandy ae the Pas de Cslas and solved the destruction of failways, telephone lines and bridges JAmushes were mace on German patrols wih tho Stens andthe Bren in overall terms the Photographs ofthe FrenchResistance inaction are ‘few and far between, 01tseers safe suggest ‘hattisisaposed picture taken during 1944 /¢ shows twoStensanda shotgun in sa, afairly ‘ypieal Resistance weapon combination. plan to disrupt the German forces, solate them bby removing their communications and gener- ally put them off balance, succeeded, Bat twas done ata considerable cost Apart fom the resistere who were lost on the actual operations, the Germans almost always reta ated by the taking and execution of hostages and the destruction of property, Many French men and women thus lost their ives in the Resistance cause, but their loss only stveng thened French resolve and gave back fo the nation a measure of sel-respect that had been Jost in 1940. "Thus the effors of SOE in London had an cffect far out of proportion to its numbers. The Resistance was able to make a debinite con tribution fo the overall war effort and the Stan ‘gun became a virtual symbol of resistance. Left: The Sten was wellsuted to Resistance-sivleambushes and pulsance raids, Whilegiving more farepowerfothe Maqui, fcould be broren down into components for Above: Maquisin the Haute Lire conducting 2 ‘weapon training session using the Sten ie ae the Subject This Sten has hestee! outine'buttin [place ofthe moreusual Tshabe’ Both ypes could Beeasily removed. 108In 1940, with the Dunk evacuation completed, the Royal Aur Force de- Sidad to adapt some form of sub ‘machine gun or arotddetanc. With pote oepare fr thedavelopment of new wospan it dated to adopt 2 ireot copy ofthe German MP28 ex: ‘amples of which were to hand for the ‘necessary copying The period was so ‘desperate that te Acmialy decided {o fon ihe RAP in adoping the new ‘espn By ages alconsohed hap Doninos the Admiralty alone actualy took th resultant design ino sevice, “The Bash MPO copy was given ‘the general designation Lanchester a tor one George Lanchester, who Was Charged wih producing te weaponat the String Armamest Compary at Bagenham the sam compary tate tor went a produce tbe Sterling Submachine gin tal if now the (General standard weapon foro many Srmed forces, The Lanchester (merged asa sound. surly weapon that it many ways was (deal for the type of operations required of 1 By Boarding and raiding parbes It vas 8 very gl weap any ways the Completa appa of its dvect cor {erporary te Sion, forthe Lanchester was a soundly engineered piece of weaponry with al tbe tiramings ofa former era Nothing was left of fort the guismsiti's art The Lanchester hada well machined veoden butlasd Sock the Blowe back mechani: Was ‘ery well made cf te nest materials, the breech block well machined. and to capitall the magazine howing Was made fom sold brass A ‘ew typical Bhiish design details were added, sich ag amounting on tha muzae ford tong bladed Bran bayonat (very uae {ulin boareing party stustions) and the Sling diflered from tbe Gertuan oF final in detalls to accommodate the Siiferent types of emmuniton the Lar ‘ester had to we, ‘The magazine for the Lanchester vas svaight and carried a sefl oa Dis0 rounds Sipping was aes By 2 atch on top of the receiver and the ‘ery hist models could re ether in Jo-shot or automat. That model was the lanehester Mle {but on the Lane Lanchester sub-machine gun Above: Obviously based on the German MP8, the Lanchester was ‘deal sulted tote roughvand:- tumble ofshipboard fe Ithed a tne-piece wooden stock based on fie outline ofthe Lee Enfield No. ‘MkSnifeand there was a bayonet ugunder he mural. The brass ‘magazine housing can be seen. ‘ight-Lanchesterein typicalnaval ‘environmentas captured U-boat [Bersonnelareescorted achorein a Canadian port the bindlolas were ‘normalprocedure. The Lanchestersare carried using Lee- Enfeldrife slings. chester Mic" this was changed fll futomatc fie only, and many Mik Is ‘ere converted 19 le RN workshops "Tho Lanchester vas an unashamed copy ofa German design bat gave (good service 10 the Rayal Navy throughout the wat an for many Years afer. Many old salors stil speak oftie Lanchester with respect ot with aflecton, fr t Wes a heavy weapon 4nd it had one Yaer off puting fea ‘aresifthe butt was ven hard knock Specification: Gr jar wile tha un Was cocked sh Calibre: 9mm ‘naded't would io The lst example Leng 881 mm (3.50 in) Tet Royal Navy Use during the 1980s Length of barre: 203 rm (8.0 n) fand the ype ie now a calecore vem Weight empry: 424 kg (057 Ib) ‘Magazine: 50rourd box Rate of fire, cyelie: 00pm ‘Maale velocity: about 3501 (12852) per second ILE Mas Model 1938 Often quoted as the MAS 38, this Frenchoub machine gun Was stp duced at St Etaoin 1838 hence the model number’ The MAS 38 was the Cuteome of along period of develop- ment and rae the followon fom & ‘model produced in 1685 Bubtmust be Stated that the development period was well spe fr the MAS 8 proved toibe a sound enough weapon wel in advance of its period. ‘There were seme rather od featires about the MAS 38 howaver. Goa was htt was {ather complicated and another thai fited a catindge produced only in France, Both theae festures can be ex platted by the peried when t was de ned Atal time ipere appeared to be no rosson to make tbe weapon as Stplo as posible or existing produc tuon metiods seemed adequate 12 chum out the numbers required, and fat te te such numbers were not ony igh ears can be ee the fact hat naa ava Et the me and so the MAS 38 ad ‘alibe of 785mm and used a car 106 tndge avalable only in France, the adopted ‘Tosmm Long. While this cartidoe ‘The MAS38 has complex mechan ‘wasaccurate wast very power, ism wih a long bolt Wavel tht Was 4nd had the disadvantage thst no-ooe partaly off-set having te gun body ‘ibe was likely to adopt ones the Sloping down ino the fold wooden Simm calibre had been Universally butt Tas cocking handle wasseparate ‘The MAS Mode! 1938 wasasound, Advanced weapon. Unfortunately for Itsfuture prospects, itfred an lnderpomered cartridge available gnivin France, andwwas complicated fomanulacture‘MAS Model 1998 (continued) ftom the bolt once fring started, @ (ood feature butane which inwociced omplesty into the design and manu- facture. Another good point was a fap Over the magazine housing that closed asthe magazine was witarawn Wale thas Kept out dust and dit very fw other designshad tisteatureand mest of thom managed to work perlocty Well without infact the MAS 28 tured ut to be rather to good fr the cust, who alist decided that it id not want a sub-machine gun afer a The French ‘my tamed down the weapon when ‘was ist ofered. and the fst produc tion examples went to some of the ‘mote paremltary members of one of Ie French police forces When hos ties ci startin 1899, the French army. ‘000 changed its mine and ordered faxge quantities, but the complex ‘machining that went in the MAS 38 Teauted in a slow rate of intoducton Inte servioe and the French my was ‘dhven bordering numbers of Thomp- fn sib-machine guns fom the USA ‘These amved too Ite 19 Make any diferenceto he evens of 140 and ts French army capitulated. When the French forces Tearmed under the ‘Vichy reaime the MAS 8 was kept in production andin act the weapon was feept in production unt 1940 and i ‘Wa used inthe Indo-China War “The MAS $ never aot he recocn sion tdeserved twos rathor fo com. heated red an odd eartndge ani ‘was never possible t produce tin Sub-machine guns of World War II When seen in cutaway form the large brooch block retar apring ofthe ‘MAS Model 1998 can be zoen to ‘almostallthe interior ofthe uit is design ade ore compact weapon the manufacturing diffeuties were compounded. and ‘sscan be soon thespringhad tobe ‘angled to enable the user aim the weapon. ‘quantity when it was required. Conse- uenly its row litle Faown outside 765mm France and few. if any, modern Lengus 623mm (2489 in) weapon designs owe anything to its of barrel 224 mm (82 in) Tmluence The ony anne tive the Weight loaded: 82861 (14015) MAS 38 other than some of the ex ‘seound box French coli Wore the Garmars ah ‘enough in [ea to te then bet grim fre stated Steyr-Solothurn Although the Steyr-Solotumn is de scribed as 2 Swiss weapon, for it Was Satny podoedin Sizer es Gngimally an Austrian design pro duced by Sioyr who took over tho ‘Sse Solotiurt conoern to produce ‘Weapon deans at a tine wien thoy Were lotbidden to dasoby teterme of {he 1918 Versailles Treaty. Even then the design was originally German (actually @-Rheinmetall product) but {ibd been switched fo Altra for fall evelopment dunng the 1930. Tis fll production form this sub- ‘machine gun was known so he Steyr Solothurn 81-100 anc by 1820 the de- sign was being produced mainly for export purposes A with & many tier designs of the period, it wag Based on the general outlines and pnepies ofthe German MPIB bat by {he time the Swiss manuzacruree hed fnished wit these development he design had resched @ high point of Feinement and detall manufacture. ‘Tho SI-100 was an excollent product that was robus, relable ruin Parabellum, te weapon was pro- iced ine Natio and Sm oy slate Specialy produced ot the -100 Exports o Chia Japan.and ‘South America were produced in 76:- mmm Mauser calibre, and the Port= (uses purchased a large batch cham ered forthe 68am Parabellum car fridge The extras were many and ‘Yeied, with pertapa hemos ouland ‘sh being a tripod to convert the ‘Weapon into what most fave been {ther ineffective light machine-gun, though 2ome of thee were sold to Ci ne during the mid-1990s. There were Aso varus forms of bayonet securing Sevices and several bare Tengths were produced, some of them very Thng indeed for what were ony pst $1-100 | cartridges. Another Steyr-Solothurn selling ploy was o present the SI-100 {a customer packed in individually fited chests cortaning not ony the ‘weapon but all manner of special magazines, special clearing Tools, spare parts et 'y the rid 18608 he SI-100 was the standard submachine gua of tho A Srianamy and police force, and when ‘he Germans ockover the state in 1803 ‘ey also fook over the Austrian azzy armoury Thus the 1-100 became the ‘German MP34(2), which must have ‘caused some confusion withthe pre ously mentioned 2 ME 38 ‘Aer a Shot period of Fontine Ger- fan sence fhe of no leas tan throe (ypes of Sm ammunition fo be supplies fr the type was t90 ‘uch oven for the adaplable German lami supply network an the MP2) ‘wag relegated "Garman mlltary police wet wasalso retained by wat ‘Was et of the Austrian police frees "Today the SI-100 sal used in odd comers of the world, but only in very Ssnall numbers Perhaps the most com. Dat seen by the type was in China ‘where atone poi te SI-100 was in toe by both the Chinese and Japanese lanes. The ater even produced ther ‘ould be supplied witha range of fccessories Including tripods, ‘ayonets and oversize magazines. Seen ereing di book poation, Imaniybecnssethepctie has Boen {akan roma ermansmanaal reduced othe pe ater he Bermanshad ake over Auris and ftarvenal during 108 ‘wm copy at one point and used some tho design's features aa the base for ‘hou ows fmm ype 100 shi 0 (mn Parabellum version) Saie' Tenat 690mm (3 463n) Length of barrel 200 um (87 in) ‘Weight loaded: 448 (988 Ka) Magazine: S2 round box Rate of fie, cyeic: $00 pm ‘Muze velocty: #181 (1370) por second_@ | Type 100 This Japanese private fist classis armed with the Type 100 sub- ‘machine gun. leis equipped for Jungle fighting, ypicalot 1942 ‘The Japancos were surprisingly late Onite sub.tachine gundeagn scene, Stine made all the mote remarkaiie ‘considering their experionce gained in the provacted campaigns in Chna Defore 1981 and the mumbor of afl rent overseas deaigns imported for Service se or examination H Was Dot ‘ntl 1642 that the et example of what had been several years ofow-prionty Sevelopment left he Nambu produc fiom ines inthe form ofthe ype 100, ‘sound but unremariable design tat ‘yas to be the only sub-machine gun the Iepapeam proded are ed any mumbers "The Type 100 was moderately well made but had several rather odd Yea {utes. One Was the ise of complex fammlnttion food device that encared {hat a round was fully chambered be- {ore he fring pin would operate Tho ‘exact purpose ofthis feature i rathar ‘ncerta (other thn the safety aspect {or the fire) forthe carrige used by all ho Tbe 10 vant was ie “nderpowered B-mm Japanese pst round, a aller weak ana inelacsv2 Choice hat was notaided by tsbeinga Date haped round that must have ‘ded is own feed completes, The ‘Type lode hartel was chrome pisted toad cleaning and reduce wear. and tb add to such cote the design had complex sights and a curved maga- Ene, Other outs were the a ofa Complicaied muzzle brake on some ‘Rodels end the uoe ofa large bayonet. ‘ountng ig nder the barrel Some ‘ergo also had biped “Thete were three diferent versions ofthe Type 100 The fist is described lbove. The second had a folding but Sock for use by Paretroops: the stock ‘was hinged just betund the qunibodyto {Bla along the aide of the weapon ‘Wie this no doulst mad the wespon. handy for carrying and peredropping, ‘Talia weakened the weapen it com Dat staabons and relatively ew were made. The third version of the Type 10 appeared in 194 at atime when demands fr submachine guns were coming from all fronts In order to ‘Speed up manufacture, the basic Type 100 was greatly simplied and inthe result the design was lengthened ‘gtly. The wooden sock was often Teftroughly shed and the rate offre was increasod from the eaty 480 rpm {oa00rpm The sahts were reduced to Ile more than aiming posts and the large’ muzzle lug for a bayonet was replaced by a simpler Siting. At the fmuzale, the baral protruded more fom the perforated fackot and had @ Sle mule brake formed by (Wo pons dled in the barrel Welding, ‘The Type 100 was not designed for ‘ease of production and despite some ‘Production short cuts'such as spot ‘often rough, was used wherever pass ble "The result was much cruder ‘weapon compared wih the earlet Yersion, but one that was sound ‘Shough for is purpose "The main problem forthe Japanese by 1644 lay not oo mach in th fact it the Type lod war et ood ent, bet that te Japanese lacked the indus ‘pact t ture aut te huge numbers demanded. Consequently the Japanese tops had to itt thes as dich defensive campacrsata perm nent disadventage against the better armed Allied tops. UD M42 In accounts of the American sub- ‘machine gun scene between 1909 and TIS one Weapon is often not men Uuoned at all and that is the sub- ‘gan known under numer frames but tsually called the UD ‘MrdaThs weapon was Gesignedinthe ays just prior to World War W135 a ‘commercial venture in -mmealbre ft twas ordered under rather oda cir ‘unstances by an organization known fs the United Defense Supply Cor- oration, a US government body that Erdaed all mannor of ilems for use ‘verseas, but hemain pout ofitsexst fence ra hat was an American sec etaervice front loral fons of undet= Ground activites, Beacliy why the United Defense (tence UD) concern ordered the de- ‘The UD M's2was notacceptedasan ‘nision units. Itwasa very wellmade {nd finished weapon andwas ‘popular withitsusers. sion that was produced by the Marin Firearms Company ss now not know Dut the name Marl was subsoquet- Jy often given to the weapon that be- Came the UD Naa "The goneral tr ‘ression given atthe ime was thatthe‘UD M‘2(continued) terest, but events in Europe overtook ‘thescheme. Some UD Ndas wore oor tainly ent to the Dutch East Indes be Mato tho UD Mis did fd thei ayo Burope But in ome very 8d ‘hinds Mest were tans out ome the aumarous rents and par ‘Sn groupe that sprang up around and inthe Gorman. and falmocrapsed ‘teas ofthe Madera Ses Thore they tok part in some very odd ac- tions te fest famaus of which was ‘hen Bris agents idnapped a Ger Than general on Crete. Other actons Wore just a5 dramatic but fen took lace fo far from tho public gaze that Tea these actions anlthe part the UD M2 ook im them are visually foot ten. ‘This is perhaps a pity for many swaspin aufero reordthe UD ‘MdZ as one of the Gnas! submachine Sub-machine guns of World War II «gm ypes we in World War Being ade one commercial and ota male ‘ay bene wot well machined and very song The acon was smth ‘te gu very accra and Dy al Sceountstwasaloy ohandia theo Seite al air of retest {Gchaing immenion in aud sad we fer al ese ‘eae now seems very unlikely Ga the fl serve re od ofthe UD Need will over be tld Dut at last the very existence of the ‘weapon shollé be Better known ‘Specification: Calor: mm eng: 807 mm (3.78 in) Vength of barrel 279m (11,00) ‘Weigh loaded: 45 ky (1000 1B) Magazine: 2-round bor Rate of Br: 700 zp Mule velooy: 0 (1.310%) per = = Me and M3A1 the of 198, altough ho htod Sats wasnt yor cocky ts ‘ote in Won Wa tha Amencan Iunbers of Thompson gus ard ore ‘waren tha way pearance a the Beith Stenindicated the production methods {hat could be employed in future mass- preduged designs Using an imported Sten, the US Army Ordnance Board American Sten-type weapon. The ‘sudy was ver fo a tear of Yalisia who inchided the same roe Hyde who had developed the Hyde M2 and fo executives from Ganeral Motors, fo whom the mas Production aspects were ented In vary shor tne thoy had designed a weapon and development models ‘ware produced for tab. ‘Tho fist of heoe models was hand- cedover for tials just before Poa Har Dor brought the United States into ‘World War I As result the project gota higher priory andit was not ong Betore the design was issued wath the designation MS Tbe MS waa ht a5 Ipplessant locking as the Sten. Cone (quired any machining ‘re but was itedand the design was ‘Simple fo the point that there was no Safety system fited andthe gun cou fre lyeutomatis only. "The main gun ‘body was tubular and below tung a Jong S0-round box magazine, An awkwardly placed and fimsy cocking handle was placed ust forward ofthe tagger on the ng-hand side, and the 6 ofthe Weapon soon Fro ‘ele swith th scknaie of Crease Gan andit was regard wih aboutas ‘much afacton Bat one sn action ‘Son sowed foto be elective, but the rah into production on ines that ‘wore more ted fo producing moter ‘er and omy components ea al ‘agnor of inservice problems. The ‘Soaking bandloe broke of te wie ‘sock bent in use, some important pariso he mechanism broke bocsise thay were made ofto sf ametal ane ‘soon Consequently the MS received ‘more than ts fair share of inaervice Gevelopment and modification. Dit ‘hat wag more important tthe tine, tolled of the production ines n huge numbers for isve to the troops at the ont ‘The MS nover overcame tho inital ‘gception ils appearance engen: ered Whenever possible the oops ‘nthe ont lne opted forthe Thomp- som MI or used captured German MP38s and Mids but in the Paeiic there was often no ctoice ote ano tse the MS and when ths happened the design offen gained grudging ‘acceptance, For some arms af the US foroesthe Mi became avitua blanket Isso. These arma included the davens in the many ‘anspor units and tank cone: For bot he M3 wat nny Show and easy to handle in lose con ‘nes rom the outeat the M3 had been designed to. have ‘he capability of being rapidly converted to S-mm calbre by amply changing te barrel ‘gazing and breech block Ths ac ity wes sometimes employed in Europe when the MS waa éropped to Tesstanceforoes Aslenced variant of fhe NO was produced in sal inp as the MS was to produce it was decided in [Oto make f even Spler. The reaul of combat exper fence aed with production aw how ested in the MSAI, which flowed the same general lines asthe MS but wih some quite substamtal changes Forte solder the most important item tas thatthe ejecton cover was ef Jarged to the point where the full ‘The American M3 Crosse Gun was, theequivalentof the Brash Sten and the Serman MAO, ortwas ‘designed for mass production. ltwas ‘sound enough weapon but the ‘American troops never really took o the type, preferring the Thompson. breech block ravel was exposed This enabled the fer to place his Sager Info @ recess in the block to pall te block to the Year for cocking. Uhis Soing away with tho awieward ad fimsy cocking handle. ‘A flash hider was added to the mize and some ‘ther minor changes were incarpo- ‘ated, The MOAL wassillin production ven the war ended, by wich tne it He been decid io hase ot the opeon Guns in favour ofthe Mad Maal “Apart ftom the appearance prob. lem, he Mi giza Were not pariect ‘weapons They were rabor prone to Breafages, the ammunition feed wae ton far from perfect and the lack ofa Silty ten gave rise to alarm. Buti Worked and it was avalable, and in ar tows two astra are mors impor lant than hankering after the some: ‘tng that mgt be beter. ‘Ts the MS ‘and MGA were used wherever the US ‘Miltary wont and that was al over the ‘world Specification: 3 (Calbre: (45 in (11.49 mm) or9 mm Length, but extended 143 mm‘The Cutts Compensator was intended to divert some muszio CI {gases upwards fo keep the muzzledown when fring, but ‘as oflmited value and complex tomanufactureandsowas Iettotfon later models ‘The M1928 could take ‘any types of magazine. ‘Thisistho 0-round box ‘magazine butalso ‘produced were 18-and 30- Found box magazines and S0-0r 100-round dram magazines Thedrum ‘magazines pro (foublesomeinsorvice so the bor types were often DRabee Inclose-range fighting suchas street ‘andhouse-t-howse combal the sub ‘machine gun was tho ideal weapon, Gndtherobustnessof the Mand MIAT vanante of the Thompson ‘added tothe ype's considerable popularity withthe Gls. ‘There can be very few who have not type soon known as a submachine choiceofalarge SOround drum maga- build up heard of or seen some pictures ofthe gun and witha box magazine ‘ane and 20- or SOzound verteal box "In 1640 several Buropean nations Thompeon aismacnne gun at gome "By the tme the st examples were magazines Just mainaiing the M1828 were clamourng for Thompoot ts Une @aniher Kiowa wsveraly as produced World War lWas over and was qute @ lade There were many Tha unexpocted employment by the the ‘lommy Gun the Thompson has ll development fr the nett two de- variations between diferent models, Germans ef submachine guns On & Gen piovied ihe mbmachine gun cadeswascamedoulcnacomnercial whichdidnahingwoendearthetypet large scale produced requests {or Milvanickname for ihe Ixy public Dass The Thompecn Gun, a8 was Yhemiltary supply systems snd itwas sialar weapons fom allo European MWsubsmachine guns are Tommy Soon labelled went through a long notunill0thatsaesrealy stared combstanis and the Thompson Was Guns Holywood es done mush tS chal of diferent models. Mibtery admnisterisiame bu thesaryctihe — sSleswere few, ctr tan small ath say ce | ‘Thompson guns goes back to 1918." es to the US Army and US Navy, Butt Ty that year the US Army was Was wath the coming of Prolbion in fembroled inthe tench warfare ofthe the USA that the Weapon gad ls ‘Western Front a need Decoming public notoriety. The gang warfare apparent for some form of trench hal mushroomed throughout the [Broom fo sweep the fenches clear of American underworld soon found the anenemy,Sinoe tis Gweepsng hadto ‘Thompson a most usefil weepon. and Becamedoutatshortrangesapower. when Hllywood started to make fBlearindge was not necessary and @ Gangster fms the un became amous Pistol cartridge was all that was overnight. Gredually police forces ‘Seemed necessary, The German amy Starlad to purchase Thompson guns. had drawn the ie conchisons and and the typo became tore generally produced the MPIG,buton the Amer- accepted. Even then. miliary sales Feanside one General on Thompson werefew unt! 1228 when the US foroas Initiated the development of an ulg- Sarted to purchase some large batch matic weapon usngine standard 48-65 Inpwil cerindge. The fistexampies ‘The Thompson M1928 was 2 com toed a elt feed but ths was Inter plex piece of gunsmtung with a com Changed' a fwo-hand Weapon ofthe plicated blow-back mechanism and a Above:n 1939 and 1940 the UK had ‘fopurckase large numbers of ‘Thompson sub-machine guns. This soldier isholding an M1928 complete ‘th thesdsround drum magazine, {device hat soon proved tobe oo ‘Comper for service use and co aera he Scalbrerounds ‘moving about inside. Conseqien these were issued fo either theFTome Guard or second lnounit Lett The M1928 as the ‘hsse'modelofte famous ‘Thompson submachine gun, the ‘weapan hat was used by gangsters land American soldiers alte. For all gnoterietyitwas nota reat ‘commercial success unl 1940, noThe M1328 could take any ppesofmagazine. Thislsthe 20-round box ‘magazine buteiso ‘produced were 8-and 30- ‘Found box magazines and ‘Stor 00-round drarm ‘magazines. The drum ‘magazines proved {roublesome in service so the box ypes were often preferred. Ihelettofthe rigger group ‘and could be seffor semi Sulomaticsingleshotor fallautomatic(500 or 725 pm). 7 BaRena ounddrummaga- uild up, ound vertical box In 1640 several European nations Ss fst maicianing ihe M826 were clamouring for Thompson guns Base 2 ick Thre were many ‘The unexpected employment by the Sex Ectvocn diferent models Germans of submachine gins on @ pea endearinetypelo large scale produced requests for ss sinlac weapans frm lline Buropean ‘combatants and the ‘Thompenn Was ] boven 1938.nct 1340 the UK had fopurchase largeaumbers of ‘Thompson submachine guns. This Soldiers holding an M128 complete ‘withthe SO:round drum magazine, a {device that soon proved tobe oo ‘Somples for service useand too. olay due othe O.ds calibre rounds ‘moving about inside. Consequenty these were ssued toctther treflome Guardorsecond:-line units. Left: The Thompson M1928 was the ‘Giaseic model ofthe famous Thompecrrubmachinegin te ‘Weapon that was used by gangs! ‘tnd American soldiers ale. Por all snotonetyitwas nota great | commerciaisuccess und 1940. ‘heconly example on offer. Large-scale production of the Thompson com: Inenced fr Francs, the Ukand Yugas Tava, bul these orders were overtaken by events aa the Thompson Wal at skward weapon to mass-produce Because ofthe large numberof com: plex machining processes involved. Above:A New Zealander armed with anbtis28 during ine Cassino ‘campaign. This particular model is GheMIsaaa, amiltary version fitted ‘wna horizontal foregrip in place of theoriginaliorward pistol grip. The ‘MIS¥2AL alzo had some ofthe Commercial refinements removed as ‘well ancl the 20-or 30-round box ‘magazine was used instead ofthe Targer drum magazine. ‘Right: The MIA1 was essontially the same weapon as theif! buthad @ xed fring pinandhammer, maxing ‘the pea irtual blowback design, seas the last production version of the famous Thempson faaly of ‘Weapons and retained the overall ‘ppearance and auraof the original In the event the French and other orders were diverted to the United Kingdom, here the MIS28 was uses Ul te Sten became avaiable, and ‘ven ten many Wete ssed for Con mando valds and the later jungle fighting in Burma, When the USA ex tered the wat the US Army also‘The original Thompson guns useda separate firing pinstruck by 2 / hammer, ul his was realy (20 Somples or thetaskand ater models used afired fring pin. ectorwason pselorsom Segieshotor (et or 88 ‘The M1928 originaly acta S0-m 88.f0 open sight anda further fong- {range sightoptmistcaly calibrated {tp 0590 (1000.0. The latter sight twas ofdoubtal valve. required, the but could be easily. removed by unscrewing tie (wo ‘Screws shown, but this was rarely Utilized inaction as the But olling botie behind a butt ep. Thompson M1928 the only example on ofr. Large-scale rodueton of the Thompson com: nonced for France, the UK and Yuges Iavia, bul these ordars were overtaken Dy events af the Thompson was at Stikward Weapon to mass produce Because ofthe large numberof om: plex machining processes meaived Above: ANew Zealander armed with ‘anif1928 during the Cassino Gampaign. This particular modelis the MI920AI, amiltary version dtted ha horizontal foregrip place of the original forward pistolgrip. The ‘well andthe 20-orSosround bor ‘agazine was used instead ofthe ‘rgerdrum magazine. ‘ight: The MIAL was essentially the ‘Same weapon as thei but ha xed fring pinand hammer, making thetypea virtual blow-back design. ‘Teas the last production version of thefamous Thempsonfaaly of ‘weapons and elained the overall Sppearanceand auraoftheorigina In the event the French and other fgrders were averted tothe Usted Kdngdom, where the M28 was used unil the Sten became avaiable, and feven then many were issea for Com mando raids and the later junale fighting in Burma. When the USA en- tered the war the US Army also de- iced that it wanted submachine une ut the Thompson ad te be rede- ‘Sgned tomest US Army requirements fbr macs production Aer redesign the Thompson became afar simpler ‘weapon mh 2 staightorward Dew Deck action with no fils and the od EErge, oi and awlrard drum maga Zine so beloved by Hollywood was re plsoed by the simple vertical bx. The ew design booeme the Ml andaiater ‘erin with ome ext amplisentone aided became the MIAL "The Mi sill used a wooden stock, pistol rip and foregnp (iis ws later Teplaced by @ svaigtforegnp), but the body wes machined as were many ther para. th service the Ml proved {o be a welled weapon thet was {Wusly preferred tothe unlovely MS ‘Again exact how much ofthis prefer fence tas de to the Holywood image |Snow almost mposnibe to determine, forcompared wiihmany ofits conte pPoranies the Mi was heavy and not so fasy to stp and maintain This cid not eter the Mi9Z8 ana the Mi from Doug widely copied in many back yard workshops the Fat bast where the Thompson was regarded with reat favour ‘Over the years the Thompson underwent many changes and mod- ‘fcations Wits Une most ofthe more Complex extras were removed. Out ‘Wont the complex breect-locking echanism ot went the Cuts Com ‘Penesior on the mizele hat was Sup esed fo restrict the barrel limb! ‘When fring. and oul went the bulky dram magazine ‘The end result the ‘Mi form was a good sound weapon ‘nd one tha i tll as nous ast Was {nthe daya when the Tomy Gun Was the symbol of the IRA and the Holl ‘wood gangster era. ‘Speciication: ‘Thompson Ma (Gatrer 08 in (1143 mn) Lengi 813 mim (2.0010) {angth of barre: 267 mn (1050 in) ‘Weigtt loaded: 47413 (1045) Magazine: 20-or 30-oune box Rate of fre 700 rpm, Muzzle velocity: 280m (820) per 20nd mThe Battle for Okinawa By the time the US Navy and US Marine Corps ‘ached the group of islands centred around Okinawa they were well versed in the att of ‘Sland-clearing against the Japanese and knew ‘what fo expect. They already knew that the Japanese forces on every island would defend very inch to their last breath, but what was awaiting them on Okinawa took them by sur ppise, for Okinawa was deemed to be part of the Japanese home island chain "The approaches to Okinawa were cleared in ‘he usual amphibious landing after initial bom ‘bardment manner inthe months to | April 1948. (Gutlying islands were gradually reduced until the main assault landing was made on the Hagushi Bay beaches on Okinawa itselt The {ret eurprise came when no opposition was met ‘ght on the beaches. The US Marines landed ‘uually unopposed, but as they moved inland the fighting commenced, Every fot ofthe way, once inland, was defended. The Japanese had constructed Jog and bamboo bunkers, cun- ‘ingly placedslit renches and converted natu. ral caves nd blasted new onesiinto the walls of very gully and valley on the island. In every defended point there were Japanese troops ‘willing to die rather than sufrender and this ‘meant that the infantry tactics ofthe attackers had to adjust to suit the situation ‘Thompson- and flamethrower-armed men from ‘the st Marine Division landing om their LVT4 Amtracon Okinaiva. Almost as soon as the defence situation was assessed American military might could be lused to blast the defenders out of their pos tions, Naval gunfire was brought to bear, US Navy and US Marine strike aircraft from a feet of carriers were called upon fo drop napalm {and HE onto carefully indicated positions but it ‘Wes alwaye the man on the ground who had Subsequently to move in and make sure that ‘every last defender was eliminated, For this purpose set procedures an dis were med and pressed directly into use. These drills became even more important once the Tanks and men ofthe Ist Marine Division ighting Reising Model 50 and Model 55 ‘The Reiging Model 60 and the later ‘Model 88 ate wo more examples of how things can go wrong wen the Easic low-back action ued on the Submachine guns ighared and re placed with something that seems to Der beter action On the Retna ‘Medel 80 which vas fret pote in 1, the base action was altered 29 that instead of the breech bins mor. Ing forward fo the chamber when the tigger was pulled, the acton oper ated whan tho bot was forward wh @ ound mn the chamber. Tis acon can vworkcuite wellbutiinoedsasystem of levers to operate the fing pin in the breech block and theae levers ave f> Gisconneet once the breech block moves, Tis all ads complexity and (ost and ads something tthe systern ‘Which can Break "Thus f waa wih the Reising Model 90. The design was the resulta co ‘mercial vrvure apd Was ths ot 8 invenced by miliary considerations 25 would have been tho case a 12 ‘Yeas later. ut the Model 60 a8 a ‘well-made design with an unusual sys tem of cocking the weapon by means fa sal cafch sliding ina sot under the fore-sock ‘This let the op ofthe gun body free of many. of the usual Fads such as the cocking slot tat usually proves an ingross fr dt to ‘hg the system Buton the Model Sal ‘hathappened was a the cir tints the slot undemeath and was dificult to cleanout tnusprovding one source at potential bother From the ouside the Medel 80 locked a fairly simple ‘weapon but the intemal arrangements ‘ware complexion point wherethere ‘was co mucho go wrong, ence there ‘Ware more stoppages and general ur rehab ‘When the Reising Mode was fast fered othe US foes the US Marine ‘Corps was some way dow the lst of [Brontioa a postion twaslate rams [cally to reverse, so in he absence of any otter spuroe of sb-machine gus {Tobiained numbers ofthe Med! 50. ‘Once the USMC had the Model 50 ‘soon found the weapon wating an ‘gbtained other weapon types. Some Model 90s mere obtained by a Bash Purchasing Commission but fow wore Involved and some others wen! to Canada. Yet move were sent to the ‘Some Union an by 1845 the Model $0 ‘wagatiln production and over 100,000 had been mace a modest enough otal But wel wore afar a the man Iachners ware concerned. Some of ts foal was made up by ‘the Model $8 wach yas ths same 25 {he Model 80 etor than thatthe all ‘Wood stock af the Model 80 was Te laced by folding wire butt for use by ‘Airborne and other auch unis The ‘Medal 85 wa no more cess than the Medel 80 ‘The Reising Model 50 was one ofthe Teast succersfulofallAmerican stb. ‘machine guns tos0e service forit ‘employed a complex mechanism Uhatellowed ingress ofdirt and other debris ojam the weapon oan Unacceptable axtent ies‘ CCaltbre 0.48 in (11.42) Tengte 851 mm (23782) angth of barrel: 279mm (1.00 n) ‘Weigt loaded: 37s 18 1) Macting of 20st box te of Bre, cyclic: 90 mm Masi ‘veloty 20 200) por MP18 and MP28 Although it was preceded in the time Scale by the Talia Vila Porosa, tho [MPI6 can be conaidered asthe father of the modem sub-machine gun. in synonymous with the sub-machine (Gun namely Hugo Schmeiser. as ot untl 1618 tha large numbers othe ‘ew weapon kown o the Germansas @ Maschinen Pistole (hence MP) ot fachine pistol were tamed 10 the {foops othe Westorn Font io be wed inthe gigantic olensives tht were it- tended to win the wer rite German ‘The oflenaives were unsuceesshl a the MPIB had litle more than local ‘impact, the lesons tobe learned fom. the design being rey ignored ou ‘ide Germany andthe few toops who had come into contact with the weapons, “The MPIB was a simple blowback ‘weapon fring tne classic man Para ‘eilim rund tat Was fo beoaroe the rtotype fox ary all weapons nsidenng later dessns the ‘MPIG waa very wel made wit-asold ‘Wooden stock and a 2e-round ‘snail ‘magazine (atended orginally fr the famous Luger piso) mounted in & dpousingon helene un booty. The Harel was covered by prominent ‘Perforated jacket to ad barrel cooing ‘fer fing. and the weapon fred on {illauomatie ony. Ins tended ole of tench fighting it was a arest SIC. us ge but oo anyone commen ys atompied 0 use a 8 fn thachibesqun and were ts di sbpolied wit tho ME8s pert. hte, Consequenty the Mel bad a ‘his reopton ber Un ve Hom-rgopets in the front asst ‘waves who found tinvattableatclose aries: ‘When Germany was disarmed ater 1819 the MPIB was passod fo the Gor san police in an attempt to keep he Concept alive. Numbers were also handed over fo the French army who ‘bed them (ut oil) that they were Sl onthe soci! m 1882 In Corman police service they were mosified ‘uring the 182s to replace the Lager ‘sna! magezine with @ simple inne Dox magazine that again became the ‘irual prototype of wat was o flow. In 188 the MP was placed back nto Hmited procucuon in Germany, this ‘time as the MP2s. with new sigs a single-shot re featur, some sal ternal changes on the breech block {nd all manner of oxtas such as the ‘mounting ora bayonet The MP haa Spain and elsewhere for export al ‘ver the world, with Ciza being one ‘tthe largest markets. Othars went fo South Amorica and one batch pro Sliced inthe 1 e8-mmelibee was Sod Ee th tilappreciable 53 1888 there were sunbort of and Me won Gnd the design ment to War in Europe Shee again: By 1648 be weapons were stein engined tony ithe Fands ofthe Germans but als ir the Hands of resistance forces and the "aay partisan forces Porfape the srestes importance of the MPIBand the P23 was notin nett {se as Weapons, altcugh they mere ‘uscessll enough in tha but fo thete ‘The German MP2@ was arevised ‘modelof the original MPIS.[t Tetained the generaloutlineof the MMPIS butwas able ofreecither, ‘Single shot o full automatic. efor other designers fo follow. ‘Wh the MPI the submachine gun design was virusly trogen and te Ease concep! remains unchanged to the day, 380-450 rpm Masi veloc 302m (LO) perMP34 and MP35 frst sioht the MPS4 ond MPSS duced their fst example in Denmark Seated bs dec: copies of the and only laer Was pradtcton sich MPi6 and M2& but thete were in edo Gormany ‘The first models ware realty many diferences. Eacly mis- the MP but later improvements led Scaatiiaglanoe wasibat onthe MPG! (othe MP, which wae produced in fd MPSS the magazine protrudes considerably great numbers At fst fom the right hand side of the gun producton was iow, wil gals being body intend of on the left a wiih the Imad fo auch natona as Ethiopia nd MPleand MP2B Another deta dler- Sweden, but yn the Spanish Conl ence was the trigger mechanism, Warsalas realy picked up ibocet he which onthe MP3t ana MPS company toa major poston inthe sub 2.double-pressure system for confrol machine gun marker The MPS was ‘coffe, Asimple ight preaure preduced in both long and shor ‘he tigger produced single shots barrelled Versions, and ricoties such fuleafull pressure onihetggerpro- as bayonet sischments and even ight vided automatic he. Bipods were nrocnced: One very 2 "The MPS was designed by the tgeablo pol! onthe MPSS was the use Bergmann brothers. tho almost un- ofa rear'mauntod bol fr cocking the Goubtediy used the MPleasabaazon weapon instead of the teval side wich to improve. AS they bad few mounted cocking lever. This meant faites in Germany the brothers pro- thet the ntenor of the weapon body Sub-machine guns of World War II along which the breech had to travel ‘was kop loa ofthe Gust an eit hat Usually finds Ns Way info open side lever actons and the MEG and mere cern relable weapons, even Whey wore a ite heavier tan some at their vas Roasts relabity that brought the (MP23'o tho atlentionol what was to Be the biggest customer for te weapon. paral he Welln Ss whic was lek tng Br is own Weapons procurement Separate ftom that of the German ‘my, and ater lte 40 all MEGS pro: duction went to the Wallen SS, con- Snug unt the war enced in 1940 Bu MP3%g and MPses stll cropped up febewhere and many can sll ound juve wilh Soulh Amencan police ‘broes, Wiule small numbers can stil De encountered in the Far Ess The Specitication: Meas CCalibre:9 mm (plus many exportmedel) model Length abt in) Hanah f barrel: 200 ras (.82 in) Weight loaded: 4 73 kg (0 4315) Magazine 24-0" Se-rouna Rate offre, cyclic: 650 rom Male veloc 9m (1.200 ®)per MP38, MP38/40 and MP40 When the MPa8 was fst produced in 1808 i eveluonsed weapon decion ‘ot by any particular feature ofthe do ‘Sign bu by the method ofmanulacture employed Gone wae the accurate ‘machine tooling ef Yestaryear. along ‘ith the finely-preduced wooden ‘lungs, andthe Standard of frish upon which gunsmiths so prided thom Selves With the introduction of the MPSS came rough and simple metal & ‘die-cast arg, Plats Sad of wood, anda fn that iackod any tnosse or even plaing ofany and ‘The MP3 looked what i was, a moaponmaseproducedio meets re se millary need, namely 2 sre Sand chegp weapon tat would work When called upen. fo fe, and nothing tore. On the MPSE there was no ‘wooden but, just2 bare folding heavy any metal workshop anywhere andthe nce famework tat folded unter the breach block wasproviged witty Body for uso in close confines such as minimimofmactuning Mastof the out the back of a vehicle. The body was er surfaces Were lef in their bare Produced ftom simple sheet metal tell state and at te best they were Stampings at could be chumedout in patted. Despte al these apparenty heap and cost-cuting measures the ‘MP3b had an immediate pact ou of ‘TwoGermanarmy all proportion tots design atuubutes, Pancergrenadiers armed withMPd0s {fox n tho ous afer 1868 mato and ying ashellholeon he Tore Weapons adopted sar mass SulshitsolStalngrad Aswilbe production techniques fue todused Undersioed,theMPd0wasataslight Sn tho MPSS disadvantageinsuch postions for "The MP8 was quite orthodox so far {helong downward-pointing ‘as operation west. It fad a conven Magamnewarnoaszstancewhen | ionally nctoning low-back bolt Hringover helipofsuchashellhole. nd tsa verical magazine under the Above: This MP38 was the original ‘production version Although the ‘esign was intended formas Production he receiver and many arts weremachined these were lator replaced by the pressings and welds ofthe Pt. ‘Right: The MPO, as used by this Corporal during he invasion ofthe ‘ifr was almost identical othe MPSB except that twas much ‘simpler tomanufacture. ‘boy fe 9-mum Parabellum round nto a comventional feed system A cocking feel along ue ean ae of te 7 operated in an open sist but atheugh dist and ditt could entor the feral Worksnge the weapon could absorb an appreciable amount f fr feign bodkes Before it jammad. Under the barrel mule there was an odd Bieta Ha as Satan © oniie edge! vehicles aetaga sng Test at the same ter alo actod as @ Inizale cover fo keep out di ‘Gree i ction in 1839 on rather nasty habit of the MPGE came to ght ‘The gun operated from ihe open: brooch positon (he bol was cocked 1b the tear before the tigger Soul Telease ito fire) but ithe gun was Jarred or kneciesd the bol jumped for Ward and started the ang eyele By self “This nasty faut caused many Casualties bolora it was modified out bby the machining of a slot over the'MP38, MP38/40 and MP40 (continued) breech block home! postion, through ‘which pin could engage and tock afer being pushed through a hole on the ofa side of he body I e0tle be eleased when required for fring ‘ith this moaiteation ited the MPSS Decams the MPSA. ‘unig 1ei0 the emple manulacture ofthe MES was taker one stage fr mah he eduction of even mare ‘etal stampings and even simpler ‘manufacturing methods Tho n0W Vor Stones called the MPSO. tothe scier in the fel tas ite diferent for the MPS@/4, ut for the Gorman ex omy it mean thatthe MBHO could be faaily manulactured anywhere wih Sub-assomblies being produced in ‘smple workshopsandassembledonly St oenval workshops [twas churned Sutin tens of thousands and ine ald itproved @ most popular and handy ‘rdapon with Aled troops using aay Sramples thay could Bnd or capture. ‘The MPGH40 was ten weed by fess ‘ange forces and partisans as well "Tae ony major ebange tothe MP4O ater 1910 waa the intedtion of a fin magazine feature with tho M&A) 2'Ths was nota auocece ane a Le toed But the MPO nat used togay in ‘odd comers of the werld, especialy By guernla forces ‘Ghe oda wore about this weapon: t isoten known as the Schmeisser Be the blow beckprncine, butte main return spring ishoused ina {elescopie tube that kept out dirt and foreign objects toensurerolabiliy. Noe aisothe simple tigger mechanism “Left:An MPa0 in action during the ‘Stalingrad fighting. Atiough many German propaganda photographs ‘and to give the impression thatthe ‘MPGBand MPsOwerein widespread ‘sa, ther issue was largely restricted {otfont line divisions ony an the Pansergrenadiersin particular, actly where tis name came from snot Known, but itis sneorreet Huge ‘Schmetsser bad nothing to do withthe design which originated wh te igen See comm AI exunded 68 an een inane At nm Gas) ae one Hoe ete egdoos Rees Beatie oie sm Base le Soom per WE Ppp-1934/38 luting the leads and 1860s ‘eihout about msepon de things settled down ro-equipment ofthe Fred. Army 1 be contemplated. sub machine gun design was tot very high On the list of ponies Rather than ‘make any inpovaions in sub-machine Gun design the frst Soviet sub: machine gun was a combination of ex ‘Sng desig. This asthe PPD-190/ ‘When it was fist prosuced in 1904, tha weapon was a combination of oa ‘res fom the Finish Shor 1/180) and the German MIB and MP2s. It {emained in production Untl 1840 by fvhich time Some modiieations had ‘been introduced io juss heuseolthe Eildengpaton of PPD-(eaeaa There ‘was aothing very remarkable about the PPD-1908, Tae mechanisms was finest the same a that uoed on the ‘German submachine gun ongials ester shor atempto pred Sovietdesigned component, the agate wat @ direc! kel! trom the Suom magazine. This was te Simi Mound drum magazine that waa to become the "artual nota (ot Inter Soviet ub-machine guns, Put there was aloo a curved 28-ound box magazine issved on occasion. This ox magazin haa o be curved asthe car (dge used for all the Somet su machine gung was the 7.62-mm Tokarev (Type P cartridge which had a botle-necked shape and would not thorolore lo completely fa for feed: rg fom the magazine isi the gan Beay “Teeze was ono vatiant of the PPD- 8 that Was placad in production "This was te PPD-1940, hich ound tnproverient iidid have one anle recognition feature in ‘hat the drum magazine ited up into the gun through a large slot the Sock. Very lew otter sulsmachine ‘un design usod tis magne ang System ‘When the Germans and thir ales lavaded the USSR in 194 the PPD: ‘eata8 and PPD- 160 werein lative ly shor eupply among fed Army units aud they had litle impact on the Course of events, Any the Germans Captured they issued 10 their own Second line units but the numbers Yolvod were nover very large. By the fend of 1941 even the PPD-1840 had passed outofpreducton othe simple Feason that tha Germans hac overrun th tens concerned andere was no time to set up the extensive IMachine-stops and production ines lsowhere. The Red Any ha 10 te Sort to newer and more easy Io- uted sub-machine gun models sins” 1008 (are. engi 10 am (0.71) ‘The Soviet PPD-1994 introduced one feature later used onallSoviet sub ‘machine gun designs the chromed Barrelto reduce wear andiease ‘leaning. Length of barra: 288 mam (1060 n) Webi outed 861 USAID) Maghine: round ds or 25 rune ae of re, otc Manis volody: 488m L008) per spoonWH ppsh-41 In many ways the PPSh-1 vas othe Fed Army what the Sten was tothe Brtichapd the MP0 the Germans i was the Soviet equivalent ofthe mass Produced sub-machine gun, Using Sinple motiods and a minitam of complicated machining operations. But ule the Sten andthe MPO te BPSh-41 waste result ofa more maa evelopment pro ss than Was possible wih sa Ibo Bris Sten and thus tho ond result wa much beter allzound weapon “The PPSt-4l was desizned and do: veloped starting in 1940 ut i was not mt early 1842 in the wake a the up reavalt of the German invasion tat he fst examples were iesued fo the ed Amy on a large scale. As it fad en designed rom tbe utsct or ease of production the PPSh-4l was ‘hued out in the lena of thousand a all manner of workshops ranging for roperiy-equipped arsenals to shed ‘wonshops infu areas By 1986ibas Been estatod that over fve milion had been procucer ‘Considering that it was a mass produced voapon the PFsh-ll was @ ‘welkmatle design with a hoary seid ‘Wooden burt Ir used the conventional low-back system but it had high {ate of fire an to abot the shock of ine recoling breech block Puller of inated leather ot fst blocks was provided at the rear of the breach lock travel. The’ gun body and the Darrel Jacket were simple shaped seal stamping an te mule Ha nwa slop shape that doubled asa rudimentary mule brake and & fevice tered a compensate hat was Intended fo reduce the amount of mi le climb produced by the reco foroes when the gun was fred. The Bate was compte a sancarg mie practice fo case clesning nd Teduce barrel wear, but atone time the noed for weapons wasso grea! that the barels were amply old Most Nagant rile barrels cut 10 sae. The The German army was much impressed with the Soviet PPSh-4, sedwhen supplies of hel own ‘MPtis werelacking they tookto ‘sung large numbers ofeaptured 25h Soviet 762-mam smimunition wasn short supply the ‘weapon could fire the German 7.63. being adapted fire German ®-mam munition Sub-machine guns of World War II - a : Se E Abore:The PPSh-41 wasone ofthe ‘classic Red Army weapons of World Wart angitwar produced in zillions Ttvas anemergency de Bomouiofthe disruption atthe German invasion of 1941, Right:Involvementin the fighting extended throughout the population, forduring someo! themany sieges, Suchas those at Leningrad, SevastopolandStalingrad even the women and children ook up ‘weapons. drum magazine used was the same 25 ‘hat used on the easter Soviet sub machine guna Fire selocion (angle Shot or fll automatic) was made By a ‘Smple lever ust forwardof thetrigger (Construction ofthe PBSh-al was Wel ing. pina and seam Overall result wae a tough, ‘Seg ou toon iments to the val exclusion Other ype of weaper ‘renades "These unis {Guard ofthe shook assault uns WWere camed ino the ata backs of 7-346 tanks, from which they only descended forthe attack cr feed ad Yes. They carted only ‘enough ammunition for thelr immed) ste needs their general fe standards tere lo, and et combat ives were very short Butin eu thousands ese hordes armed math he PPSt 41 sept ‘cross eastern Russia and across pe, carving all before ther, They were a fearful foros and theit PPSh-fla became vistual combat symbol ofthe Red Army. Under such cizcumstances the PPShs4l (known to ther users as the PabrPab-Sha) ‘aintenanos or even cleaning, Under Easiem Front conditions it soon be- going othe extent of ecalibing some. ‘came apparent that tbe best way "0 Sf their caplited hoard fa that av Feop the weapon going under dust or Sim Parlsane found the PPSh-!l an ‘oo condilona waste keep itcomplete- ideal weapon fo ther purposes. and Iy-aiy and tree fom any sor afl afer the War the type was used By ctherwise it clogged fore. “arally every nation teat came within So many PPShlls were produced the Soviet sphere of infuence. I sti thatthetypebecameaviralstandard urns up in the Benda of freedom Rate of fre, eyclic: S00 Weapon forthe Germany Amy aswell fighters aloverthe worldanditwilno Musgle velosty. #63. C ithe Red fury, tte Germans even doubt be araund for long time yet tuteThe Siege of Leningrad Leningrad was one ofthe primary objectives of the opening phase of Operation Barbarossa in une 1041, The German invasion of the USSR was planted to fake place along three main axes, the most northerly of which was the Te: sponsibility of Army Group ‘North’ under the command of Generalfeldmarschall von Leeb and, paradoxically, such was the success ofthe pening phase ofthe campaign that was to cost Germany the war, that in five days Army Group ‘North’ had covered half the distance to Lenin grad, ‘Butat that point a series of massive battles on the cental front siarted to divert the impetus away from the nor, The reduced Army Group ‘Nat forcesstill moved towardsthe Cradle of the Revolution ut ata reduced speed, so that it as not unt September thatthe approaches tothe ity Were insight. By that time the defen: Gers had sensed thelr danger and the popl Tace was put fo work fo construct defences and antitank dliches on the approaches. The Ger: mans themselves assisted this defence by con siantly diverting their effors southwards away irom ther objective asthe approaches to Mos- ational plan to take the ci Finns, the reluctant allies of Germany, were coerced info joining the campaign but di litle fore than cross the Svt river and establish fhemselves around Lake Ladoga, 'By the ume the Germans were ready over one mllion evlians inside Leningracl had ren ered thelr perimeter into state fit to defend. When the full German attack took place it almost immediately became bogged down ina myriad of defensive positions, atl-tank obsta cles and ditches The Luftwaffe carried out Constant bombing raids, but the German forces ‘were held. Throushout the attack the German Teal commander, Generaloberst Hoth, was restricted by the fact thatthe bulk of his offen sive forces Were required to fake partin opera lions to the south against Moscow, but he used. these forces at the very time they were re ‘quested to move south. Thus Leningrad made i st major contribution by absorbing frees wye made all he difference in the bat Moscow 18-monthsiege The atlackon the Leningrad perimeter died le of eptember and there be- an the siege that was to last until the late spring of 1243. er loose form of siege 8 5 involved could never the whole ty boundary and Lake y be kept open. The Finn he Germans, Buta city d requires a great deal of to exist and these ming through the civilian population of ly. Throughout the housands died of German Leningrad s winters 0 ole ari nan nt that bodies ay in the streets for days because noone had the strength or bury them ‘The Sovie PSH was 0 imple manufacture that ‘Whole units such a thixcksunitwereollenarmed Jith nothing more nan the 2PSh df the Russian ‘winter the PPS woul sill work, Put onl iit Was lft ire fromoi/ance cleaned; follwas used theweapon woulsirecse sold Attheendof941, the Balictoet ‘became partof he dolencesof Leningrad. Many. ‘sallors,stilproudly ‘weering the Striped vests under army uniiorms, oughtas infaniry in thedefenceot he Gangut Peninsula,Sub-machine guns of World War II ‘The front-line soldiers received the bulk of what food and supplies were available, but there was lle enough of that and food could only be obtained by small-scale forays throush the loosely-held German lines. Weapons and ‘ammunition supply were a constant headache for the Soviet commanders, who had been allowed fo form their own independent Soviet to conduct their awn defence, and they used the slender supply lines that came across the ‘Lake Ladoga ice during the winters for the ‘movement ofammuntion and other such mate- industry “Leningrad could supply some of ts own de- ‘materials, for ithad long been one of the 3 industrial centres of the USSR, The KV they ran of the lines straight into ‘while machine tools from other factories ‘used to produce small arms and yng them the remarkable 7.62-mm PPS-42, ‘the design of which was made more with con sideration to what machine tools were avail- able rather than any design refinements ‘Despite constant arilery bombardment by ‘the Germans and constant small-scale raids, ‘Leningrad held on. By early 1243 the worst was the Gorman had Tost the vital strategic ‘ate and they (ell back the wast esi ‘approaches to Leningrad open, Battles ‘ook place along the coastlines to the west of ‘the oll, but Lemingrad had held and the worst siege ofthe war was over. Leninorad had won ‘through, although at fearful cost ‘The PPSh-4l was widely issued'o the numerous ‘partisan nits thai were part anc parceloftheRed MM pps.42 and PPS-43 Few weapons can have bean de- Signed and preduced under such de Sperate conditions as these tht su | Tour the advent ofthe Soviet PPS fubmachine gun. In 1842 the cry of eningred wes surounded bythe | | German army and the besiezed Re Army unis were short of everytns, Including weapons. Leningred. con fained a large tuber of manulacta Ing factties and machine shops. ‘when it came fo producing their own ‘Weapons the soldiers were relstvely ‘well of. but they needed weapons ‘quckly. Under auch conditions the Submachine gun provides a Dass on Which to Workandoan engineer, AL Sugazey, sotto one os ‘Sudarev wa limited in his choice of design by the matenals fo hand and duction shops to soldiers in the fot reviee so that i could be folded up- The Soviet PPS-42 as the fll the typo of machines with which be line, Thetrcommentsand,esuts wore Wards to clear the ejecton por. and production version ofthe ‘ould work By shoer pragmatic tial fed straight back to the assembly Ibo origial ough weeden tasil gup emergency produced PPS-42 Gnd error he developed a sub- shops where any changes were made Was replaced by a hard rubber type. designed during the siege of Ischne gunthatembociedallthetes. on the spot One ofthese change n- The general standard of fish wes Leningrad. The PPS-43 introduced {ures tobe found in over emergency volved the use ote curved steal plate generally improved, snd in tis form esigns such as the Bush Sen and overthemuzae oactasaparialcom- the weapon became the PPS-#3 In American Mi Theyesltwasasimple, pensar and mga brake and ths time the PPS-4s tok ts pace with the | fobustcubmachinequnmanulactured Crude and simple device was re Red Army alongside the PPst-, but fom shel asl anos sof ed pune he pe menpon as neferinquetheameruntzre Ooh thambesry or that waste only mate- provided wih anoffeal Gesgnaicn, Sdering the insuspicous beainaings Specification: Hallohand Thagunwasheldtogetner becoming he PPS42 Inaction round ofthe design it proved fo he an exce: By welda rwelsand pine, andasimpie Leningraditprovedto boa horoughly len! weapon in service wherever Biding butt was provided, The 06- sound Gesign and one that could be was taken and in 1644 it was adopted ‘ound imagarine wsedon earlier Soviet produced quiclly are cheaply, 9 it by the Finns as their standard sub- ‘machine gine wasadoplodalmoe! Was not lon ale to siege of ‘pachine gun once they came into tbe Snchanged ae production of a drim Tad wae lied thatthe cesign became Tagazine would have proved too ir afi and adopted for general Red Sout ‘amy service. When ths took plac he fing tras of the new design thre vias open fo remove 1 werecamadoutquitesimply byhand- ofthe more rushed afd crude featur Ingouteramplesstaightimibepro- of the weapon. The foking butt Ws Rateot tre, oye[Al Beretta sub-machine guns ‘The fst ofthe Bereta sorios was the Beretta Model 1988A, ch was pro duced in Brescim The fst examples | vere produced i 1895 buts was not Gs ta to estas producee ‘Samples appeared (or ime to ihe Talia armed forces The term mass rodictor! is peyhaps rather isles ing for the Beretas as athoogh they ‘were produced on normal production ‘nes, he cae and toni at {ite each example was auch that Why ‘can almost be regarded a hand fade. Infact the Beretas are sill r= Ged as ame othe ret apes ‘tthe sul-machine un tat ts poss: ble ta oblain. and the early Model 1a38Ae were destined to become among the mst przed of a. ‘design tens te Barats ba it = tie enough of note. Thay bad a al Finished wooden stock a ubalarbody, Above: The Model 1898 wasa sound ‘Tdownwerde-pointing box magaan, andwell-balanced weapon tht was Asdaperforated barreljacksl somo0t sjoytohandleand use. No expense them with provision for a folding Wassparedin is manufacture, and Jbajonet at fe mania There was to. onsequend twas very rallabe a fin Teally remarkable in these securate. This examples hited with en ur What wes very notceale @O,roundmagazie Notte las the wayin which ine weapon was double-rigger arrangement and the TPalanced and the way i handles in wellfnished wooden stock. ‘etion, I tured out to be a tuly re matkable submachine gun, The Su Polbfinshendearedittsallwio sed Right allan troopsin Tunisia, their thetipe andonerecultelthepansak- Baretta Model 1998s ready fohand. Ing assembly end finishing was a Theweapon on the eftis equipped weapon tproeareiuleandaca whe lOreunamagenne icra {alo under all conditions. Theammuni- oftenemployed when single-shot fre flonfesd provedtiobe excoptional bul was required. The Model 1938 was nly When he proper magacies were veryaccurate and could be sed in Sed! "There were several sizes ol themannerofarife atcombat ragasen Ogi 10 2, 3 er 40 rangesuptos00m 657. rounds) and these were issue Jogoller wih a loading device: The put to recognize them, for the overall addition of simpler assembly and weapons whenever they could cap: Teunds used on the sary Berotas was finish remained Deathfal Close ex- maulachaing methods te tbe pent ure suficent numbers, but their use AupocalhignreloatySimmeartioge attunation revealed that the barzel that it had become the Model S042 by the Allas was reste Subiis wos ter cnengedto the un jacket was sitered to Become a wile an even later version was tbe exten! by a shortage of Beretia mag versal Siam Patebellam. Maanped anc weldea partbet that as Model I. Relatively fow of hace two tines. Apparently the sub-m There were several variations on about the only concession to mass verson were produced and the bulk guns wereoflen cape without their the Model 188A heme, coecfwhich producton tecrnoiogy andthe Model of them Were produced afer 1948. al magannes, which wes Petaps lacked the bayonet end some of tae Te3EA retained is high veputation. Bothmodels wetestileasyrecogna- just as wel fr the lalans, Feinemenisasitas intended tobea By 1844 the Wat situation had able as Beretiss end whe they both Fpecul Lghtened model ruse ina. chaaiged to tie exert that Boraias retaned the overall excellence they Specification: Sen revions When lly entered the were being produced forthe German were generally simpler and lacked Model 1998R. war invis4l some small Tevision of ary, the falans having surenderod someotthe finesse ofthe Model SBA. Calibre: min TRanulactunegmetbods wasmade, bat in1942 By hen iebase-desinclthe Asmenuoned above, by 1044 Beret- Lengthy S48 mm (S724 in) THe solder af the ton would be bard Modal It8A had been rewsed by the tas Woro betng produced forthe Ger- Length of barrel: $18 mum (1240) mana Earlier inthe War the Germans Weight loaded: 497 ka (10 98 b) ‘Thenatureof he talian Fascisstate fad been heppy to use mumbersotthe Magazin: 1020+ 30-or 0-ound box wassuch that by elineanyyouth —‘Thedemands ofwar production ‘Model 196A abc the Romanians tad Rate of fire, cyt: 600 Em Gnerediefrayhewasalreedy meantthatBeretiawereunableto purchased anumaber (her laterpurch- Mueele velocly: 420m (13808) per Grelltranecin Reuseofmostolthe maintainthelrpre-warstandardsof goed the Model 34/2 3 well, After second weapons they wouldbe ssued with, excellence. Evenso,theModel@s42 tho alan capdaton the Beretias be- Thisincluded heBeretia Model wasamuch better weapondesign care standard German weapons but 1888, eeenherecerried bya Young thanmanyofiiscontemporariesand were lille used outside Waly ‘The Fasciatbeing decorated by General retained many ofthe eaturesofthe Ales greatly prized the Beretas and Bastico. (prewarmodel ‘used them if place of their ownArmed Forces of the World US Rapid Deployment Force Part2 Deployment and supply The heart of the RDF concept is that the bulk Of the forces involved willbe able to move to the SWA (South West Asia} region of action and, when there, continue to be supplied. This is the ADF's weakest point, for to deploy forces on the scale that the ROF mobilization ‘will entallis currently beyond the scope ofthe US Air Force Miltary Air Commang (MAC), even ifthe Civil Reserve Ar Fleet (CRAF) be- comes involved. Also involved in this massive Mave would be the finding in the region of Sufficient reliable bases from which to operate, ‘The latter point can be considered first as American policy planners are currently in- volved in the preparation of several ports and airfields in the SWA theatre, These facies have been obtained by local discussions lead. ing to the active updating of existing sites to ‘make them usable on the scale that any move by the RDF will involve. There are several of these locations scattered around the Indian (Ocean and others en route to SWA. At all of them the US Atmy Corps of Engineers has overseen the construction and modification of all manner of airfield and port facies at Ras Banas in Egypt, Masirah Island, off Oman, Mombasa in Kenya, Berbera in Somalia, the island of Diego Garcia and facilities in the ‘Azores, Kenyan airfields involved ate Embaka- si and Nanyuki, and in Oman more facities willbe provided at Seeb eirfield. thumreyt, and the ports of Mutrah and Salalah ‘Most of thesa locations willbe used as stag- ing bases and staging posts, Many of them already have oll storage facilites o- will be provided with them. Payment for these faci- ties is made in a variety of ways from direct ‘cash to economic and military ai, “Tomovea force the size af the ADF involves more than air transport, as the bulk of the ROF’s equipment is such that sea transports, involved. For this purpose no less than 17 heavy cargo carriers are scheduled to be based in the SWA region, most of them at Diego Garcia, already loaded with the heavy ‘supplies needed by ROF units. More shipping is earmarked in the continental United States for the task, and the experience gained during the recent Falkland islands campaign is being ‘An ¥109 188-mm selt propelled howitzer being disembarked at Alexandria during Exercise ‘Bright Star'82" examined for any possible lessons, The Mite ary Seale Commandhes no fewer han cry satgo vesselan serve win afurner 201 the Red Reserve Poet To those canbe aed 167 other reserve vessels, but not al of these wile sisiabio al he te, ‘Tho aiift potential of the US forces, although considerable, fs now suificent fot the AF requirement and le current be ranforced By the purchase of a furher 90 (eehoed C68" Gaiany heavyit anapors sndsorne ciherarerayincudng 2 astantal quantity ef McDonnell Douglas Sc 10m Exton, dors Inthe Fiscal Yoar 1983 the strength of wt te lared US itary Mobity sos wore as foiows Active Forces aircraft inventory Lockheed C- Galaxy 70 Lockheed €-141 StarLifter 234 MeDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender 12 Lockheed C-130 Hercules 2i8 Lockheed C-5 Galaxy aircraft provide the RDF with Gabssitomoveleadsup oan Bale Panksce yer. USS Tarawa, capable of landing and supportinga 1900-strong remforced marine bataion isthe largest amphibious warfare vesselyet Dil Boeing Vertol CH-47 Chinook! Sikorsky CH-64 Tarhe 333 Sikorsky CH-53 Stallion 161 Reserve Forces aircraft inventory Lockheed C-130 Hercules 234: MeDannell Douglas ©) Fairchild C-123 19 Boeing Vertol CH-47/ ‘Sikorsky CH-54 168 Sikorsky CHS 8 It should be stressed that these are inven tory totals only, and that operational strengths would thus be much smaller, To these can be added 218 passenger arerait and 109 cargo aircraft from the Civil Reserve Air Fleet (CRAP), and this total is to be increased if funds become available. Commercial shipping can be used to provide a ‘sealftcapacity, andthe campaign in ho Faillands isbeing studied for possiblefessors. seeArmed Forces of the World Equipment Fee BBE Wil be equipped with the same weapons 2 all other Branches. of the US Srmes forces, but already moves are being rade to mirodice newer equipment that wil reduce greater moby without any sacitee Stfirepower Mucho! ts new equpment wi fake the form not of weapons but rather of Suppor equipment such a big, fol Supply systems. and water supply and purthcaton systems. Alreedy much taining fas been carted out in the SWA oreo, nels ing such relatively largascale exercises a6 Bight Star tree of whch nave been cerned cut in Egypt) and. Jade Tiger learned ut n eniunation with Somalia, Sudan and Omen) Some of these exerases have been carried Sut on a relatively smal scale but have stil Snvoived some lang ailfts and taught some ‘hvslble lessons. Ona was learnt durin the frst ‘Brght Siar when over one quarter of MAC's Strength was Involved in towing 8 Single battalion plus ts suppor fom the Un ited Statos to Caro, Such lavish deployments ww be out in future. Inganeral, US Amy dvsions wil be light on armour and those wnvolved will Be. Based Sound tho M60 main battle tank. The US Marines wit gracualy introduce ter new LAV (Ugnt Armoured Vehco| Based onthe Cougar Whesled vehicle. Support artilery wil be Towed instead of selfpropelles tlthough some Mads wb ivaie ore tre being the weapon meinly invelved being the Xi198 towed toemm howitzer: Numerous roposals for ether support weapons forthe ASE have been moctag including such ings a5 ‘miniature’ MLBS long-range rookst isunchers, towed DIVADS diemm ant-arcret uns and spocal Chaparral SAM carrer, but these all danend on funding. and exe funding ‘over and above the huge sums already Sved!s unieoy, “the US-Air Force, other than the NIAC in- volvement i key to be based on a mix of MeDannoli Doupias £8 Eagles and Farhi Republe A-10 Thunderbolt ls for sirect sup- Bor, and on General Gyros Fa and joing B23 (probably operating from the contmental USA) for borer suppor ‘Tho US Navy f= already operstng in the Indian Ocean with at fast one carie-based uttisgrouponstatonat any onetime. The US Navy i already deeply invowed Ina major ‘ecequipment programme ana i, Unikely (0 ‘ake any major RO changes, but already Unger way’ rea new class_of amphibious SSsnutt ship te fst of which isthe LSD-4T For themoment what rmour the DF can deploy ‘milconsist of 6A3 Main Batle Tanks. USRapidDeploymentForce == Above: Members ofthe 82nd Airborne Division set paperimeter round the drop zone, The division tusualy fies direc! tothe drop trom its base in NorthCaroiina Whidbey (sland) and a new multipurpose ‘amphibious assault ship known as the LHD. involved with these will be new special crane ships and lighters, including hovercraft for the assault and supply role. ‘The US Marine Corps is currently reorganiz: ing itself around anew Light Armoured Vehi- cle (LAV) battalion, and the air component of their amphibious force 's now the BAe AV-EA Harrier of the Vought A‘? Corsair. In future these will be supplemented (or replaced) by the MeDonnell Douglas AV-88 Harrier I ‘To control all these various formations the ‘American forces are also deeply involved in a ‘programme to provide a flexible and capable €¥'{command, contral, communications) series of systems, but nothing definite has yet been agreed. ris known, however, that con siderable use of Boeing E-3A Sentry AWACS aircraft will be involved. Some of these aircraft have already been based in Egypt and Sudan ‘on occasion ‘The90-mm cannon ofthe Fairchild Republic A-10 Canbe deployedin supportafforces faced by ‘ostlearmour Below: The Sikorsky UH-60R Black Hawkis air lansporlable carries awide variety of weaponny andcancany wee fli-equippedizonesat tbe Further extension ofcapabilitywillcome withthe Increasing use of amphibious air cushion vehicios GeaC, os : oa Rage