Submachine Gun Designer's Handbook

98 Pages·1981·3.023 MB·English

by  Dmitrieff, G.

Submachine Gun
Designer’s Handbook
©1981byGeorgeDmitrieff
PublishedbyDesertPublications
215S.Washington
ElDorado,AR71731-1751
870-862-2077
[email protected]
ISBN0-87947-100-X
109876543
PrintedinU.S.A.
DesertPublicationsisadivisionof
TheDELTAGROUP,Ltd.
Directallinquiries&orderstotheaboveaddress.
Allrightsreserved.Exceptforuseinareview,noportionofthisbookmaybe
reproducedbyanymeansknownorunknownwithouttheexpresswrittenpermis-
sionofthepublisher.
Neithertheauthornorthepublisherassumesanyresponsibilityfortheuseormisuse
oftheinformationcontainedinthisbook.
II
Table Of Contents
Introduction V
SectionI.SubmachineGunHistory&DesignCharacteristics 1
1. FutureTrends 3
2. HistoricalNotes 5
3. BasicRequirements 7
4. Design 15
SectionII.Ammunition 31
ExternalBallisticsOfVariousSMGCartridges 33
9mmParabellum 34
.45ACP 36
.30MlCarbine 38
7.62x24mmMauser 40
Flechette 42
SectionIII.WorkingDrawings—Sten&PPSh41 43
StenMkII 45
PPSh41 67
U.S.Standard/MetricConversionChart . 93
III
.
Introduction
Submachine guns have been the subject of The historical and anecdotal aspects of the
many books, some not so good. Most ofthese subjectarekepttotheminimum.Thequestionsof
books contain detailed descriptions of various thebasicparametersofthedesign,manufacturing
modelsplusanabundanceofphotographs. and product requirements are describedinmore
Thesubmachinegun,althougharelativenew- detail.
comertothefirearmsarsenal,hascaptivatedthe To compensate forthe lack ofcolorphotos
public interest asthefavoritearmoftheG-men and illustrations, this book contains complete
andtheChicagogangsters.WorldWarIIfilmsmade engineering drawings of several models of well
the“BurpGun”andthe“GreaseGun”household knownsubmachinegunsandtheammunitionthey
words. use.
Thepresentworkisintendednotasanencyclo- Itishopedthatthepresentbookwillstimulate
pediaofvariousmodels,butratherasanintroduc- future arms designers in their challenging and
tionfortheseriousstudentofthistypeofweapon interestingwork.
V
SECTION
I.
Submachine Gun History &Design Characteristics
Future Trends
The current weapon development and the light machine guns are also chambered for this
organizationandtacticsofthegroundtroopswill round.
stimulatethedevelopmentofanewgenerationof Amorelogicalandfunctionalapproachwould
submIancthhienepgruensse.ntday(1980’s)armythenumber bmeedtioumc,onasniddetrhethsenipmearchriifnleeagsusnp,ecibaolthwelaipghotnsanidn
of armored combat vehicles such as tanks, self- thesameclassasgrenadelaunchersand/orrocket
pprrooppeelllleeddaArtAillaenryd,aArTmowreeadppoenrss,onetnce.l,cianrcrireerass,edseltfo- lcaarutnrcihdegres.,Thaendintdiovirdeutaalinwetahpeonclraesqsuicirefdullforpoclwoesre
unprecedentednumbers.Furthermore,thenumber defenseofpersonnelshouldbealight(4-5lbs.),
of crew-served weapons and special equipment, compact submachine gun with suitable muzzle
such as mortars, heavy machine guns, rocket braketoallowcontrolledoffhandautomaticfire.
lcaoumnmcuhnerisc,atgiroennsadeequliapumnecnhetr,s,cosmuprvuetielrlanucneitsr,adeatrcs.,, Tenheergryo,uwnidthwaallndeeflfievcetriv1e2r0a0n-g1e5o0f01ft5.0lbmse.toefrsm.uzzle
itfnhuenbcaTntshiuioecmnbiipensefrrraisnofotlfernynifeniurldneii,vitiinssduiscaneolvcmerrrebieaaflsltyeedrmveetednoh,uitccwhelehdeso.psoaeinnpdtrwithmheaorrseye w(7i.t6hT3himeMpaeruxosivesret)idnbgaaln9ldxis1tt9ihces(9w.ro3au0mlMdPlasraatcibaserflbylitunhmee)s,cea7rr.et6qr2uiidxrg2ee5-s
attached to crew-served weaponsrequire only a ments.
personalweaponsuitableforclosecombatagainst Anewsubmachinegunofthistypewouldmake
enemy personnel.Thistrendisevidentlydemon- maximumuseofaluminumcastingsand/orextru-
strated in the proliferation of light rifles with sions,plasticmaterials,stampedcomponents,etc.,
folding stocks and short barrelled models, tele- withoutadditionalmachining.Asimpleblowback
scoped construction types, etc. Theserifles are systemandexpendableplasticmagazinewithfeed
chambered for medium powered cartridges. To lips integralintheweaponreceiverwouldassure
makeavirtueofnecessity,thestandardriflesand reliableoperationatminimumcost.
3
SUBMACHINEGUNDESIGNER'SHANDBOOK
Priortothedevelopmentofthesubmachinegun,numerouspistolswerefittedwithdetachablebutt-
stocksinanattempttoprovideaweapon withtheeffectivenessofarifleorcarbineandthecon-
vgeenneireanlc,earoefaaGpeisrtmola.nFfrlionmtlotcokp,Ctoolbto1t8t6o0m,Aarlmsoyirlelvuosltvreart,inMgasuesveerralMosdteepls1i8n9t8heanedvotlhuetiPo'n08ofLupgiesrt.olsin
Historical Notes
Theneedforalightandcompactarm,more incorporated:simplificationofthemechanismand
accuratethananordinarypistolhasbeenfeltby alargermagazineforadequateammunitionsupply.
soldierssincetheintroductionoffirearms.Thefirst Thefirstsubmachinegundesignedalongtheselines
stepinthisdirectionwasthecarbine.Acarbine,as wastheVillarPerosa,whichwasdiscardedaftera
understoodoriginally,wasashortenedmusket,or shorttimebecauseofitsextremelyhighcyclicrate.
rifle, firing the same cartridge as the standard Thefirstsuccessfulblowbackmodel,incorporating
primaryweaponandlighteronlybytheweightof practicallyaUcharacteristicsoftoday’ssubmachine
the barrel and stock,which were cut off. This guns,wastheBergman“Muskete”,chamberedfor
solution wasnot satisfactorybecausetheweight the9mmParabellumcartridge.Theefficiencyand
andsizereductionoftheriflewerenotsufficient lethality of this type ofweaponwerelatercon-
tomeetthedesiredobjectives. firmed throughout the world by the Thompson
Anotherapproachtotheproblemwasapistol submachinegunsModelsof1921,1927and1928.
withadetachablebuttstock.Apistol,orrevolver The needforsuchweaponsinclosecombatand
in the hands of the average man is a relatively underconditionsoflimitedvisibility,suchasfog,
ineffectiveweapon,duetotheshortsightingradius, night, woods, etc., has been recognized by all
theheavyrecoilandtheunsteadybaseofferedby major governments. The submachine gun was
theonehandhold.Consistentlyhittingastationary widelyusedintheSpanishCivilWarandtheGran
12 inch target at 100,oreven 50yards,witha Chaco conflict, butitwas in the Russo-Finnish
military pistol or revolver is possible only by WarthattheSuomimodelestablishedthereputa-
experienced shooters. One ofthefirstbuttstock tionofsubmachinegunsasqualifiedmembersof
equipped pistols was a German flintlock (see the military family.Thehardlearnedlessonwas
pwhaostopr)a.cStuiccahUyaptihsetole,qufiarledinwiatchcubruatctysttoockthaettBarchoewdn, nWootrlfdorWgoatrteInI.bDyurthiengRetdheAcromuyrsweitohftthheeawdavre,ntthoef
Bessmusketat100yards.Thisapproachwasquite number ofsubmachine guns in the Soviet units
successful and was adopted for the Colt 1860 increaseduntil55percentofallhandheldweapons
ArmyrevolverandthefamousMauserModel1898 ininfantrycompanieswereofthistype.TheGer-
pistolandtheevenmorefamousLuger.Thebutt- mansfollowedsuitandtheirreportsindicatethat
stockequippedpistolisperpetuatedtodaybythe in the northern sectors of the Eastern Front,
SovietStechkinpistol. practically all rifles issued to the infantry were
The present day submachine gun was bom replaced by the Schmeisser MP40. The British
duringWorldWarI,whenitwasfoundthatauto- necessity for a submachine gun resulted in the
matic pistols couldnotbecontrolledduringfull development of the excellent Sten, which is a
automaticfire.Inthesubsequentdevelopmentof classic example of a simple, reliable and low
the submachine gun, two other changes were cost mass produced weapon. The ultimate in
5
SUBMACHINEGUNDESIGNER'SHANDBOOK
SGaDatamtWcFGmsthuadenioueiauaeutnnodnmrrnncruorpisptmht”Tetlmmishtlia.IhidhadgeheoInwcneeetredcieoriMAwiakltetducbtaflaeeyAgdrtetlhtddhireeiusevdhvrssraenmeefo,tesfbnsrltyunrnrideItsfohoglosemihiolpitrhmMeeoierisameltcPn-netadebhdhl-aotsl“neieeu4wratehartstsy5Uauestebcitosrzy,smeogoomoapnisafnpfmuawfetttierpmlsathhsindotl.ormsiewensude,dcauetbuartSenbWnratmicMnewlumaoefhhpatd-.esfladexioecwe1dacuto”hinunicUche.nitscstevilSohnaehdouinStrfoedgprdiehMbiu“oeenteiigctd3KitnchgnausuancleeeAuinmUrrt,entn.s1eilsdyMbSnnttwopd.toPGgeth“faeehtpbu4eiGves.hWAsyo3rwevftorenc/liTuhsartaootelm4uhehvlonshplwby4een”yde-.-fe- ttfigblsiwplnMwoehotntuloloereh-aeaenoaocicsai2spdki.kckeibc9pne,eikssblhcAqoneflsmoboauieugsnapbmtmrilwarresetbtotbyatcwtotiehawwhaniahPni,etelatbdcdeueamrloesaksrleessaceetbabaosiiusahnrkbrnegsisyeetdealttnneshseylshttstmyetctalsehreaTeswhhoueouestmiephmrMdnmilelccuoxe-eoeStamelcctmvcd2oi.tpoeahponkpasuordafltoesBetcsr.ituhuwdbderramopatne.ielcrttogindrdbabHohtowgeAafriueowhenemscwunesswebsnrotueeleee,eaeufdbocchvcauagfemawhuiorekltlrusmlaflrbcteunrscmwwyla,ishtssahuasaanheuetisniaeisssahsntustairesehrcepetomcrcdumiaoeofosimgorbteotntntnouumai.ntehrshsnnrnn4anleihiaiy5fticydcdnuoduaBiglhtAesesnbrdleooiirirotetei.GsnnnoellrsehodePegeydthynde,rf
Basic Requirements
machTihneenguunmsbewroulodfewaosuillyd-pbreoviddeesigpneerrssononfelsfuobr- wpahrotismanasy,bmeenre,quiwroemdetnouasnedthcehiwledarpe-n
severAanlyibnofadnytryondliyvissiloingsh.tly familiarwithfirearms roenc.oiElxatnradpslaefaestiynfgeaatpupreeasr,arnecdeucmtuisotnboef
usuallyconsidershimselfanexpertinthisrespect. emphasized.
seaInnnugbirme1ne,laaeeclecihtrtriiyinn,cgetafghsaeuna,nndey1rse0ioqgutsnihpreeeraesndmdtabhsiepscrysopcadrlumoecedtuoirkcoienanddihotofoeufmas,segohbouoeonlidddt 2. aAfgvainacvniteulonaarbltldeoeWmttaeehtareemprioidnaeneltassiQalutnahddneetmsiaditengygunr,feaReetchqtoeuufirricaehntdogt.iemcneeTtthihooi-nfs
applUinanfcoer.tunately,thecontrollingparametersofa ofdosr.ceTmhuestskaillsloobfetchoensmidaenruefda.cturinglabor
nukseeeywrdsaeuncbdimsiatochnehimdnaeeksieggrun.nerTarhaeulosrnaert.ehleyThdfaieccttpoaurtrsecdhwahbsiyecrthhiemsuetsnhtde 3. Aaevlnaedimlteahbneitilriotnfyon-aosnftyrLaotwceeagailpcoSnonautrudcereseis-gno-.fanHMeoaswtseeervniteairla,sl
beconsideredare(notnecessarilyintheorderof forsubmachinegunswhichformtheback-
importance): boneofpartisanandself-defenseforcesthis
design factor requires extra emphasis.
Type ofUser. This item has quiteoften Regardless of how excellent the weapon
beenneglectedinthepast,eventhoughits maybe,ifitcannotbemadeinanemergency
importance is obvious. Theusersmaybe situation,itisworthless.
ad.iviAdredmeindtoftohrecefsolpleorwsionngneglrouapss:awhole— 4. aTnhdetAhveaEiqlaubilpemeMnatnusfuaictatbulreifnogrsTuebcmhnaoclhoignye
tchoemprsiersviincge,mehamvbienrgstohfealmlibnrianmcuhmesroef- gloucnatiporno.duActwieoanpovnariuessinfgrionmvesltomcaetnitoncastto-
quiredtrainingandskilltooperatethe ing,powderedmetalandcomplexstamping
b. iSspseuceiawleafpoornc,es — these are selected, ptrairatlsizmedayarbeea.acSceupcthabldeestiognahwiilglhlynoitndubse-
highlymotivatedandtrainedprofession- acceptable in a remote area where only
alswith superior training andskillin small workshops are available. On the
the weapon’s use;hence the weapon otherhandaweaponusingscrewmachine
maybemorecomplexintheassembly, partsandcomponentsusedinotherprod-
disassemblyanduse. ucts, such as tubing and piping, may be
c. pGaesnseersalthpeopduelfaetnisoenp-a-rtah-imsiglritoaurpyefnocrcoems-. maacncuepftaacbtluerewrist.hsomemodificationsbyall
7