Submachineguns

[green papaya]

I like the MP40

 

[Twitch]

Mr. Bern are you talking about the M-1 carbine? It was always semi-auto. It became the M-2 when it went full auto in post war time.

 

[BellyTank]

its hard to compare the two.
The carbine wasnt semi-auto til after the war.

Huh..?
The M-1 Carbine was always a semi-auto, like the Garand was always a semi auto(wartime)- not talking about post-war and M-14s/variants, etc.

Did someone already mention that the carbine used a special round?
.30 calibre but smaller cartridge, different and much less powerful than the 30-06, although it had much more power than the .45.

Oops, someone mentioined the semi-auto thing...

B
T

 

[MrBern]

semi vs full

Sorry, pardon me, thats what I meant, you cant compare a semi-auto M1carbine to a full auto SMG.
It didnt become the full autoM2 til well after the war, but there are stories of WWII paratrooper armorers modifying it to full auto... but the bigwigs apparently didnt care to disseminate the info.

 

[Story]

The mark of the submachine gun is that it requires no special cartridge. They use pistol ammo folks.

From our perspective, true, but the Russians and their old subjects still refer to the various marks of AK47/74 with the Soviet-era term 'submachine guns'. Pop the term into Googlenews.com and see what comes up.


PS - Firepower Demonstration, Thompson vs. a purple dinosaur.
http://www.mikesmachineguns.com/warning.html

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

From our perspective, true, but the Russians and their old subjects still refer to the various marks of AK47/74 with the Soviet-era term 'submachine guns'. Pop the term into Googlenews.com and see what comes up.

Actually, the Russians use different terms for "submachine gun" and "assault rifle." A submachine gun is a "Pistolet-pulemet," as in PPSh-41, PPS-43, etc.

An assault rifle is an "Avtomat" as in AK-47, AKM, AVT-40, etc.

 

[Story]

Actually, the Russians use different terms for "submachine gun" and "assault rifle." A submachine gun is a "Pistolet-pulemet," as in PPSh-41, PPS-43, etc.

An assault rifle is an "Avtomat" as in AK-47, AKM, AVT-40, etc.

In Field or Technical Manuals, da, but in the Russian press, the AKs are usually described as 'Kalashnikov submachine guns'. "Krasnaya Zvezda" (Red Star, the Army's rag) is generally the worst offender. If you'd like a couple of recent articles illustrating this, let me know.

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

I guess the Russian news media is no better than ours then. The ignorance the press has concerning firearms always amazes me.

 

[Story]

I guess the Russian news media is no better than ours then. The ignorance the press has concerning firearms always amazes me.

Considering that it's the Army's publication that's doing it, and the Russians that are translating it into English (not vice versa) using that term, I believe it's accepted slang parlance. Blame it on the gangsters.

PS: bourgeois rot is everywhere!
http://kalashnikov.guns.ru/history.html

 

[geo]

Maybe it's a way of misleading foreign intelligence agencies as to the real nature of the weapon.

 

[Story]

Fun with inflation, or
'Financial Perspective'

During WWII the Submachine Gun, .45 caliber, M3, cost Guide Lamp Division of GM $15 to produce. By contrast, the 1928 Thompson cost $350.

From http://www.westegg.com/inflation/
What cost $350 in 1940 would cost $4657.48 in 2005. What cost $15 in 1945 would cost $157.57 in 2005. With what I know about modern production costs, that's about spot-on.

 

[dr greg]

one missing

guys I hate to be parochial, but you left out the acknowledged top gun in its class of WW2, the aussie Owen Gun.
http://www.rt66.com/~korteng/SmallArms/owen.htm