The Colt 9mm SMG, also known as the Colt Model 635 or Colt M635, is a

9×19mm Parabellum The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge. Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun ...

submachine gun A submachine gun (SMG) is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an autom ...

manufactured by Colt, based on the

M16 rifle The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-r ...

Design details

The Colt 9mm SMG is a closed bolt, blowback operated SMG, rather than the conventional

direct impingement Direct impingement is a type of gas operation for a firearm that directs gas from a fired cartridge indirectly (through the barrel, through a gas block, and then through a gas tube) into the bolt carrier or slide assembly to cycle the action. F ...

gas operation Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent ...

of the standard 5.56×45mm M16 type rifle. As a

closed bolt A semi or full-automatic firearm which is said to fire from a closed bolt is one where, when ready to fire, a round is in the chamber and the bolt and working parts are forward. When the trigger is pulled, the firing pin or striker fires the ...

weapon, the Colt SMG is inherently more accurate than

open bolt A firearm is said to fire from an open bolt if, when ready to fire, the bolt and working parts are held to the rear of the receiver, with no round in the chamber. When the trigger is actuated, the bolt travels forward, feeds a cartridge from t ...

weapons such as the Israeli UZI. The overall aesthetics are identical to most M16 type rifles. Changes include a large plastic brass deflector protruding from the rear quarter of the ejection port, and a correspondingly shorter dust cover. Factory Colt 9mm SMGs are equipped with a 10.5 inch length barrel and have an

M16 The M16 rifle (officially designated Rifle, Caliber 5.56 mm, M16) is a family of military rifles adapted from the ArmaLite AR-15 rifle for the United States military. The original M16 rifle was a 5.56×45mm automatic rifle with a 20-roun ...

style upper receiver, which means they feature a fixed carry handle, no forward assist and A1 sights (with 50 and 100 meter settings). The magazine well of the receiver is modified with pinned-in blocks to allow the use of smaller 9 mm magazines. The magazines themselves are a copy of the UZI magazine, modified to fit the Colt and lock the bolt back after the last shot.

Variants

Current Colt production models are the R0635 (RO635) which features a Safe/Semi/Full Auto

selective fire Selective fire is the capability of a weapon to be adjusted to fire in semi-automatic, fully automatic, and/or burst mode. The modes are chosen by means of a selector switch, which varies depending on the weapon's design. Some selective-fire w ...

trigger group and the R0639(RO639) which features a Safe/Semi/3-round Burst selective fire trigger group. Both are equipped with a 10.5 inch length barrel. The 633 was a modified compact version with a barrel, hydraulic buffer and simplified front sight post used by the DEA. The most common model is the 635, the latest version of which are simply marked SMG 9mm NATO. Until early 2010s, there are newer variants, R0991(RO991), R0992(RO992) and R6951 are introduced. The R0991 features Safe/Semi/Full Auto selective fire is constructed with Rail Integration System (RIS)

picatinny rails The Picatinny rail ( or ), or Pic rail for short, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail, 1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail (cancelled), is a military standard rail interface system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It was ...

on the flat-top receiver as well as around the barrel which allows the easy mounting of ancillary devices, has 10.5" barrel and equipped with a third generation composite buttstock; The R0992 has almost all the same features to the R0991, except the selective fire mode is Safe/Semi/3-round Burst only; The R6951 has almost all the same features of the R0991 and R0992, but doesn't have selective fire and has a 16.1" barrel instead of the 10.5" one. A suppressed variant known as the "DEA model" exists that uses an integral Knights Armament Company made suppressor covered with an M16A2 handguard.

Users

*: Used by the Argentine Army. *: Used by the Octopus Unit of Andhra Pradesh Police. *: Used by IDF special forces. *: Used by the '' Pasukan Khas Udara'' (PASKAU) Counter-Terrorism Forces of the

Royal Malaysian Air Force The Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF, ms, Tentera Udara Diraja Malaysia; TUDM; Jawi: ) was formed on 2 June 1958 as the Royal Federation of Malaya Air Force (; ). However, its roots can be traced back to the Malayan Auxiliary Air Force format ...

*: designated 9 Millimeter Submachine gun and used by the

U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...

. Also used by the

U.S. Marshals Service The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforceme ...

Los Angeles Police Department The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-lar ...

SWAT In the United States, a SWAT team (special weapons and tactics, originally special weapons assault team) is a police tactical unit that uses specialized or military equipment and tactics. Although they were first created in the 1960s to ...

, U.S. Dept of Justice-

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Justice that is responsible for the care, custody, and control of incarcerated individuals who have committed federal crimes; that i ...

, U.S. Diplomatic Security Service (DSS), and a number of other federal agencies. The

Drug Enforcement Administration The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA; ) is a United States federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Justice tasked with combating drug trafficking and distribution within the U.S. It is the lead agency for domestic en ...

was previously issued with them, but no longer in service.

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United States ...

used them for protection of nuclear weapons and facilities.

Gallery

Image:Colt SMG 635.jpg, Colt SMG 635 left side File:Colt 9mm SMG 635 10.JPG, Colt SMG 635 right side Image:Eds_Colt_SMG_635_left_side_with_M2_sight.jpg, Colt SMG 635, ML 2 Sight, Colt mount, and a magazine Image:Eds_Colt_SMG_635_right_side,_ML_2_sight,_Colt_mount.jpg, Colt SMG 635, ML 2 Sight, Colt mount

References

Notes

External links

Chuck Taylor's report on Colt SMGColt Defense
{{DEFAULTSORT:Colt 9mm Smg 9mm Parabellum submachine guns ArmaLite AR-10 derivatives 9mm SMG Police weapons Submachine guns of the United States United States Marine Corps equipment Military equipment introduced in the 1980s