The Danuvia 39M/43M was a Hungarian submachine gun designed by Pál Király in the late 1930s.

History

The 9×25mm Danuvia submachine gun was designed by Hungarian engineer Pál Király in the late 1930s, and was produced by the titular Danuvia company. The guns were issued to Hungarian army troops in 1939 and remained in service throughout

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and until the early 1950s. A total of roughly 8,000 were made between 1939 and 1945. The Danuvia was a large, sturdy weapon, similar to a

carbine A carbine ( or ) is a long gun that has a barrel shortened from its original length. Most modern carbines are rifles that are compact versions of a longer rifle or are rifles chambered for less powerful cartridges. The smaller size and lighte ...

. Inspired by the SIG MKMS, the Danuvia used the more powerful

9×25mm Mauser The 9×25mm Mauser (or 9mm Mauser Export) is a cartridge developed for the Mauser C96 service pistol around 1904 by DWM. Mauser pistols in this relatively powerful caliber were primarily intended for export to Africa, Asia, and South America. The ...

round, and incorporated

lever-delayed blowback Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge. Several blowback systems exist ...

in order to better manage this high energy cartridge. The Danuvia's magazine can be folded forward into a recess in the stock where a plate then slides over it. The gun was well-liked by troops it was issued to; it reportedly functioned well in the sub-zero, muddy conditions on the Eastern Front. The only difficulty was the availability of 9×25mm Mauser ammunition. It was used by the Hungarian army, military police and police forces and stayed in service until the early 1950s when it was gradually replaced by the PPSh-41 and the Kucher K1.

Design

The Danuvia featured a patented two-part

bolt. The fire selector switch is a circular cap on the rear of the receiver and is rotated to one of three settings: ''E'' (Egyes)(semiautomatic fire), ''S''(Sorozat) (full automatic), or ''Z'' (Zárt)(the safety setting). The ejection port and cocking handle are on the right side of the receiver. It had a ramp-type rear sight above the ejection port and a post foresight at end of the barrel.

Variants

The original Danuvia was the Géppisztoly 39M with a fixed wooden stock, which was followed in limited numbers by the Géppisztoly 39/A M with a folding wooden stock. In 1943 a new version with a forward folding metal stock, wood fore stock and a pistol grip was designated the Géppisztoly 43M. The 43M was the most produced version and had a shortened barrel and a forward-angled magazine.

References

External links

Kiraly 43M: Hungary's Overpowered Submachine Gun
{{DEFAULTSORT:Danuvia 39.m Submachine Gun 9×25mm Mauser submachine guns Lever-delayed blowback firearms Submachine guns of Hungary Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1939 World War II infantry weapons World War II submachine guns