Danuvia, known fully as Danuvia Engineering Industries Rt. ( Hungarian: ''Danuvia Gépgyár'', lit. ''Danuvia Machinery Factory''), was a Hungarian manufacturer founded in 1920 that produced firearms, munitions, machine tools and motorcycles for the Central and Eastern European armies and markets.

History

Danuvia was founded on June 4, 1920, by the

Hungarian government The Government of Hungary () exercises executive (government), executive power in Hungary. It is led by the Prime Minister of Hungary, Prime Minister, and is composed of various ministers. It is the principal organ of public administration. The Pr ...

as an alternative to

Fegyver- és Gépgyár Fegyver- és Gépgyártó Részvénytársaság ("Arms and Machine Manufacturing Company"), known as FÉG, is a Hungarian industrial conglomerate founded on 24 February 1891 in Csepel (now part of Budapest). The company came under the ownershi ...

, to produce arms for the

Royal Hungarian Army The Royal Hungarian Army (, ) was the name given to the land forces of the Kingdom of Hungary (1920–1946), Kingdom of Hungary in the period from 1922 to 1945. Its name was inherited from the Royal Hungarian Honvéd which went under the same Hu ...

and the

Hungarian People's Army The Hungarian People's Army (, MN) or the HPA was the military of the Hungarian People's Republic and the armed branch of the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party from 1951 to 1990. It only saw combat in a foreign country once during its existence ...

over the 20th century in discretion of oversight by the

Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control The term Military Inter-Allied Commission of Control was used in a series of peace treaties concluded after the First World War (1914–1918) between different countries. Each of these treaties was concluded between the Principal Allied and A ...

, particularly during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period, also known as the interbellum (), lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days) – from the end of World War I (WWI) to the beginning of World War II ( ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Hungary at the time was under treaty following the defeat and dissolution of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

as a result of the

Treaty of Trianon The Treaty of Trianon (; ; ; ), often referred to in Hungary as the Peace Dictate of Trianon or Dictate of Trianon, was prepared at the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace Conference. It was signed on the one side by Hungary ...

from

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, thus the company was originally given the title of ''Danuvia Külkereskedelmi Rt'', lit. ''Danuvia Foreign Trade Co'', and declared a foreign trading company to circumvent the restrictions on military rearmament following the treaty's signature. In 1938,

Hungarian prime minister The prime minister of Hungary () is the head of government of Hungary. The prime minister and the Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Parliament, to their political party and ultimately to the electorate ...

Kálmán Darányi Kálmán Darányi de Pusztaszentgyörgy et Tetétlen (22 March 1886 – 1 November 1939) was a Hungarian politician who served as Prime Minister of Hungary from 1936 to 1938. He also served as Speaker of the House of Representatives of Hungary ...

announced the

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

armament program, aiming to modernise the equipment and arms of the Royal Hungarian Army. In 1940, Danuvia operated and owned the

Magyar Lőszerművek Magyar may refer to: * Hungarians * Hungarian language * Magyar tribes, fundamental political units of Hungarians between the period of leaving the Ural Mountains and the entrance of the Carpathian Basin * Magyar (surname), a common Hungarian ethn ...

(lit. ''Hungarian Ammunition Works'') factory in

Veszprém Veszprém (; , , , ) is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name. Etymology The city's name derives ...

to service this new demand. During World War II, Hungary purchased the licensing rights to various

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

and other foreign weapons, which were produced at the Danuvia factories. In 1944, Production from the Danuvia factories were largely halted due to the advancement of the

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. Following World War II underneath the jurisdiction of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, Hungarian arms development efforts declined under Soviet efforts for military standardization and preferential treatment for Soviet weaponry by the

Hungarian Communist Party The Hungarian Communist Party (, , abbr. MKP), known earlier as the Party of Communists in Hungary (, , abbr. KMP), was a communist party in Hungary that existed during the interwar period and briefly after World War II. It was founded on Novem ...

General Secretary Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...

Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892 – 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian communism, communist politician who was the ''de facto'' leader of Hungary from 1947 to 1956. He served first as General Secretary of the Hungarian ...

, such as the mass-produced

PPSh-41 The PPSh-41 () is a selective-fire, open-bolt, blowback submachine gun that fires the 7.62×25mm Tokarev round. It was designed by Georgy Shpagin of the Soviet Union to be a cheaper and simplified alternative to the PPD-40. The PPSh-41 saw ...

. From 1954 to 1966, Danuvia also manufactured motorcycles. The Danuvia factories were based in the

Zugló Zugló (, Macedonian: ''Сугел'') is the 14th District of Budapest, Hungary Geography * Area 18.15 km2 * Inhabitants: 130,000 Access to the district is easy; the southern end is easily accessible with the main M2 subway line, with ...

district of

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, on Angol utca ("English Street"). Danuvia was eventually disbanded in 1998, selling off intellectual property for their products to companies such as Intermodul Weapon Shops.

Products

During the weapon manufacturing era of Danuvia, the company employed several notable Hungarian firearms designers, including

Pál Király Pál Király (1880–1965) was a Hungarian engineer and weapons designer. Király was born in Budapest, Hungary, in 1880. In 1902 he earned a degree in mechanical engineering, and later joined the Austro-Hungarian army, where he rose up t ...

, the inventor of the Danuvia 39.M and Danuvia 43M submachine guns,

József Kucher József () is a Hungarian masculine given name. It is the Hungarian name equivalent to Joseph. Notable people bearing this name include: * József Bihari (1901–1981), Hungarian actor * József Bihari (1908–1997), Hungarian linguist * Jó ...

, the inventor of the Danuvia M53 K1 submachine gun, and Róbert Vörös, the inventor of the Danuvia VD-01 pistol. Additionally, it was the manufacturer of the Danuvia brand of motorcycles from 1954 to 1966.

References

{{Weapons of Hungary, state = autocollapse Companies established in 1920 Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1998 Hungarian brands 1920 establishments in Hungary Manufacturing companies based in Budapest