The SIG MP310 is a
submachine gun manufactured in Switzerland, developed from
SIG's earlier
wood stock MP46 design. Its
magazine was able to fold forward 90 degrees under the
gun barrel
A gun barrel is a crucial part of gun-type weapons such as small arms, small firearms, artillery pieces, and air guns. It is the straight shooting tube, usually made of rigid high-strength metal, through which a contained rapid expansion of high ...
, and it was fitted with a collapsible wire
buttstock
A gunstock or often simply stock, the back portion of which is also known as a shoulder stock, a buttstock or simply a butt, is a part of a long gun that provides structural support, to which the barrel, action, and firing mechanism are attach ...
.
First introduced as the MP48 model in the late 1940s, the
wood
Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of ligni ...
pistol grip
On a firearm or other tools, a pistol grip is a distinctly protruded handle underneath the main mechanism, to be held by the user's hand at a more vertical (and thus more ergonomic) angle, similar to the how one would hold a conventional pi ...
and forestock were replaced in the 1950s with a polymer stock on the MP310. Production ended in 1972.
The SIG MP310's use of
precision castings and high quality of
manufacture made it an expensive weapon to produce; this expense may have contributed to it not being widely adopted.
Users
Switzerland: The MP310 was adopted by Swiss
police
The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest a ...
forces.
Chile: In service with
Chilean Armed Forces
The Chilean Armed Forces ( es, Fuerzas Armadas de Chile) is the unified military organization comprising the Chilean Army, Air Force, and Navy. The President of Chile is the commander-in-chief of the military, and formulates policy through the Mi ...
and police.
See also
*
MAT-49
The MAT-49 is a submachine gun which was developed by French arms factory Manufacture Nationale d'Armes de Tulle (MAT) for use by the French Army and was first produced in 1949.
Development
In 1949, after evaluating several prototypes (includi ...
*
Vigneron submachine gun
*
Sola submachine gun
References
{{reflist
External links
Image 1 at MilitaryImages.NetImage 2 at MilitaryImages.NetSIG MP46/MP48/MP310at Forgotten Weapons
at Modern Firearms
Submachine guns of Switzerland
Telescoping bolt submachine guns
Infantry weapons of the Cold War
SIG Sauer submachine guns