208 Research Institute SMG

     Country of Origin: China

     Appears in: This is an actual weapon developed for the Chinese PDW/SMG competition, but not approved.

     Notes: The PLA is currently conducting a competition for a new submachinegun/personal defense weapon to be issued across the board from rear area troops to certain special operations forces.  One of the competitors was in the competition for so short a time that it never had an official name, but is normally called simply the “208,” for the company that designed it, the 208 Research Institute.  The 208 is mostly a conventional-design SMG (in fact, it looks vaguely like an MP-5, and the external design was in fact influenced by the German SMG; it can even use steel MP-5 magazines).  The guts of the 208 are, however, very different from the MP-5; it uses a telescoping bolt, blowback operation, and fires from an open bolt. The upper receiver is of stamped steel, while the lower receiver and collapsing stock are of aluminum alloy (virtually identical to the metal used in the AR-15/M-16 series’ lower receiver).  Handguard, pistol grip, and the buttstock insert are of light-but-strong polymer.  The charging handle is on top of the receiver (below the sight line of the front and rear sights), and if the 208 jams it may be rotated 90 degrees (locking it to the bolt) and used as a forward assist.  Though the sights are not of unusual design (they are a simple hooded front post and an aperture rear); they are made of an unusual material: titanium alloy.  The rear sight is removable and mounted on a short optics mounting rail.  The selector lever is also unusual; in addition to conventional safe, semiautomatic, 3-round burst, and automatic settings, it also slides out, allowing the weapon to be broken open for cleaning in the same manner as an AR-15/M-16-series weapon.  (This strikes me as slightly dangerous, but anyway…)  A variety of accessories were designed for the 208, ranging from non-magnifying holographic reflex sights to laser pointers to a lightweight silencer.

     Unfortunately, the 208 was dropped from the competition very early in the process; most sources cite the exotic construction materials and that unusual selector lever/breakdown pin.  The 208 Research Institute tried to market the weapon elsewhere, but found no buyers.  It remains an interesting “what-if” weapon.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

     Merc 2000 Notes: There is some limited use of the 208 (known in the Merc 2000 timeline as the Type 08 submachinegun) by a couple of Chinese warlords’ forces, but the primary users of the 208 are the troops of the Myanmar Army. 

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

208 SMG

9mm Parabellum

1.7 kg

30

$411

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

208 SMG

3/5

2

Nil

2/3

2

3/4

26

 

AAI 18.5mm Submachinegun Feasibility Model (“Rocket Submachinegun”)

     Country of Origin: US

     Appears In: DARPA weapons research in the early 1970s.

     Notes: More commonly called the 18.5mm Rocket Submachinegun, this unusual weapon was the result of a DARPA-sponsored effort in the early 1970s to develop a short-barreled automatic weapon based on the rocket-powered projectile idea of the Gyrojet Pistol.  Though the Rocket Submachinegun is thought by some as more of a short-barreled assault shotgun firing exotic ammunition, AAI always referred to the weapon as a submachinegun; and as its primary round does use a single projectile, I will keep it in this section of the site.  The final design proved to be quite feasible, and AAI also felt that the Rocket Submachinegun could also be easily converted into submachineguns firing more conventional ammunition (though this was never actually done, except on paper).  The military was reportedly very interested in the Rocket Submachinegun as a lightweight support weapon, but the post-Vietnam War drawdown and its sharp budget cutbacks killed the Rocket Submachinegun’s DARPA sponsorship, killing the development program after only a few prototypes had been built.

     The Rocket Submachinegun looked basically like a typical compact submachinegun of the time, albeit with a huge-sized barrel and magazine.  Due to the nature of the weapon and its ammunition, operation is a rather strange mix of gas and delayed blowback.  The round itself is ignited by a standard percussion-type primer and using a firing pin.  The Rocket Submachinegun fired from a closed bolt, with a retarding wedge holding the bolt closed until just after the round has left the barrel (roughly 25 milliseconds).  This allows the gas pressure from the launching charge of the round to fall low enough so that the blowback part of the operation (which uses some of the gas from the launching charge as well as the slight kick from the primer) does not produce an excessive amount of recoil nor undue stress on the lightweight receiver.  The entire round, including the casing, was fired from the Rocket Submachinegun, which made the use of any sort of extraction mechanism unnecessary unless there was a dud round or the weapon needed to be cleared for safety while a round was chambered.  The firing mechanism, despite its unusual nature, was actually quite simple and required few moving parts.  The receiver of the Rocket Submachinegun was of lightweight aluminum alloy, with steel used for the operating parts, barrel, and a few other parts that might be otherwise easily damaged.  Sights consisted of an adjustable rear notch and a front blade.  The 11.5-inch barrel was rifled, due to the intended operation of the rocket rounds.  Though the prototypes had no stocks, they did have attachment points for both fixed and folding stocks, which would have been added later in the development.

     The ammunition, designed specifically for the Rocket Submachinegun, was about the size of a 12-gauge 3-inch magnum shell – but that is where the similarity ended.  The rounds were rimless, with canted exhaust ports around the base to spin-stabilize the round after main propelling charge fires (except for the HE-FRAG round, which is spin-stabilized only by the rifling in the barrel).  The rocket rounds used a large case of light steel alloy with a standard percussion-type primer, but the entire round left the weapon when fired.  The rocket rounds had three charges in them.  The first, the launching charge, fires in a near-instantaneous spurt to fire the round from the barrel before the main propelling charge fires.  The main propelling charge fires after the round has traveled about 6 meters (about 48 milliseconds after the launching charge fires), which keeps the exhaust from the rocket motor from harming the shooter.  The third charge depends upon the round that was fired, and is either a small sabot separation charge (for the Multi-Scimitar), a pellet ejection charge (for the buckshot round), or a conventional RDX filler (for the HE-FRAG round).

     The intended primary round for the Rocket Submachinegun was the Multi-Scimitar.  The Multi-Scimitar used a four-piece sabot that contains two stacks of seven Scimitar sub-projectiles; the Scimitar sub-projectile itself was an advanced-design flechette made from simple stamped sheet steel and weighing 0.81 grams (12.5 grains).  The Scimitar was flat in shape, with a pointed nose that was sharpened to provide greater penetration as well as improve aerodynamics and stability in flight.  The rear of the Scimitar has a pair of slightly-twisted fins to further improve flight stability by providing a slow rate of spin. A thicker cross-section at the nose also improved stability, ensures that the Scimitar flies nose-first, and somewhat improves striking power.  The sub-projectile package was designed to diverge quickly so that it can effectively attack large groupings of enemy troops at close and medium range – the Scimitars give a grouping of about a 50mm at 15 meters range, increasing to about 400mm at about 30 meters range.  The Scimitar projectiles were known to produce large, nasty wounds out of proportion to their size and weight.  (In game terms, shots at short and medium ranges follow standard Twilight 2000 v2.2 buckshot/flechette rules – but at long range, Scimitar hits are only half as likely, and extreme range fire is effectively not possible with the Multi-Scimitar round.)  The Scimitar projectiles would later show up again in the CAWS program, though ultimately they were rejected for use in the CAWS ammunition.

     The second round designed for the Rocket Submachinegun is an HE-FRAG round, essentially a small grenade.  The design of the HE-FRAG round was more or less conventional, and used a modified form of the rocket shell used for the Multi-Scimitar round.  The fragments were produced by a thickened steel case wall, internally scored and producing 415 cubical steel fragments.

     The third round is a rumored buckshot-type round that was essentially a rocket-powered shotgun shell; it may have been a planned type of rocket round that was never actually produced.  The buckshot round was similar to the Multi-Scimitar round in design, but discharged 14 cubical tungsten pellets approximately 2.5mm in size, with the heavy, cubical tungsten pellets providing increased penetration and tissue damage.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

Rocket Submachinegun (Stockless)

18.5mm AAI Rocket Round

2.4 kg

20

$1875

Rocket Submachinegun (Fixed Stock)

18.5mm AAI Rocket Round

2.9 kg

20

$1905

Rocket Submachinegun (Folding Stock)

18.5mm AAI Rocket Round

2.7 kg

20

$1925

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage*

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

Rocket Submachinegun (Stockless, Multi-Scimitar)

5

2d6x14

1-3-Nil

4

1

3

20**

Rocket Submachinegun (Stockless, HE-FRAG)

5

C1  B8

Nil

4

1

3

60

Rocket Submachinegun (Stockless, Buckshot)

5

2d6x14

1-Nil

4

1

3

20

Rocket Submachinegun (Fixed, Multi-Scimitar)

5

2d6x14

1-3-Nil

6

1

2

20**

Rocket Submachinegun (Fixed, HE-FRAG)

5

C1  B8

Nil

6

1

2

60

Rocket Submachinegun (Fixed, Buckshot)

5

2d6x14

1-Nil

6

1

2

20

Rocket Submachinegun (Folding, Multi-Scimitar)

5

2d6x14

1-3-Nil

4/6

1

2

20**

Rocket Submachinegun (Folding, HE-FRAG)

5

C1  B8

Nil

4/6

1

2

60

Rocket Submachinegun (Folding, Buckshot)

5

2d6x14

1-Nil

4/6

1

2

20

*As the main propellant charge does not ignite until a Rocket Submachinegun round has traveled 6 meters, the velocity of the rounds are relatively low until this point.  If any of these rounds are fired at a target 6.5 meters or less in range, the round will hit as a single, low-velocity round; rounds like the Multi-Scimitar or buckshot will not have time for the sub-projectiles or pellets to separate, and the HE-FRAG’s contact fuze will not have time to arm, and will not explode.  Damage rating in this case is only 2, and penetration is Nil.

 

The Scimitar sub-projectile is essentially treated as a buckshot/flechette round for game purposes at greater than short range – except that it has a long range in addition to a medium range, the individual Scimitars have a damage rating of 2, and Penetration rating is 1.

 

**See the paragraph on the Multi-Scimitar round above for further information on range effects.

 

AMAC Delta-786

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: Company literature of the late 1980s and early 1990s.

     Notes: The Delta-786 was designed by AMAC primarily for military use, and secondarily for police SRT and SWAT use, with another possible role as a bodyguard’s weapon.  The Delta-786 is essentially a very small submachinegun, perhaps more a PDW or machine pistol.As it’s primarily design impetus was to function as a PDW in military use by rear-area troops, vehicle troops, or a sidearm for helicopter crews, it contains features that are primarily military in appeal.  The Delta-786 is light and compact yet dirable and hard to break.  An optional “stock” is very unusual; it consists of a curved chinpiece to brace the weapon against (yes, that sounds rough to me as well).  The chinpiece could also be used trapped against the forearm as a vestigial stock.  Of course, in the testing phases, this was supplemented by a snap-on conventional stock, but it was not retractable. Operation is by open belt and direct blowback.  Though there was only one manual safety, the Delta-786 also had a plethora of internal passive safeties.  The trigger guard folds down for use with heavy gloves. A special holster, strapping to the thigh, was designed for the Delta-786.  Field stripping is fast and easy, and a partial breakdown can also be done which exposes the most commonly-dirtied parts for cleaning and lubrication. Sights are heavy-duty, with the rear sight fully adjustable.

     Proprietary magazines were designed, but Uzi magazines can also be used. AMAC says that the US Military never looked at their SMG seriously, and no country seems to have been interested as well.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

Delta-786

9mm Parabellum

2.7 kg

20, 25, 32

$273

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

Delta-786

5

1

Nil

1/3

1

2

16

 

Anthony Smith M-11/Suomi

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: Many such weapons are regularly designed here and there in the world -- particularly in the US -- mostly for use in specialist submachinegun competitions by licensed individuals, or simply as experiments.

     Notes: The M-11/Suomi is a “frankenweapon” – a new weapon made by combining the parts of one or more weapons into a new whole, in this case the Ingram M-11 in 9mm (the SWD version) and part of the upper receiver of a Finnish Suomi submachinegun.  The result looks sort of like a long-barreled M-11, with the magazine feed moved well forward of the grip, and now using Suomi-type magazines (including the 71-round drums).  The rate of fire is drastically lowered by addition of a weight to the bolt, to 527 rpm.  Due to the forward position of the magazine feed, the barrel is not actually as long as it might appear; it is in fact only 137 millimeters long.  The primary advantage of Anthony Smith’s conversion is to decrease the wasteful rate of fire of the M-11, grant the ability to use the much better-made Finnish magazines (which are also common on the War Surplus market), and simply produce an interesting weapon.  It is not known at this time whether Mr. Smith plans on any sort of production of the M-11/Suomi, though he does sell the plans for the weapon.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: This submachinegun does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

M-11/Suomi

9mm Parabellum

3.61 kg

50, 71 Drum

$277

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

M-11/Suomi

5

2

Nil

3/5

1

2

17

 

Ares Folding SMG

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: Weapon experiments of the late 1960s to late 1980s, when several such weapons were designed in the US.

     Notes: The ARES Folding SMG is an ARES patent of the Warin SMG.  It is a novel concept in weapons, capable of being folded to the size of a cigarette carton. One phase is required to ready the weapon when folded (or vice-versa). The magazines used are Uzi or MP-28 magazines.  The cyclic rate of fire is adjustable between 650 and 950 rpm; this is more a continuous adjustment, rather than a selector lever (though only ROFs of 5 and 10 are shown below).   There is also a 3-round burst setting.  In reality, only two of these weapons were ever built, and they were withdrawn from sale without any buyers; it however makes an interesting “what-if.” 

     Twilight 2000 Notes: Over 100 of there weapons were built for CIA and DIA agents. 

     Merc 2000 Notes: As Twilight 2000 Notes, except that the number was closer to 200.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

ARES Folding SMG

9mm Parabellum

1.81 kg

20, 32

$416

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

ARES Folding SMG

3/5/10

2

Nil

3

1

2/3/7

19

 

Benelli CB-M2

     Country of Origin: Italy

     Appears in: This submachinegun was actually ready for full-scale production, but unfortunately Benelli had no buyers for whom to manufacture it.

Notes: This SMG fired a purpose-designed "semi-caseless" cartridge based on the 9mm Parabellum round. The round is semi-caseless in that the primer section is made of a combustible compound inside a ring made of a brass compound. However, there is nothing to be ejected when the weapon cycles, since the "semi-case" is also ejected with the round down the barrel. Several countries evaluated the weapon and liked it very much; however, the prospect of incorporating totally new ammunition into their supply chain was a stumbling block, and none were officially accepted into military service.  It therefore went into the dustbin of history.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The only people using the CB-M2 in the Twilight 2000 World are a few special ops personnel, and government agencies.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

CB-M2

9mm AUPO

3.15 kg

20, 30, 40

$344

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

Benelli CB-M2

10

2

1-Nil

3/4

1

5

23

 

Colt MARS

     Country of Origin: US

     Appears In: A government request to Colt Firearms in 1997

     Notes: The MARS (Mini Assault Rifle System) was designed at the behest of the Special Analytical Services in 1997, who felt that there was a place in the military as well as the police for a PDW-type weapon that would also be useful to police SRT teams as well as military special operations.  The MARS had a different design philosophy than other PDWs like Heckler & Koch’s MP-7 and FN’s P-90 – most PDW’s focused on lightweight rounds with enhanced penetration, while Colt’s approach was on damage and range, with penetration a secondary requirement and minimum re-tooling necessary for production of the MARS as well as its ammunition a third.

     The MARS prototype was, in fact, a heavily-modified M-4 carbine – literally.  The M-4 used in the tests was taken apart, had metal machined out of the lower and upper receivers, a modification to the magazine well, a new bolt put in – even the magazines were M-16/M-4 magazines that had been cut apart and reduced in width, with a new follower and spring added.  Nonetheless, these jury-rigged weapons produced outstanding test results.  Three prototypes were made; two were chambered for the 5.56x30mm MARS cartridge, while one was chambered for the 9x30mm MARS cartridge.  The 5.56mm MARS cartridges were made with cut-down 5.56mm NATO brass and loaded with an M-193 bullet; the 9mm MARS round was made from a necked-down 10mm Colt round loaded with a lengthened 9mm Parabellum bullet. The M-4s used for the prototypes were flat-top weapons, and thus the tops of the receivers had a length of MIL-STD-1913 rail.  The sliding stock was modified to allow it to be collapsed shorter than that of a standard M-4; they could be collapsed almost to the receiver.  The sights designed for the MARS were a lower-profile M-4-type front sight and a rear sight unit with a 1.5x optical sight, with a folding iron sight similar to that of the M-4 as a backup.

     In hindsight, it is believed that what killed the MARS program was its proprietary cartridges.  As the 5.56mm MARS has the ballistics of a hotloaded .221 Fireball round, many have said that Colt should have chambered the MARS for this round instead.  At any rate, military and police forces to whom it was demonstrated thought it was a great weapon, but funds for development never came Colt’s way.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: The MARS does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

MARS

5.56mm MARS

2.45 kg

30

$549

MARS

9mm MARS

2.92 kg

30

$932

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

MARS (5.56mm)

5

2

1-Nil

3/4

3

6

16

MARS (9mm)

5

3

2-Nil

3/4

4

9

16

 

Connor M-21 Folding SMG

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: Weapon experiments of the late 1960s to late 1980s, when several such weapons were designed in the US.

     Notes:  During the movie Robocop II, the public saw for the first (and only time) a folding submachinegun in the hands of the juvenile villain called the UC-9.  This weapon was designed by Utah Connor for use by undercover police and clandestine forces.  It never reached production (and the one in the movie was the only one made), but the design was later refined into the M-21.  The UC-9 was a rather fragile weapon; the M-21 is far less so.  An accidental discharge while folded was possible with the UC-9; the M-21 cannot be folded if the weapon is cocked or a round is in the chamber.  The folded dimensions of the M-21 are 267x114x38mm.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: Some 500 of these weapons were produced for MilGov after the split.

     Merc 2000 Notes: Though reports of these weapons show up from time to time, no one is sure how many have been produced or who they were originally made for.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

M-21

9mm Parabellum

2.84 kg

32

$258

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

M-21

5

2

Nil

3

1

3

22

 

Heckler & Koch HK-54A1

     Country of Origin: Germany

     Appears in: Candidates for Project 6.2 of the US JSSAP in the 1980s.

     Notes: The US JSSAP (Joint Services Small Arms Program) in the 1980s was a large military small arms research project used to research and (if possible) procure new small arms for the US military.  Some parts of the JSSAP included the well-known ACR program and the pistol project that eventually led to the adoption of the M-9 pistol.  One of the lesser-known parts of JSSAP was Project 6.2, meant to produce a new submachinegun for US military special operations.  As it was a small part of JSSAP, Project 6.2 was to use, as much as possible, off-the-shelf components or modified versions of them.  US military special operations were already using several Heckler & Koch weapons, so they were contracted to work with several US military research agencies to work on Project 6.2, with the MP-5 submachinegun being the base weapon.

     The first weapon produced by JSSAP 6.2 was the HK-54A1.  The HK-54A1 was a highly-modified version of the MP-5, with numerous new features to make the HK-54A1 a more versatile submachinegun than the MP-5.  The HK-54A1 has been dehorned to a large extent from its MP-5 base – without the silencer attached, it’s shorter than an MP-5, and most sharp contours have been rounded off or covered with a polymer shell.  The sights, however are much more complex than those of the MP-5; the rear sight was a large drum-type diopter sight which can be adjusted to a finer point than typical submachinegun sights.  The front sight was basically the same as found on the MP-5.  Though the HK-54A1 could feed from standard MP-5 magazines, Heckler & Koch also designed a drum magazine made of polymer and light alloy, with a capacity of 50 rounds.  (Despite the lightweight materials used in the drum magazine, the drum still weighed 0.68 kg empty, and it was rather clumsy.)  The selector mechanism allowed for five settings – safe, semiautomatic, 3-round burst, automatic, and locked breech (explained in the next paragraph).  The sliding stock was designed to be lighter and more streamlined, and the buttplate was much smaller in size.  (Future development was to give the HK-54A1 an ability to mount a wide variety of attachments, but development of the HK-54A1 never got that far.)

     Perhaps the largest amount of modification to the MP-5 design was made for silenced operation. The HK-54A1 was designed from the start to use a silencer better than any on the market, and yet still be completely effective without a silencer attached.  Heckler & Koch used part of the MP-5SD design to do this – the HK-54A1 has gas ports near the breech similar to those on the MP-5SD.  Unlike the MP-5SD, the 7.06-inch barrel of the HK-54A1 is strong enough for use without the silencer attached, and the ports can be closed with using a switch under the fore-end of the weapon in front of the magazine well.  The silencer is of the screw-on type, and more than doubles the length of the HK-54A1; with no silencer attached, the HK-54A1’s barrel does not extend beyond the handgrip and barrel shroud.  The HK-54A1’s silencer, like that of the MP-5SD, demands the use of full-power 9mm Parabellum ammunition of standard military weight and propellant charge; without the silencer, the HK-54A1’s shooter has a much wider choice of 9mm Parabellum ammunition types.  Silent operation could be further enhanced by a selector lever setting that locks the bolt back after each shot, eliminating bolt clatter.  (In game terms, the HK-54A1 has better than Class 3 noise suppression when fired on the locked breech setting, but also has a BA fire rate.)  Used with a locked bolt and silencer, the HK-54A1 was at the time possibly the quietest silenced weapon yet designed.

     The HK-54A1 was given a lot of testing by the US military, including range, field, and some combat testing in unspecified places.  The troops that used the HK-54A1 felt that it was a very effective weapon and an improvement over both the MP-5 and MP-5SD – but not a big enough improvement to merit large-scale procurement.  The mechanism of the HK-54A1, particularly with the barrel porting system, often caused problems, as they could be jammed, even when closed, by dirt – in a closed, open or partially-open position.  Unit armorers sometimes felt that maintenance was a real pain in the butt due to the complex mechanism.  The large 50-round drum designed by Heckler & Koch turned the HK-54A1 into a relatively clumsy weapon.  When the silencer was attached to the HK-54A1, the length of the weapon suddenly became 7.2 inches longer, and the HK-54A1 became very front-heavy with the silencer attached.  Add the drum magazine and the silencer to the HK-54A1, and the user ended up with a very clumsy weapon.  The special operations troops that used the HK-54A1 didn’t think the HK-54A1 was necessarily a bad weapon, but they did feel there was considerable room for improvement; therefore, they couldn’t recommend any large-scale buys to their superiors.  Heckler & Koch did more work with the HK-54A1 design, producing the submachineguns commonly known as the SMG I and SMG II.  These are detailed later in this section of this site.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

HK-54A1

9mm Parabellum

2.98 kg

10, 20, 30, 50 Drum

$384

HK-54A1 Silencer

N/A

0.42 kg

N/A

$123

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

HK-54A1

3/5

2

Nil

3/4

1

2/3

19

With Silencer

3/5

2

Nil

4/5

1

1/2

16

 

Heckler & Koch SMG I/SMG II/MP-2000

     Country of Origin: Germany

     Appears in: Candidates for Project 6.3A of the US JSSAP in the 1980s.

     Notes: Though the HK-54A1 was rejected by the US military, US special operations units (especially the Navy’s SEALs) still felt that the HK-54A1 was a promising design; it just needed more work.  The Pentagon therefore authorized the JSSAP 6.3A submachinegun project, and asked Heckler & Koch to further develop the HK-54A1 with input from the US special operations community as well as selected US firearms designers.  The aim was to produce a submachinegun that could be placed in service by the mid-1990s, and possibly also usable by other troops as a PDW. 

     Though commonly called the SMG I, the first weapon produced under JSSAP 6.3A was referred to by the military as the JSSAP 6.3A SMG; Heckler & Koch gave it the unusual developmental designation of HK-94054.  The SMG I was a lightweight, short-barreled submachinegun, barely larger than an MP-5K, but much more streamlined in appearance and in most ways more versatile.  The lower receiver, magazine well, pistol grip, a non-folding foregrip, handguard, trigger guard, and trigger group housing were a single unit, made from strong and lightweight polymer/plastic.  The upper receiver was of stamped steel; in addition, steel or light alloy reinforcement was used for the operating parts as well as to provide reinforcement in some areas of the lower receiver.  The sliding stock was even more streamlined than that of the HK-54A1, and when completely collapsed, it was almost completely flush with the receiver and barely visible.  The stock could also be completely removed.  The 30-round magazine, modified from the standard MP-5 design, was a bit more curved than that of the standard MP-5 magazine to improve feed characteristics when loaded with unusual ammunition types; it was also made from the same lightweight polymer/plastic as the SMG I’s lower receiver.  (This magazine will not fit into other MP-5-based designs, though the SMG I can also use standard MP-5 magazines.)  The SMG I was tested with the HK-54A1’s 50-round drum as well as several variations on that theme, but the drum magazine idea was quickly rejected since the drum did make the SMG I into a clumsy weapon.

     Perhaps the most dramatic change in the SMG I was to the internal operating system.  The roller-locking delayed-blowback operation of the MP-5 was totally replaced; the SMG I used simple blowback operation and fired from a closed bolt.  The blowback operation was only slightly modified, using an integral safety lock that delayed the release of the firing pin for a few milliseconds; this prevented most cook-offs from happening in the first place.  The simplified operation also allowed for a much wider choice of 9mm Parabellum ammunition types, weights, and propellant charges.  The SMG I was designed and presented to the US military with the capability for only semiautomatic and automatic fire, though Heckler & Koch could easily have added in burst capability if desired.  The SMG I also included a bolt hold-open device at the request of the JSSAP committee, with the release being a button above trigger guard.  The selector group and magazine release were also ambidextrous.  The drum-type diopter rear sight was more complex than those of the HK-54A1 (it was derived from the rear sight of the HK-21 machinegun), and included a feature allowing the shooter to easily switch between standard and suppressed fire while keeping the same zero.  Both the front and rear sights could be raised in height, making them easier to use when the shooter was wearing a protective mask.  Unusually, the SMG I was equipped with a forward assist; though it could be used to fully seat the bolt in a dirty weapon (which is really not a good practice in the first place), it’s primary use was to quietly close the bolt after loading and charging the SMG I.

     The 5.63-inch barrel did not have the complicated barrel porting system of the HK-54A1, but the silencer designed for use with the SMG I was far better than the typical removable silencer.  The silencer was not only useable with both full-power and subsonic ammunition, it could be used with a much wider variety of bullets and propellant charges (though not as large a selection as when the SMG I was used without its silencer).  The silencer is secured by latches instead of threads, and can be quickly and easily removed and mounted by the user.  A gas adjustment valve was included to allow for more efficient use of rounds with larger-then-normal propellant loads as well as subsonic propellant loads.  In addition, the bolt lock of the HK-54A1 was retained, further quieting the SMG I if desired.  The silenced SMG I wasn’t as quiet as the HK-54A1 or MP-5SD, but it was still one of the quietest submachineguns ever devised.

     In the end, the Pentagon decided against the SMG I.  This had nothing to do with the design of the SMG I – the troops were almost completely satisfied with it.  The JSSAP committee simply decided that while the SMG I was a great submachinegun, it just wasn’t really a necessary acquisition at the time, given that the SMG I would be produced only in small batches – the SMG I would be an expensive weapon due to the limited production alone, and the US defense budget was also experiencing a drawdown.  The MP-5-series weapons that US special operations units were already using were deemed adequate.  Nonetheless, some 60 SMG I’s were built, and they have largely been retained (stored in an operating condition) by the US military; in addition, the Pentagon elected to retain complete copies of the specifications and associated engineering package – supposedly for possible future use, though as far as is known, the SMG I has not seen the light of day since 1985.

     Heckler & Koch, however, felt that they had a winner in the SMG I (and US special operations troops agreed), and that sales to other countries were a real possibility.  Heckler & Koch tweaked the SMG I a bit more, combining some of the best features of the SMG I and SMG II (see below) with those of the MP-5 series.  This led to the MP-2000.  The MP-2000 was very similar to the SMG I in appearance and operation, though a pair of slots are cut into both sides of the fore-end on either side of the barrel.  A pair of cooling slots are cut on either side of the handguards.  The trigger guard was about twice the length of that on the SMG I; at the front of the MP-2000’s trigger guard is a lever, which is the magazine release.  Below the handguard was a mount for a foregrip similar in shape to that of the MP-5K; this foregrip was not only removable, but could be adjusted in position along the handguard and (to a limited extent) adjusted for length.  The MP-2000 had charging handles on both sides of the receiver, further enhancing its ambidextrous features.  The barrel was a bit longer at 5.87 inches.  The MP-2000 was reportedly tested in and out of combat by a number of special operations units worldwide, but not officially adopted by anyone; it’s uncertain how many MP-2000s were actually built.  It is possible that the MP-2000’s biggest marketing problem was that it was competing against its own father – the MP-5 series – and a new (and more expensive, in real-life terms) version of the MP-5 series couldn’t compete against the already-existing versions of the MP-5 series and the greater availability of parts, weapons, and support.

     In between the SMG I and the attempted marketing of the SMG II, Heckler & Koch designed the SMG II.  Designed in 1984, the SMG II is sort of a product-improved SMG I.  The SMG II was designed for a still-unknown customer that liked the SMG I, but wanted a few more changes to the design of the SMG I.  The customer for the SMG II is still undisclosed, but the SEALs are believed to have at least tested the SMG II.  Most sources say that at least 60 examples of the SMG II were built, but as many as 200 may have been made.  The SMG II was, however, close to handmade; no special production line, machinery, or tools were set up at Heckler & Koch for the SMG II.

     The HK-21-derived sights used on the SMG I were exchanged for something in-between those of the SMG I and MP-2000 – derived from those of the standard MP-5, they were smaller and less complicated, but had the ability to switch between settings for full-power ammunition and subsonic ammunition.  The sights also had brighter tritium inlays.  A minor change was made to the trigger group; the normal H&K selector lever position markings (designed to be easily-understood whether the shooter uses the Latin alphabet or not – or even whether or not he can even read) were replaced by numerical markings instead.  The major change to the trigger group was that a four-position selector was used, allowing for safe, semiautomatic, 3-round burst, and automatic fire; bolt-locking was also retained from the SMG I, though it is done with a separate switch.  The MP-2000-type cooling slots are mounted a bit further forward on the SMG II.  The charging handle of the SMG I was replaced with a knob above the barrel, similar to that on the Uzi.  The folding stock design was further refined; the buttplate is even smaller than that of the SMG I, and when folded, is indistinguishable from the rest of the receiver at first glance.  Some internal changes to the SMG II also led to an ejection port positioned a bit higher than that of the SMG I, and the rails of the sliding stock have a slight cutout on the right side so that the ejection port is not blocked by the stock rails when the stock is folded.  Atop the receiver are a pair of brackets for the mounting of various optics or mounting devices.  The hollow pistol grip has a hinged endcap, which can store various small items (usually batteries or a small cleaning kit).

     Twilight 2000 Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, the MP-2000 was put into limited production starting in 1995; it was used by the US Navy SEALs, US Army Special Forces, German Fernspah troops and the German GSG-9, among others.  The SMG I itself saw far more limited production and use, primarily by US Navy SEALs; less than 200 were built in the Twilight 2000 timeline.  In the Twilight 2000 timeline, the “unknown customer” for the SMG II turned out to be the ISA (Intelligence Support Activity), a little-known composite CIA/military special operations unit.  As the Twilight War went on, spare parts for those SMG IIs got progressively more difficult to get (despite the ISA having several alternate sources for parts), and their SMG IIs had largely fallen into disuse after 1999.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

SMG I

9mm Parabellum

2.78 kg

10, 15, 30

$284

MP-2000

9mm Parabellum

3 kg

10, 15, 30

$373

SMG II

9mm Parabellum

2.81 kg

10, 15, 30

$374

SMG I/SMG II/MP-2000 Silencer

N/A

0.82 kg

N/A

$105

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

SMG I

5

2

Nil

2/4

1

3

17

With Silencer

5

2

Nil

4/5

1

2

14

With Silencer, Subsonic

5

1

Nil

4/5

1

2

12

MP-2000

3/5

2

Nil

2/4

1

1/2

17

With Silencer

3/5

2

Nil

4/5

1

1/2

14

With Silencer, Subsonic

3/5

1

Nil

4/5

1

1/2

12

SMG II

3/5

2

Nil

2/4

1

2/3

17

With Silencer

3/5

2

Nil

4/5

1

1/2

15

With Silencer, Subsonic

3/5

1

Nil

4/5

1

1/2

12

 

Hill H-15

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: Experiments conducted in the 1960s.

     Notes: John L. Hill began thinking about the H-15 design in 1948; however, it wasn’t until the early 1960’s when, caught in a snowstorm in Denver in a machine shop with nowhere to go and nothing to do that the first H-15 was made.  It is a shot-barreled submachinegun designed to be used in one hand or fired two-handed like a large pistol, though a folding wire stock may also be attached to the weapon.  The most striking aspect of the H-15 is the magazine; it is a large clear plastic box that sits atop the weapon with the rounds contained sideways within it, in exactly the same manner that the FN P-90 PDW would use some 30 years later!  It is sort of a “semi-bullpup” design, with the magazine behind and above the pistol grip, and with a barrel which, though short, is longer than one might expect from looking at the weapon.  The experimental weapons he produced had no manual safeties of any sort, though there were some automatic safeties.  Unfortunately, the rather draconian gun regulations present in the US at the time prevented Mr. Hill from making many fully-automatic versions of the H-15, and he could not interest any police or military agencies in the rather novel weapon.  He was basically ahead of his time.  Perhaps 90-100 of these weapons were built, mostly semiautomatic, and only 10 or 11 examples remain in existence today.  (The status of Frankford Arsenal’s H-15 is unknown at this time.)  Most of these were made to fire 9mm Parabellum, but some .380 ACP versions were also built.  The H-15 remains a great example of how ingenious a private arms manufacturer can be.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

H-15

9mm Parabellum

2.27 kg

35

$303

H-15

.380 ACP

1.81 kg

35

$287

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

H-15 (9mm)

5

2

Nil

2/3

1

3

21

H-15 (.380)

5

2

Nil

2/3

2

4

20

 

Howlett JE-1 SMG

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: Tests for new submachinegun to use the .30 Carbine round conducted in the mid-1940s.

     Notes: The JE-1 (with “JE” standing for “Japeradicator”) was a submachinegun designed by a worker at Douglas Aircraft named C.C. Howlett.  While his weapon would now be regarded more as a PDW (Personal Defense Weapon), at the time of its inception it was meant to be a small stockless submachinegun to use the then-new .30 Carbine cartridge, which the US Army hoped would be a round which was lighter and more effective than the .45 ACP when fired from longer-barreled weapons.  The JE-1 was a selective fire weapon based on short blowback operation, with a barrel that recoiled slightly much like that of a pistol, but not as far.  The upper receiver of the weapon was fashioned largely of stamped steel, with a lower receiver of aircraft aluminum. And a wooden pistol grip and fore-end/heat shield.  A simple thumb lever controlled the operation of the weapon, and the barrel was a short 12-inches, finned on the rear third of the barrel for cooling.  As stated before, the barrel had a lower wooden foregrip/heat shield, with a steel, ventilated shield on top of the barrel; the barrel protruded only a fraction of an inch from this affair.  External steel parts were blued, the aluminum was left in natural metal, and the wood laminated.  No tools were required for stripping.  The weapon was designed to be used with two hands, but could be fired with one hand.  For a prototype, the JE-1 was exceptionally well-made, but it was a bit on the heavy side. 

     Unfortunately, though the Army took a long, hard look at the JE-1, and even extensively tested it, they requested several changes – something Mr. Howlett had little money to do.  It was later determined that the JE-1 offered no significant advantages over the M-1 Carbine, and furthermore could not have a grenade launcher or bayonet mounted.  Though the OSS was reportedly quite interested in the JE-1, the Army dropped interest in the weapon, and the end of World War 2 effectively killed the JE-1 completely.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

Howlett JE-1

.30 Carbine

2.72 kg

15, 30

 

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

Howlett JE-1

5

2

1-Nil

2

1

3

21

 

Colt IMP/Bushmaster Rifle/Submachinegun

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: A request by the US Air Force in an attempt to produce better armament for downed pilots.

     Notes:  This weapon was originally designed by the Frankfort Arsenal for use by downed aircrews.  The idea was to give them the equivalent of an assault rifle in a package small enough to be put in their survival kits.  To this end, they developed what they first called the “Arm Gun” (called that because the proper firing position was to hold the bullpup stock against the bicep of the firing arm with the off hand; the original name was the IMP, for Individual Multi-Purpose, so-called because it was originally envisioned for a wider role).  They first experimented with a new cartridge, the .17 caliber Frankfort Arsenal round; this did not give the proper punch, so they switched to .221 Fireball (approximately the same ballistics as the 5.56mm NATO, but lighter).  The military then asked for a switch to the standard 5.56mm NATO round.  The entire program was then scrapped, because the Air Force simply couldn’t figure out how to fit it in the tiny survival packs of fighter pilots.  The three prototypes were all that were built.  They are presented here as an interesting “what-if.”

     While the Bushmaster Arm Gun was unsuccessful, Bushmaster later sold the weapon as a sort of large pistol, and sales of this weapon took off.  The barrel is slightly longer, the weapon is lighter, and the Bushmaster Pistol is designed to be semiautomatic-only, but it is otherwise the same as the 5.56mm NATO version of the Bushmaster Arms Gun.  This weapon was one of the first targets of the Brady Gun Ban, and it is unknown whether Bushmaster plans to pick up production again in the future.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: CivGov acquired Frankfort Arsenal during the confusion in the US after the November Nuclear Strikes.  They took the plans for the Bushmaster and began manufacturing them in 5.56mm NATO for issue to levied militia, particularly horse-mounted troops, vehicle crews, and teenagers.  They built approximately 4000 of them.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

IMP

.17 Frankfort Arsenal

2.1 kg

20, 30

$543

IMP

.221 Fireball

2.68 kg

20, 30

$837

IMP

5.56mm NATO

2.8 kg

20, 30

$863

Bushmaster Pistol

5.56mm NATO

2.38 kg

10, 20, 30

$850

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

IMP (.17)

5

2

1-Nil

3

2

4

12

IMP (.221)

5

2

1-Nil

3

2

5

14

IMP (5.56mm)

5

2

1-Nil

3

3

6

13

Bushmaster Pistol

SA

2

1-Nil

3

3

Nil

14

 

Ingram Lightning M-5

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: Literature of the Lightning Arms Corporation of Post-World War 2.

     Notes: The Model 5 was one of Gordon B Ingram’s first submachinegun designs (Ingram would later become famous for the invention of the M-10 and M-11 submachineguns).  Though the Lightning Arms Corporation fully intended to mass-produce the Model 5, and in fact had what they thought was a firm order from Nicaragua in 1946, ultimately only one prototype was produced.

     Though somewhat superficially resembling the Thompson M-2 submachinegun from the outside, internally the M-5 is a quite different weapon; it is not nearly as complicated a weapon as the Thompson (nor would its real-life price been anywhere as expensive), built primarily from steel stampings and having an internal firing mechanism with only 3 moving parts.  The furniture was of simple hardwood, and the weight of the M-5 was far less than that of the Thompson.  The M-5 also employed a fairly efficient (and advanced, for its time) buffer system which reduced felt recoil despite the lack of any sort of muzzle device.  (In fact, Lightning’s representatives in Nicaragua demonstrated the simplicity and low recoil of the M-5 by having the daughter of a high-ranking political figure fire the weapon on full automatic, which she did quite well!)  Perhaps one of the smallest submachineguns of its time, the M-5 was a mere 25 inches long, yet had a 10-inch barrel, with the barrel being covered by a ventilated barrel shroud.  Feed was from Reising-type magazines, though Lightning advertised (but never made) a 25-round magazine. The prototype had no provision for semiautomatic fire, though production examples were to have selective-fire capability.

     Ultimately, it appears that the M-5 was a victim of the post-World War 2 – as happens after any large war, the world suddenly gets flooded with large amounts of cheap surplus firearms, and Nicaragua found its firearms elsewhere instead of buying the M-5.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

Lightning M-5

.45 ACP

2.72 kg

12, 20, 25

$342

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

Lightning

5

2

Nil

4

2

5

31

 

Ingram M-7/M-8/M-9

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: Various Ingram designs of the early 1950s.

     Notes: Though the Ingram M-6 enjoyed moderate success in 9mm Parabellum, Gordon always preferred the .38 Super cartridge, believing it to be superior 9mm Parabellum and approaching the .45 ACP’s power without having quite the recoil of that cartridge.  He therefore developed an improved version of the M-6, chambered exclusively for the .38 Super cartridge; this submachinegun was known as the M-7.  The M-7 was similar in configuration to the M-6, but had a number of differences internal and external that made it a new gun.  The M-7 fired from a closed instead of an open bolt, and had a receiver made from an aluminum alloy, which was quite unusual at the time.  (Internally, there were steel strengthening spars.)  The M-7 had a slightly higher cyclic rate than the M-6, even in the M-6’s rare .38 Super version (though not high enough to count for game purposes).  The barrel was heavy and finned for cooling and to stiffen the barrel; underneath the barrel was a wooden foregrip, and the stock and pistol grip were made from a single piece of wood.  Unfortunately, POC found no buyers for Ingram’s creation, and only one prototype M-7 was ever built.

     Ingram then slightly modified and improved the M-7, producing the M-8.  The M-8 was again chambered for 9mm Parabellum as well as .45 ACP, and the entire weapon was far easier to field-strip and resistant to dirt.  The charging handle slot had a dust cover added, and the safety would work whether the bolt was forward or back.  By this time (1955), Ingram had left POC, and could not find another US manufacturer to make the M-8.  For a while, it looked like Thailand’s state arms manufacturer was willing to produce the M-8 for both Thai and export purposes, but this deal fell through.  Again, only one prototype was built.

     Ingram returned to the US, where he modified the M-8 to use the sliding stock of the M-3 submachinegun, calling it the M-9.  Again, Ingram was not able to attract any manufacturers, and again only one prototype was built.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

M-7

.38 Super

3.38 kg

30

$328

M-8

9mm Parabellum

3.27 kg

30

$292

M-8

.38 Super

3.38 kg

30

$338

M-8

.45 ACP

3.79 kg

30

$452

M-9

9mm Parabellum

3.1 kg

30

$317

M-9

.38 Super

3.2 kg

30

$353

M-9

.45 ACP

3.59 kg

30

$477

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

M-7

5

2

1-Nil

5

1

3

26

M-8 (9mm)

5

2

Nil

5

1

3

24

M-8 (.38)

5

2

1-Nil

5

1

3

26

M-8 (.45)

5

2

Nil

5

2

5

28

M-9 (9mm)

5

2

Nil

3/5

1

3

24

M-9 (.38)

5

2

1-Nil

3/5

1

3

26

M-9 (.45)

5

2

Nil

3/5

2

5

28

 

LAPA SM M-02

     Country of Origin: Brazil

     Appears in: A weapon designed to replace Brazilian submachineguns in the early 1980s.

     Notes: This Brazilian-made SMG was designed as a companion weapon to the LAPA FA M-03 assault rifle. It is a modern design, perhaps ahead of its time, with the entire body made of high-impact plastic with smooth surfaces. It is short, light, and easy to use. However, Brazilian troops found it, like the FA M-03, a bit strange looking and the Army found training troops to use a radically different sort of weapon costly. It was thus never adopted, and now is firmly in the prevue of exotic weapons collectors and museums.

Twilight 2000 Notes: An initial production batch of about 275 of these weapons was placed into the hands of Brazilian special operations forces, who liked their resistance to dirt and damage. Factories could not be geared up quickly enough to produce this weapon in large quantities, and after the November Nuclear Strikes, the materials to produce it were almost unobtainable. However, the troops who did use the LAPA loved it, since it was virtually indestructible and idiot-proof.

Merc 2000 Notes: This is a Brazilian submachinegun that was adopted for a short time by Brazilian armed forces, and also had some success with foreign sales.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

SM M-02

9mm Parabellum

2.8 kg

20, 30, 32

$284

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

SM M-02

5

2

Nil

4

1

3

21

 

LEL-1

     Appears in: Experiments began by DM (“Carbine” Williams in the 1930s and continued by LE Lisk in the early 1970s.

     Weapon Type: Submachinegun

     Notes: David Marshall “Carbine” Williams (the nickname is from his greatest invention – the M-1 Carbine) began designing a .22 Long Rifle submachinegun soon after selling the M-1 Carbine to the US government.  The idea was to use the weapon as a testbed for a weapon firing a larger caliber.  The weapon, known as the Model 7, had a design which was jealously-guarded by Williams, as he believed it was so innovative that it would be immediately stolen if its plans were known.  Unfortunately, Williams died in 1975 before he was able to make a working prototype of the Model 7 – but not before writing a document giving Williams’ widow permission to allow LE Lisk (and only LE Lisk) to copy or improve upon the design.

     Lisk did improve upon the design, and the eventual prototype produced was called the LEL-1.  It is, essentially, a belt-fed rimfire submachinegun.  Crude and rather lumpish in appearance, it looks like what it is – a first prototype – in software terms, an “alpha” version.  The operation is very similar to that of the M-1919A4, firing from a closed bolt, pulling the belt in from the right side, and ejecting brass from the bottom of the receiver.  The charging sequence is unusual in that the bolt must be cycled twice before the weapon is ready for operation.  Unlike the M-1919A4, however, the barrel does not move during operation; instead, the LEL-1 has a “floating chamber” which moves by itself instead of taking the barrel with it.  The belts themselves are made from cloth, and since no loading machine (Williams designed one, but neither Williams nor Lisk ever built it) was ever made for them, loading the belts is quite a bear of a job that tends to put blisters on one’s fingers.  There are no sights of any kind; they were to be designed and placed on later models.  The LEL-1 has a sliding wire stock, but no sort of safety mechanism (again, this was to be added later).  Most of the weapon is made from aluminum.  Like alpha software, the LEL-1 has a number of features which don’t actually work, but were meant to be working in the final examples of the weapon.  The LEL-1 has a cocking knob, but it was left disconnected; instead, one must open the top cover, pull the bolt back with a finger (like the M-3A1 Grease Gun), then do it again.  The LEL-1 also has a knob-like protrusion at the rear of the receiver.  In later examples, this would have adjusted the cyclic rate, but the actual feature is not present in the LEL-1. 

     LE Lisk demonstrated the weapon to the US Army at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds.  The Army was not really as interested in the weapon as they were to see how it works; however, Lisk would not permit an internal inspection of it, fearing the Army would steal the design before any contracts were signed.  Lisk went as far as taking the LEL-1 with him to lunch, keeping his foot on it the entire time.  (This secrecy continues to this day.)  The Army refused to even consider any sort of contracts before they made a full, disassembled inspection of the LEL-1.  Thus there was a classic standoff, with the Army and Lisk parting ways rather quickly, and no one ever manufacturing the LEL-1.  Lisk also never continued work on the design (as far as is known).  Lisk seems to have lost interest in firearms design after the death of his wife in 2002.  Thus the LEL-1 remains an interesting design seemingly with much unrealized potential.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

LEL-1

.22 Long Rifle

5.44 kg

100 Belt, 250 Belt, 1000 Belt

$221

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

LEL-1

25

1

Nil

2/4

1

3

21

 

Len Savage Calico/MAC

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: An experimental weapon made by Len Savage.

     Notes: This “Frankenweapon” is the result of one of those “what the hell” moments of inspiration that often lead to something strange and/or innovative.  The Calico/MAC is pretty much what it sounds like – a combination of the Calico M-900 pistol and the M-10 submachinegun in 9mm Parabellum.  Though the result does look primarily like a modified M-10 with a Calico magazine atop the receiver, looking closely will reveal many other Calico elements.  The M-10’s upper receiver is heavily modified to feed from the Calico’s helical magazine, and internally a number of Calico parts are also used.  His original version used a fixed wooden stock, but later he removed the wooden stock and replaced with a folding Calico stock.  In addition, the foregrip and protector of an MP-5K was also used.  Behind that is a short MIL-STD-1913 rail.  The M-10’s bolt is essentially flipped upside down, and mated with elements of the Calico, particularly the magazine “well” and feed chute.  The barrel is a mere 5.4 inches.  Though Mr. Savage hopes for sales to the military and police, he is not necessarily optimistic in this regard, and the Calico/MAC may remain simply a “one-off.”

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

Calico/MAC

9mm Parabellum

4.35 kg

50 Helical

$280

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

Calico/MAC

10

2

Nil

1/3

1

3

18

 

Morgan M-101C

     Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: Special operations weapon experiment in the early 1970s.

     Notes: Though I have placed this weapon in the submachinegun category, this is more because of the caliber than anything else; the M-101C is actually more a carbine than a submachinegun, with several unusual features to boot.  Jim Morgan introduced the M-101C in 1974 as a demonstrator in 1974 to the US military; almost all of the military officers and NCOs who tested it agreed that it was an excellent design which would be extremely useful to the US military (the special ops troops of the time were especially interested in it), but the shortsighted brass at the Pentagon thought of it as merely another submachinegun, and they decided that the US military did not need any submachineguns.  (Ironically, the M-101C was a demonstrator, and Morgan could easily have modified it for other barrel lengths, chamberings, etc.)  Therefore, the testers were pissed, the Pentagon ignored it, and the M-101C died a sad, quiet death, with Morgan going on to other projects.

     The M-101C demonstrator was chambered for 9mm Parabellum and used a 16.4-inch barrel tipped with a conical flash hider.  It was astonishingly easy to field strip, breaking down into only 7 parts.  Armorer maintenance was not much more difficult.  The M-101C was very resistant to the extremes of nature.  Despite its blowback operation, the M-101C used what was essentially a reciprocal recoil mass movement (perhaps the first use of such a principal in a small arm) to greatly reduce recoil.  In addition, the M-101C had essentially a straight-line configuration, which also reduced barrel climb (and was, incidentally, all the rage at the time).  Morgan himself admitted that the barrel was not made of steel which was of military specifications – it was, in fact, much stronger than military-grade barrel steel.  (For one demonstration, Morgan plugged the barrel and fired live ammunition through it.  The inside of the barrel was ruined, but that’s all that happened.  You wouldn’t want to try that with your average military small arm!)  The M-101C also had innovative features to allow dozens of magazines to be fired without any significant barrel or chamber heating problems.  Morgan designed a special coating to reduce the need for lubricants and cleaning (though he wasn’t dumb enough to think the M-101C didn’t require lubricants or cleaning of any sort…)

     In addition, Morgan designed two other features which were ahead of the times.  One was a collimator-type sight with a slight magnification and an illuminated red dot, designed specifically for quick aiming – something which is now in common use by military forces worldwide.  The second is even more interesting – the TAR-1.

     The TAR-1 (Tactical Assault Rocket) was a 127mm rocket-assisted explosive shell – essentially, a RAW-type weapon, but predating the RAW by over a decade.  Like the RAW, the TAR-1 was fired from an adapter attached to the muzzle of the M-101C, and actuated by a standard round being fired through the M-101C.  The adapter was reusable, and the rocket charge gave it a range which was astounding when used in direct fire – and even more astounding in indirect fire.  Like the M-101C itself, the TAR-1 was a demonstrator weapon – Morgan had a plethora of ideas for variants of the TAR-1, though only an HE-Blast-type version was ever actually made.

     In my mind, the M-101C is another one of those “too bad” weapons – as in too bad it wasn’t further developed and adopted for the US military.  The Pentagon really missed the boat on this one, primarily due to ignorance and prejudice against what they believed was “just another submachinegun.”

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

M-101C

9mm Parabellum

3.36 kg

40

$510

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

M-101C

5

2

2-Nil

5

1

2

36

 

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight*

Price*

TAR-1

127mm RAM Grenade

0.84/5 kg

$120/200

 

Weapon

ROF

SS

Damage

Pen

Range

IFR

TAR-1

1/2

2

C24  B34

12C

250

3750

*Weight and price are for the adapter/grenade.

 

PLJ

     Country of Origin: Unknown (Possibly Italy or the former Yugoslavia)

     Appears In: Immediate post-World War 2, but probably existed during World War 2.

     Notes: The PLJ is a stockless submachinegun whose origin is a mystery.  Even the name of the weapon is a mystery; “PLJ” is derived from some weapon markings that seem to indicate the designation of the weapon, but may not be.  The PLJ is a rare weapon, and was a rare weapon even immediately post-World War 2.  Specimens have recently turned up in Slovenia, but these are in bad shape.  The weapons appears that, even when new, construction quality was not the best; it may have been built as an ad hoc weapon by resistance forces in whatever machine shops were available. One might even argue whether the PLJ is in fact a true submachinegun or simply a large machine pistol.  The PLJ is largely made from a single iron casting, with some parts of the receiver being zinc; steel appears to have been reserved for the working parts and the barrel.  The grip is of checkered wood, and the entire weapon appears to be crudely made.  The receiver is mostly made of an iron tube, with the end secured by a screw-on cap.  The 7.87-inch barrel is tapered and has a post-type front sight with a large hood around it.  The rear sight is a simple notch.  The cocking knock is large, and also functions as a safety, with the knob and lever moved into a position that locks the bolt.  The weapon is selective fire, but in a strange way – normal pressure on the trigger gives automatic fire, but if the bottom of the trigger is pulled instead of the middle of the trigger, semiautomatic fire will result.  The PLJ would be difficult to control on automatic fire, being light, having no stock, and no foregrip. What magazines were used with the PLJ have been lost; I have used an estimate below.  Likewise, examples existing today are not in firing condition and the cyclic rate is unknown, and I have used an estimate for this. Even the intended ammunition is a bit of a mystery; the chamber seems to fit both the 9mm Parabellum round and the 9mm Glisenti round.

      Twilight 2000 Notes: This weapon is noteworthy in Twilight 2000 because it represents the kind of weapon that might be made in various machine shops in the aftermath of the Twilight War.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

PLJ

9mm Parabellum or 9mm Glisenti

2.2 kg

25, 30, 32

$252

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

PLJ (9mm Parabellum)

5

2

Nil

2

1

5

20

PLJ (9mm Glisenti)

5

2

Nil

2

1

5

20

 

Policarpa 22-2

     Country of Origin: International

     Appears in: Built by different companies on and off for several decades, never in large numbers.

     Notes: The origins of the Policarpa 22-2 are not entirely certain; a similar weapon was possibly invented in Austria by Heinrich Von Wimmersperg in 1925, but he may have based his work on the design of one or more other people.  Von Wimmersperg’s design seems to have sort of disappeared, but a similar weapon again cropped up in the late 1960s in the US, where the Venus Corporation of Michigan has acquired the rights for manufacture.  It appears that only a few prototypes were built by Venus, but for a short time, it was manufactured in small numbers by a Columbian company named Policarpa.  Just to make things stranger, it appears that the US government bought a few of these weapons for covert operations, and it is possible that Mitch WerBell devised a special T-shaped suppressor for the Policarpa 22-2.  Rumors of its use in US covert operations persist here and there, but it is known that Policarpa never sold many, and today the Policarpa 22-2 is essentially a curiosity item owned primarily by a few lucky collectors.

     A little large to be a machine pistol and a little small to be a submachinegun (it’s almost a foot long, but the barrels are just a little over 4 inches each), the Policarpa 22-2 is a twin-barreled .22 Long-Rifle-firing automatic weapon able to fire most .22 Long Rifle rounds on the market today and at the time of its inception.  (The US government is believed to have used the Policarpa with subsonic ammunition.)  It is fed by what are essentially a pair of 22-round magazines joined together, each side of the magazine feeding one barrel.  The Policarpa is well-balanced enough for one-handed use, and it does not have any sort of shoulder stock.  Construction is largely of cast or machined steel, with a hollow grip that is meant to contain a small cleaning kit.  There are ejection ports on either side of the receiver.  Semiautomatic fire occurs in an alternating manner from both barrels (first the left barrel, then the right), automatic fire is basically the same, except for the automatic fire.  The trigger is two stage, with a short pull firing the Policarpa on semiautomatic, and a long pull firing it on fully automatic.  A safety lever is located on the right side of the receiver, and simply allows the Policarpa to fire or be safed.  The magazine release is located just above the magazine well.  It is not possible to fire the Policarpa with only one side of the magazine loaded or though only one barrel; it’s both or nothing.  The mechanism, with its extending and retracting firing pins, makes runaway fire almost impossible and allows for clearing a jam much quicker and easier.

      In the end, the Policarpa sold poorly, probably due to the low-power ammunition it fires and the limited range of applications.  Though there have been persistent rumors of its use throughout the years here and there, particularly by the US, it is has never been confirmed that that any major government, army, or police force has used the Policarpa 22-2, and it is unknown how many were actually built and sold.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

Policarpa 22-2

.22 Long Rifle

1.3 kg

44

$216

(With Silencer)

.22 Long Rifle

1.6 kg

44

$246

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

Policarpa 22-2

20

1

Nil

1

1

10

14

(With Silencer)

20

1

Nil

2

1

9

11

 

S&S SS-1 Sidewinder

       Country of Origin: United States

     Appears in: Literature of the 1980s.

     Notes: The origins of this weapon are interesting.  Delta was looking for weapons that would help them during Operation Eagle Claw, the abortive rescue of the hostages from the Iranian Embassy in 1980.  One thing that Delta was looking for was a weapon that their operators could fire while roping down from helicopters (fast roping had not yet been developed).  Two weapon designers, Sid McQueen and Donald Packingham, had been developing just such a weapon for some time, but the design proceeded slowly, primarily due lack of government interest – until the preparation for Eagle Claw began.  Suddenly, Delta was very interested in the Sidewinder.

     By 1980, S&S had four advanced Sidewinder prototypes (EX-002 in 9mm Parabellum, and EX-004 in 45 ACP).  All were designed to be fired with one hand or two, were bullpup designs, and extremely well-balanced.  The receiver and magazine could be rotated 180 degrees, without taking apart the weapon – one simply depressed a lever on the pistol grip while holding it vertically.  (A later version, the  EX-020 does not have this feature, for reasons which will become apparent in a moment.)  This allowed it to be used by both right and left-handed shooters with equal ease, and could also allow shooters to shoot around left or right-hand corners quite easily.  Construction was largely of a simple steel tube, with a steel barrel.  The top of the receiver had a mount for a variety of collimator, laser aiming, or night vision sights.  Fire selection was done by trigger depression – a short pull gave semiautomatic fire, while a full trigger pull gave automatic fire.  The stock was simply a padded crescent-shaped steel piece – this was at the end of the main tube on EX-002 and EX-004, while on EX-003 and EX-020, a sliding stock and a shortened main tube were used.  Caliber conversion was quite easy, consisting merely of changing the barrel, reversing the bolt, and changing the magazine.  The magazine well had a projection which could be used as a speedloader for the magazines; the magazines used were Sten magazines for the 9mm Parabellum chambering, and M-3 Grease Gun magazines for the .45 ACP chambering.  All but the EX-020 prototype were fed from the side of the receiver; EX-020 used traditional feed (from the underside of the receiver).  The trigger guard swings downwards for use with heavy gloves.  Fire controls are ambidextrous, as is the magazine release.

     A peculiarity of all Sidewinders is the cocking knob.  It is located at the center of the rear portion of the rear of the main tube, offset to one side.  On all but the EX-020, the cocking knob reciprocates with the mechanism – which could lead to the knob hitting the shooter in the face if fired from the shoulder.  As a result, S&S recommended that those versions should have the receiver rotated to the left if the shooter is right-handed and to the right if the shooter is left-handed.  (The ejection port is far enough forward was to not present a problem in this regard.  The EX-020 prototype has a non-reciprocating knob and therefore this is not a problem.

     Though it is all very hush-hush, and to this day nothing official has come out, it is believed that Delta took two Sidewinders to Eagle Claw – the EX-003 prototype (an EX-002 with a caliber conversion capability, a Weaver sight base with backup iron sights, an extra fire selection setting (3-round burst), and a sliding stock); and the EX-005 prototype (an EX-004 with similar modifications except for the 3-round burst selector).  Delta’s evaluations of the Sidewinder are still classified, but they apparently did not accept it for use after Eagle Claw.  The EX-005 prototype in .45 ACP is identical to the EX-020 for game purposes; the EX-005 prototype in 9mm Parabellum is identical to the EX-020 prototype in 9mm except for the magazine it uses.

     The final variation of the Sidewinder, the EX-020 prototype, did not appear until after Eagle Claw.  Most of the differences are noted above, but it also had something the other prototypes did not have – a manual safety.  The EX-020 also is much easier to field-strip and for armorers to work on, and in its 9mm iteration uses Uzi magazines instead of Sten magazines.

     Unfortunately, no country’s military or police forces accepted the Sidewinder, and it became another footnote in history.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

EX-002 Prototype

9mm Parabellum

2.04 kg

32

$282

EX-003 Prototype

9mm Parabellum

2.13 kg

32

$413

EX-003 Prototype

.45 ACP

2.24 kg

30

$665

EX-004 Prototype

.45 ACP

2.15 kg

30

$449

EX-005 Prototype

9mm Parabellum

2.13 kg

32

$324

EX-020 Prototype

9mm Parabellum

2.13 kg

20, 25, 32

$324

EX-005/020 Prototype

.45 ACP

2.24 kg

30

$467

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

EX-002

10

2

Nil

3/4

2

8

22

EX-003 (9mm)

3/10

2

Nil

3/4

1

2/6

22

EX-003 (.45 ACP)

3/10

2

2-Nil

3/4

2

3/11

23

EX-004

10

2

2-Nil

3

2

12

23

EX-005/020 (9mm)

10

2

Nil

3/4

1

6

22

EX-005/020 (.45)

10

2

2-Nil

3/4

2

11

23

 

TSNIITOCHMASH Basksan

     Country of Origin: Russia

     Appears in: Pretty much nothing anymore, though there was a lot of buzz about the Baksan in the early 1990s.

     Notes: The Baksan (called by many in the West the Busksun) is somewhat of an enigma; though the manufacturer insists they have several prototypes of the weapon, and even that the Russian military and police has tested it as a PDW, only literature and drawings (including CAD-based plans) have been seen in public, with no actual hardware having been produced for examination by the public.  It is therefore understandable (at least to myself) why there have been no takers of the Baksan, and why the Russians say they don’t even use it.  In fact, the attempted marketing of the Baksan appears to have stopped in 1995; no one has seen or heard anything about the Baksan since that time, and it is uncertain whether it will ever appear again.

     As far as can be told, the Baksan appears to be a Russian attempt at a PDW.  It is, according to the information that was released, an extremely compact weapon, short-barreled weapon with a folding wire stock; its configuration, with the magazine in its pistol grip, lends itself to firing as a large pistol as well as a conventional submachinegun/PDW.  Of course, the light weight, as with all such weapons, does not really lend itself to accurate automatic fire, even with the stock extended.  The operation is by delayed blowback, possibly making recoil even worse, though TSNIITOCHMASH hints at internal mechanisms to reduce the recoil.  In addition, the 8-inch barrel is tipped with a rudimentary muzzle brake, though the design of this brake would seen to indicate that it would not only be rather ineffective, but that it would produce a lot of muzzle blast as well.  The wire stock folds forward almost to the end of the muzzle brake.  Construction is also a bit of a mystery, though it appears that the Baksan might have a light alloy lower, a steel upper, and a polymer pistol grip and handguard.  Sights appear to be simple fixed notch-and-blade.  Feed is from a 20-round magazine (again, composition unknown) which fits entirely within the pistol grip and has a slightly-extended floor plate to make the pistol grip flat-bottomed.  The trigger mechanism is also unknown, but appears to have a rather short pull length.  There is an optional foregrip under the handguard.

     Of course, due to the relative dearth of information, there have been many guesses made, both by myself and analysts in general.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: Limited use of the Baksan was made by the Russians in the Twilight War, primarily by airborne and air assault command personnel and some vehicle drivers.  Russian special ops apparently either didn’t like the Baksan or preferred heavier weapons.  Many Russian troops found the firing signature caused by the muzzle blast to be quite a detriment at night, easily giving away their position and spoiling their night vision (or even blinding them for a few precious seconds when wearing older night vision goggles).  The 9mm Parabellum version does not exist in the Twilight 2000 timeline.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

Baksan

9mm Makarov or Makarov Hi-Impulse

1.8 kg

20

$327

Baksan

9mm Parabellum

1.81 kg

20

$329

Baksan

9mm Gurza

1.87 kg

20

$343

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

Baksan (9mm Makarov)

5

2

2-Nil

2/3

2

4

20

With Stock

5

2

2-Nil

2/3

1

3

23

Baksan (9mm Hi-Impulse)

5

2

1-1-Nil

2/3

2

5

24

With Stock

5

2

1-1-Nil

2/3

1

4

28

Baksan (9mm Parabellum)

5

2

2-Nil

2/3

2

4

21

With Stock

5

2

2-Nil

2/3

1

3

25

Baksan (9mm Gurza)

5

2

1-1-Nil

2/3

2

4

24

With Stock

5

2

1-1-Nil

2/3

1

3

29

 

Vesely V-42

     Country of Origin: Britain

     Appears In: An experimental submachinegun designed for the British Army in World War 2.

     Notes: Labeled a “Machine Carbine,” as the British called submachineguns at the time, the V-42 was one of three related weapons designed to be lightweight, easy to produce (though it could not match later models of the Sten in that respect), and provide superior firepower.  The V-42 series was designed by an escapee from Czechoslovakia named Josef Vesely, who wanted to give back to his country of refuge.  It was a typical submachinegun of the period, something we might call a carbine today due to its size.  (The barrel alone is 10 inches.) It was also much like the submachineguns of the period in that it used straight blowback operation.  The V-42 used a wooden stock, normally of beech and varnished; the V-41 appears to be a prototype of the V-42, and it’s construction is almost identical to the V-42. The V-43 was designed for paratroopers; the stock is user-removable.  In both cases, the weapons can take a spike-type bayonet which fits over the barrel and forward barrel jacket. The selector lever is split into two mechanisms; the first selected between semiautomatic and automatic, and the second put the weapon on safe.

     The most unusual feature of the V-42 is its feed system and the associated magazines.  The magazines held 60 rounds in a double stack configuration, but not a double stack as we think of one today. The rounds sat in the magazine in two columns (29 in the front and 31 in the rear), one column in front of the other.  The feed mechanism holds the rear column of rounds depressed below the path of the bolt until the front stack is empty.  At this point, a switch is used to allow rounds to feed from the rear stack.  This allowed for more ammunition, with less magazine changes, but it’s not like having a normal 60-round magazine.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

V-42

9mm Parabellum

3.25 kg

29/31 (60)

$298

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

V-42

10

2

1-Nil

4

1

5

26

 

W/99 Submachinegun 

     Notes: This weapon is not a real weapon; it appeared in an article in Challenge magazine, and I have added to the back story.  It is, however, illustrative of the type of weapons that would probably appear in the wake of World War 3.    

     Twilight 2000 Notes: Produced by the Wojchiechowiecz armaments factory in Krakow, the W/99 is almost an exact copy of the Soviet W.W.II submachinegun the PPS-42/43.  The weapon is entirely stamped from steel except for the barrel and bolt, and spot-welded together.  The only non-metal parts are the wooden grips and a small piece of leather acting as a buffer for the bolt.  The perforated barrel jacket extends beyond the muzzle to act as a muzzle brake and compensator, a curved 35 round box magazine is used; and the skeleton steel butt folds across the top of the gun body.  A simple safety catch is fitted in the front edge of the trigger guard, and there is no provision for single shots.  Finish on the W/99 is non-existent, rough welds and grinding marks being apparent all over the weapon. 

     Merc 2000 Notes: This weapon is not available in the Merc 2000 World.

Weapon

Ammunition

Weight

Magazines

Price

W/99

7.62mm Tokarev

3.9 kg

35

$306

 

Weapon

ROF

Damage

Pen

Bulk

SS

Burst

Range

W/99

5

2

Nil

4/5

Nil

2

17