by Pierangelo Tendas

From 1969 to 1988, Italy bore the brunt of the wave of political terrorism that hit Europe as a whole: bombings, shootings, kidnappings, robberies, and attacks against law enforcement, politicians, and magistrates by both extreme left-wing and extreme right-wing militant armed groups ended up killing over 400 people and wounding well over 1000. On top of this, the 1970s saw the rise of international terrorism, particularly by radical Middle Eastern groups; from 1973 to 1989, attacks by Palestinian terrorists against Italy and Italian assets all through the world killed 66 people and wounded more than 130.

Just like their counterparts more or less all over the world, the Italian firearms industry went on to study numerous solutions that could integrate the lessons learned from both the experience of law enforcement operators and that of the militaries in the recent conflicts around the globe – last but not least, the American experience in Vietnam – into practical solutions to tackle this kind of threat. Some would be more commercially successful than others, although, as in many other cases, more often than not, the most interesting products would be the brainchild of this or that underdog.

Headquartered in the city of Turin, the Società Italiana Tecnologie Speciali S.p.A. company (“Italian Company for Special Technologies, Ltd.”), best known by the acronym SITES, was established and led by two engineers – Roberto Teppa and Claudio Gritti, with a third engineer, Franco Manassero, acting as the CEO – spent some time evaluating the pros and cons of existing firearms in an attempt to create what would be the best all-round sub-machine gun for all law enforcement uses… from patrol (most law enforcement back in the day, and still today, relying on SMGs as their patrol long guns in lieu of the shotguns and semi-automatic carbines more popular in the U.S.) to close protection, from special operations to counter-insurgency.

The first iteration of their project, called the Spectre Model 2, was first showcased in 1983 and began production in 1985. By 1988, a few modifications concerning the manufacturing specs of certain components were implemented; the changes are detailed in our article by J.M. Ramos published on SAR V4N8 (May 2001), Volume 4. The result, dubbed the Model 4 – or SITES Spectre M4 for short – was manufactured by SITES from 1988 to 1998, with some variants still being assembled as late as in 2001.

Italian Innovation

In the highly competitive field of small arms manufacturing of the 1980s, the SITES Spectre was a blend of tradition and innovation. Built around a stamped steel receiver, with a trigger group assembly manufactured out of the same materials and very little synthetic components outside of the pistol grip and its foregrip, the Spectre wasn’t a featherweight by a long shot, weighing in at 2.9 kilograms (about 6.4 pounds) when empty.

What made it absolutely unique was its technical layout. Teppa and Gritti wanted the SITES Spectre to be ready to deploy and operate at a moment’s notice, without sacrificing performance, reliability, or safety. As strange as it seems, they did so by doing without a manual safety. The SITES Spectre was the world’s first sub-machine gun – and as of today, it remains the only mass-produced SMG – to employ a SA/DA trigger with no external safety, replaced by a decocker.

A half-moon selector, located right above the trigger guard on both sides and activated by the shooter’s index finger, only provided two positions – “S” for semi-automatic, and “F” for full-automatic. An ambidextrous lever located at thumb reach over the pistol grip could be activated to decock the gun, requiring a deliberate, long trigger pull to fire off the first shot, with all subsequent shots being fired in single-action. This made accidental or negligent discharges of the SITES Spectre basically impossible while still keeping the gun always ready for action.

The SITES Spectre was a hammer-fired, delayed-blowback, closed bolt design, with a peculiar two-part bolt and a dual recoil spring. When a round is chambered, the front portion of the bolt, which also houses the firing pin and the extractor, moves forward while the rear portion remains locked back, engaged to the sear, and acts as a hammer, to be released on the striker when the trigger is pulled. Both components travel rearwards together after the SMG is fired, but once the empty case is extracted and ejected, only the front portion slams back forward, loading a fresh round in chamber while the rear portion engages the sear and stays locked back until the trigger is pulled again. The timing of the interaction between these two separate masses creates the opening delay that makes the SITES Spectre safe for use in all calibers it was built for – but we’ll talk about those later.

Additionally, the two-part bolt was advertised as a “forced convection” device, a safety feature against overheating: the alternate movement of the two components would pump air around the chamber and the barrel, reducing the temperature of the system during sustained fire and thus the danger of a cook-off. That may seem redundant – a closed-bolt firearm is definitely more prone to cook-off than an open-bolt firearm, but a sub-machine gun is hardly the kind of weapon that will likely experience a cook-off – but, if anything, the bolt design also had the advantage of reducing moving masses at any given time, thus making the SITES Spectre extremely stable and controllable, with very low felt recoil and muzzle climb, and reliable even with high or very high-pressure ammunition (it was rated for 9mm Luger up to +P+ by the Italian military and government entities that procured it.)

Readily Ambidextrous, Suppressor-ready

Aside from the previously mentioned ambidextrous selector and decocker, the only other controls on the SITES Spectre are the non-reciprocating charging handle and the magazine release catch.

The former is located on top of the receiver and consists of a flat polymer lever with two serrated studs on both sides. An improvement from the first-iteration Model 2 (which featured an UZI-style cocking knob), the charging handle of the SITES Spectre M4 can be operated by the shooter’s index finger and thumb, with either hand, and doesn’t interfere with the sighting plan, nor with the position of the buttstock.

The magazine release is a flat button located within the trigger guard, just behind the magazine well, and by pushing it with their trigger finger, the shooter releases the hook that retains the magazine in place. Both controls can be operated by left-handed or right-handed shooters, making the SITES Spectre one of the very first fully ambidextrous firearms of modern times.

The SITES Spectre M4 fed through proprietary quad-stack, single-feed magazines manufactured out of sheet metal, inspired (at least in concept, if not officially) by the Finnish Suomi KP/31 “coffin” mags, and offered in two capacities – 30 and 50 rounds. The 30-round magazine was as tall as a pack of cigarettes, while the 50-round mag was as long as a standard 30- or 32-round mag used by any other SMG of the time. Reduced masses made the SITES Spectre more easily concealable – a plus for law enforcement operators working close protection details – while still packing enough ammunition to engage in sudden, high-intensity firefights and get the upper hand.

The SITES Spectre was fitted from factory with a 13 cm (5.11-inch) barrel, with a rather unusual sinusoidal rifling; similar in concept to the Sabatti MRR Multi-Radial Rifling pattern of modern manufacture, the SITES Spectre’s sinusoidal rifling consisted essentially of polygon rifling with softer edges between lands and grooves, which the bullet was thus allowed to fill better, acting as a gas seal as it traveled through the barrel, allowing very little (if any) gas to escape around the lands and maximizing propulsion efficiency.

Upon request, the SITES Spectre M4 could be obtained with a slightly longer, threaded barrel that would take a purpose-built silencer, manufactured entirely out of steel and dubbed the EM-F2. The sinusoidal rifling and the “gas seal effect” it achieved made the EM-F2 suppressor particularly effective, even with supersonic loads.

The SITES Spectre came from factory with an up-folding sheet metal stock, held in the closed position by a metal clamp that engaged the top ventilation holes of the barrel shroud and was thus very easy to deploy and not nearly as uncomfortable as other sheet metal stocks of sub-machine guns from the same era. The stock was cut on top – a reminiscence of the Model 2 pre-production model, where the stock had to have clearance for the UZI-style cocking knob – and even when closed, provides unobstructed view of the sights, specifically a fixed polymer rear sight and an elevation-adjustable front post, zeroed from factory for a 50-meter range (about 164 feet).

The SITES Spectre M4 strips very easily: with the chamber clear, hammer down, and magazine removed, the user only needs to open the stock and pull out the passing pin that integrates the rear sling swivel – which can be installed to the rear or left side, by the way – in order to remove the receiver end cap with the recoil springs and guide rods and slide the two-part bolt out. At this point, the entire trigger group assembly is removed from the bottom of the receiver. Additional stripping includes the removal of the barrel, which requires the use of a hex key to loosen the barrel retaining block nut.

Multicaliber… But Not Exactly

The SITES Spectre M4 was initially advertised as being available in three calibers: 9mm Luger, 45 ACP, and later, 40 Smith & Wesson. In reality, virtually all the select-fire Spectres still in existence are in 9mm Luger, and their recorded cyclic rate in full-automatic fire ranges between 850 and 900 rounds per minute, with the utmost level of reliability; the issues with the selector experienced by a well-known Guntuber with a full-automatic SITES Spectre in early August this year are to be attributed to the wear and tear and lack of maintenance of the individual firearm being tested rather than to inherent engineering or manufacturing issues.

The ergonomics of the SITES Spectre M4 were very reminiscent of those of the Beretta PM-12S, Italy’s main service sub-machine gun of the day. The Spectre might have been considered significantly superior due to the closed bolt operation and ambidextrous capabilities, but its lack of widespread acceptance and adoption among Italian government, military and law enforcement customers came down to the Italian authorities’ long-rooted reluctance in subjecting their personnel to extensive retraining. This, and in the fact that SITES was, after all, a small company, incapable of meeting the production volumes that a major government contract would entail.

This said, certain special units within the Italian military and law enforcement communities did procure significant quantities of the SITES Spectre M4, which was deployed as late as during the Italian participation to ISAF and the circa 2015 Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan. Confirmed international customers include Switzerland, France, and in the early 1990s, the South African Defence Forces and the governments of the freshly independent Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

SITES also manufactured three semi-automatic variants of the Spectre M4 for international commercial sales to civilian shooters and private security personnel, dubbed respectively the “Falcon,” the “Spectre HC,” and the “Ranger.”

The SITES Falcon was the civilian version of the Spectre M4 as sold in Italy; chambered in 9×21 IMI but also available in 40 Smith & Wesson and 45 HP (45 ACP would remain banned for civilians in Italy until the year 2000 and 9mm Luger wouldn’t be made legal until the year 2022), the Falcon was an outright Spectre M4, with the lack of select-fire capabilities but retaining the original foregrip and upfolding sheet metal stock.

The Spectre HC was the version for the U.S. civilian market, available in 9mm Luger, 40 Smith & Wesson, and 45 ACP, and imported first by FIE Inc. of Hialeah, FL then by American Arms, Inc. of Garden Grove, CA.

In order to comply with the 1934 National Firearms Act and the 1968 Gun Control Act, the Spectre HC came equipped with a manual safety located where the fire selector on the Spectre M4 would be, and of course didn’t feature either the upfolding stock and the foregrip of the original, which largely reduced its ergonomics. The Spectre HC was banned by name by the 1994 Assault Weapons Ban and by similar state laws passed around the same time, in effect killing the presence of the SITES Spectre on the U.S. market.

Last, the SITES Ranger was a pistol-caliber carbine version for the Italian civilian market; manufactured in a handful of samples in 9×18mm Police, then solely in 9×21 IMI, the SITES Ranger was essentially the same as the Falcon, only with a slightly longer, unthreaded barrel. In order to comply with the Italian laws of the time, the stock of the SITES Ranger was locked in the open position and the 30-round magazine was pinned to a maximum capacity of 10 rounds (the same as the SITES Falcon, pistol, its magazine was similarly pinned to 15 rounds); but by “pinned” we mean literally, as the company used simple non-rebated passing pins that Italian shooters could, and often did, remove with a simple pin punch, returning the magazines to the original capacity and the stock to full function.

A 16-inch barrel PCC version of the Spectre was advertised briefly on the U.S. market, but, to our knowledge, not many were actually imported. FIE imported approximately 1,500 Spectre HC pistols, all in 9mm Luger, while American Arms imported a gross total of 4,000 samples, over 3,500 of which were in 9mm, only 300 in 40 Smith & Wesson, and less than 100 in 45 ACP.

When SITES closed permanently in 1998, the existing stock of parts for the Spectre M4 and its civilian counterparts was picked up by Claudio Gritti, who moved to Lugano, Switzerland, and established his own company – Greco Sport S.A. – which continued to assemble and sell them until 2001. The legacy of the Spectre M4 lives own, however, with BCM Europearms of Italy still working on the PM4 Storm pistol, which we wrote about on SmallArmsReview.com back in June.

By J.M. Ramos

The Italian firm of Sites S.P.A. was founded in 1982 in Torino under the direction of Dott. Ing. Franco Manassero. The company specializes in the design and production of light weapons for modern warfare, particularly for anti-terrorism, counter-guerrilla and unconventional warfare. The design of the company’s first entry weapon, the Spectre, is the result of an analysis carried out by Sites research and development team based on the experience of 12 years of terrorism in Italy (1970-1982), as well as other terrorist’s activities and guerrilla warfare waged in various parts of the world.

The following are brief excerpts from the company’s analysis which led to the final design specification of the Spectre, a fourth generation submachinegun that truly posseses innovations that can be called totally new and radical since the introduction of the first submachinegun, the Italian Villar Perosa of 1915.

The question raised more often in combat or defence at close-range cannot be answered merely by technological research and development of weaponry and ammunition. The only adequate solution to a problem on which men’s lives or even the destiny of a nation is at stake, lies primarily in a careful analysis of the relationship between the weapon and his user as well as the result of their interaction. This analysis should not begin with the weapon, or ammunition, but the user himself. It is very important to understand the implications of close-range combat (40-10 meters). We must consider the psycho-physical reaction capability of a man under attack, the surprise factor, the effectiveness of training, the panic factor, the effect of panic on motion co-ordination, reaction time under extreme stress, reflex reactions and psychological conditioning. These findings can lead to the identification of the characteristics from which we can develop and create the mechanical aids (weapon and ammunition) as efficient as possible to overcome an aggressor or save lives.

The first pre-production model of the 9mm Spectre submachinegun was introduced at the 1983 AUSA convention in Washington. The actual production of the weapon did not start until 1985. It was designated the Spectre M2.

FEATURES OF THE
SPECTRE MODEL-2
SUBMACHINEGUN:

The Spectre submachinegun represents the most radical close-quarter fourth generation submachinegun today. The weapon brings together a series of unique technical innovations, making it a revolutionary “new submachinegun” – more effective and safer than any weapon in its class. Spectre is the first automatic weapon in the world firing 900 rpm with three-action blow-back firing system.

Consequently, the weapon fires from a close-bolt principle assuring less mechanical distraction during firing as opposed to an “open-bolt” system incorporating heavy breech block mechanism. In addition, the three-action movement provides the weapon an exceptionally smooth firing cycle. The excellent stability results in an absence of climb with only minimal vibration during full automatic fire. The initial result from these advantages is extra-ordinary accuracy and the possibility of being able to fire the weapon accurately with one hand in the event of an emergency.

The Spectre offers maximum safety and instant readiness by eliminating unnecessary manually operated mechanism that would normally prevent accidental discharges in all type of combat scenarios. Similar classes of weapons may likely fail if dropped, jarred, hit etc. The incorporation of a unique double action trigger mechanism and a decocking lever, makes it possible to lower the hammer on a loaded round; allowing the weapon to be carried loaded with virtually no chance for an accidental discharge. The Spectre is truly an error-proof submachinegun. It fires only if and when the operator intends to shoot. The double action trigger mechanism assures instant readiness without having to manipulate separate safety mechanisms other than pulling the trigger. To complement its radically new trigger lockwork, the Spectre was designed with ambidextrous controls to accommodate both left and right handed users.

The Spectre features a patented four-file magazine using a single follower that is likely inspired by the 1931 Finnish Soumi submachinegun design. The Soumi system however has two separate rows of double column arrangement and individual followers separated by a center wall in the middle of the magazine tube. The Spectre magazine is only slightly thicker than normal double column type, but the same in length of 21 cm containing 50 rounds instead of 30. The advantage of maximum capacity in a weapon that fires 10-15 shot per second is self-explanatory.

The handiness of a submachinegun is one of its important features. For this reason, the Spectre’s thickness has been kept within 35 mm even with the metal stock folded. This makes the weapon one of the slimmest submachineguns in the world allowing total comfort and without hindrance of movement when carried or deployed into action.

An ideal submachinegun must always function in rain, dust, sand, in cold climates, in jungle or other severe climatic conditions. Simplicity is the main characteristics of the Spectre. The close-bolt firing system prevents the entry of dirt or any foreign matter into the action which in turn assists in reliable operation of the weapon when subjected to various climatic conditions.

Almost all fully automatic weapons suffer from overheating of the chamber during prolonged bursts of fire. To overcome this problem, the Spectre incorporated a unique forced ventilation principle. The system operates by the movement of the bolt and keeps the chamber and barrel temperature down. The result is extraordinary, even after prolonged full auto fire the barrel can still be touched. This design advantage also minimizes or eliminates the possibility of dangerous cook-offs normally associated with closed bold arrangements.

The Spectre utilized a barrel featuring sinusoidal rifling. This type of rifling has no sharp corners, this prevents the incision of the bullet which passes with minimum of friction. With this rifling system, it is possible to use for the barrel lead steel that is self-lubricating and guarantees a smoother passage of the bullet in the bore. This also protects the barrel from wear from a weapon that is primarily designed to deliver high rate of fire in rapid successions.

As early as 1988, Sites begun to further refine the design characteristics of their original production Model 2 that can be characterized as functional and structural improvements. While the new Model 4 retained most of the basic features of the Model 2, the following changes was undertaken in order to further enhance the versatility of the original Spectre submachinegun design.

1. The original metal cocking handle with center spindle “U” notch “UZI type”, has been replaced by a flat sledge type handle using high-impact polymer material. This eliminates the possibility of the handle’s notch as a rear sight during fast aiming. The new design also strengthened the metal folding stock that no longer required the long slot to allow the movement of the cocking handle during operation while the stock is folded on the top of the receiver.

2. The lever shaped fire selector mechanism was replaced by a quarter-circle pattern in order to allow faster fire selection setting by the shooter’s thumb. The original had two separate levers that required separate activations.

3. The assembly and disassembly procedure has been changed with the newly re-designed interlocking components. The weapon now can be field stripped in less than 8 seconds without the use of any tools. Re-assembling is as easily accomplished. The weapon does not require any lubrication and rarely needs cleaning.

4. Stock configuration has been improved. The angle is lowered to allow a more comfortable aiming. Additional stiffening ribs have been added to maximize its strength.

5. The shape of the bolt and hammer has been re-designed. The new shape is patterned exactly like the internal form of the upper frame so that the air-pump effect is considerably increased. This allows for better cooling of the barrel and mechanical cleaning of foreign matters that may build up inside the action.

6. The front sight has been modified in order to allow elevation and windage adjustments.

7. The new design of the M4 allows for quick barrel removal that permits easy substitution of a longer threaded barrel for silencer requirements for use by clandestine operatives.

8. Sintered parts like the M2 selector and de-cocking levers are replaced by metallic inserts bedded in high impact polymer which are much stronger and more comfortable to activate specially in extremely cold temperatures.

9. The shape of the magazine catch has been modified to allow faster and more accessible operation during quick magazine changing.

In addition to the Spectre Model 2 and Model 4 submachineguns, Sites also produced semi-auto variants for the civilian market. These include the Spectre pistol and Spectre Carbine both chambered for the 9mm parabellum. The Spectre pistol utilizes all the submachinegun features and uses the same magazines but fires semi-auto only and without a stock. Only the decocking lever for the double action trigger lockwork is mounted in the frame.

The Spectre Police Compact Carbine (PCC System) has all the innovative features of the submachinegun version except its semi-auto functioning. It features a 420 mm long barrel and the usual metal folding stock of the submachinegun model. Like the pistol model, only the decocking lever is mounted in the frame. The semi-auto model fires approximately 200 rpm (approx. 3-shot per second).

In conclusion, Sites is one of the very few arms producers in the world who manufacture their wares starting from the user’s need; interviewing law enforcement personnel and undercover agents who survive terrorists attacks, trying to understand the physiological results of panics from which the encounter is drawn (pressure, adrenaline, stress, flow, etc.). From these experiences the Spectre weapon system was incepted. The technical solutions are examined and incorporated not merely improving the accuracy of such weapon at 300 meters, but to give the user a safe, rugged and reliable instrument which he can do his task more efficiently and effectively. The Spectre submachinegun is patented world-wide and currently in use by numerous agencies around the world. Limited numbers of Spectre semi-auto carbine and pistol variants were briefly imported into the U.S. market by F.I.E. in the late 1980’s during the heyday of paramilitary weapons market. These guns are now one of the most sought after by military subgun collectors which will no doubt only increase in value as such class of weapon is hard to come by. The author tested both the submachinegun (police sample) and semi-auto civilian models in late 1990’s and found all models to be exceptional in both accuracy and reliability.

While the double action pull is a bit heavy at 10 lbs., its intended purpose is safety. It’s like carrying a double action pistol like the Walther PPK or P-38. After introducing a round in the chamber, the hammer will remain in cocked position. Depressing the slice mounted lever will drop the hammer but will not fire the weapon due to its built-in firing pin block. To fire the gun, simply pull the trigger via heavy double action pull. The recoil will automatically recock the hammer for the next shot that will result in a lighter 4-5 pound pull. If you wish to stop shooting and like to return the hammer in “safe” forward position with a loaded chamber, simply depress the slide mounted lever to once again drop the hammer for double action trigger pull. The Spectre trigger lockwork principle works in the same manner except it uses a small metal block that travels behind the bolt rather than a pivoting hammer. The decocking lever rest is above the grip in the Spectre, while its fire selector lever is positioned just forward of it. Its single action pull provides a smooth and crispy 4 pound pull and is virtually consistent each shot. Quality of workmanship is excellent; something to be expected from a well organized research and development division of a very resourceful company. The Spectre is indeed one of the most technologically advanced SMG in the world, loaded with features that very few if any will ever equal or exceed.