By Warren Ferguson

Overlooking the bay that glistened with vivid blue Mediterranean water, the Canadian soldier knew that the beauty of the Cypriot island was tempered by the rage of Turkish and Greek soldiers, both of whom were known as fierce and determined warriors. Looking down to examine the small collection of confiscated firearms, the soldier noticed a 9mm submachine gun very similar to his issued Sterling. Oddly, it also had many features of the WWII British Sten. What exactly was this hybrid?

Cyprus, a visually idyllic island, has had a long history of trouble between the Greeks and Turks who both stake bold claims on the territory. The fighting hit a flashpoint in 1974 when Greek army officers of the Greek Cypriot National Guard staged a coup d’état against the president of Cyprus. They wished to unite Cyprus with Greece and Turkey’s response was to launch an amphibious invasion of Cyprus with 40,000 troops.

Canadian soldiers had been stationed in Cyprus from the early 1960s. Thus, they were well positioned to respond to the eruption of violence. Members of the Canadian Airborne Regiment, Canada’s UNFICYP (United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus) and others were at hand when the Turks pressed forth their stated objectives of protection of the Turkish minority to greater territorial acquisition by the taking of the Nicosia airport. Canadians physically kept the two sides apart, sometimes taking casualties.

The Greek and Turkish soldiers were one matter, but aggressive civilians were another. Added to the volatile mix was a divided population that owed its allegiance to one side or the other. Both were determined to maintain their stake on their particular corner of the island and their cultural pride. When the Canadians were not separating professional armies, they dealt with these armed civilian irregulars.

The Canadians were armed with FN-FALs and Sterling type 9mm submachine guns. The profile of the Sterling was well-known in these parts. United Nations peacekeepers had been carrying them since they arrived to buffer the two opposing sides. Also not unknown to the locals was the old WWII era Sten submachine gun as there were those who recalled their use by British troops and more than a few found their way into cellars.

What you had in the Sten was a simple blowback system in its rawest form. A tube contained a heavy fixed firing pin bolt that was locked by a sear to the rear until firing. Then, a strong spring propelled the bolt forward to strip a cartridge from the magazine, chamber it, and fire it in one motion.

The Sten was rather simple to field strip as well. It was designed that way, particularly the MKII, as a means of breaking it down as small as possible for concealment. The removable barrel came out from the front and the butt stock slid down and off the receiver tube when the user depressed a spring button. The Sterling was developed later and was a dramatic improvement. It was lighter, more compact, and imminently more reliable.

At a time of war, when tensions are high, how can irregulars obtain automatic weapons when the United Nations is doing its best to keep the warring sides apart and prevent a build up of arms? As evidenced by this odd 9mm creation, you simply take the best aspects of two well-known submachine guns, look for ways to make it as easy to manufacture as possible, and get the firearm in the hands of combatants. For a lack of a better name, this writer is going to call the submachine gun in this article a ‘Stenling.’

What is known is that sometime during his tour of duty, a Canadian soldier, likely from the Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry, came across the strangest looking Sterling he had ever seen. It has long been practice for the Canadian Forces to take samples of foreign weapons for regimental museums and training purposes, and then cut up and melt down the rest.

The prevailing wind out of National Defense HQ dictates that if there is no firearm present, hostility will cease. Naturally, history has proven this incorrect, but institutionally, the Canadian Forces is on board with United Nation mandated weapons decommissioning activities.

Subsequently, out of Cyprus came the Stenling via army sources and found its way into the Okanagan Military Museum in Kelowna, British Columbia. Not to be outdone by the Army, the Canadian Firearms Centre (think BATF bureaucracy) issued directives for the further DEWATing procedures for museum firearms. Thus, a full stripping and analysis of what could be a very rare Cypriot submachine gun was made impossible.

Looking closely at the Stenling it was easy to see that the Sterling played an important role in the submachine gun’s size, weight, overall layout and feel. The general outline of the trigger group was copied but the parts simplified. However, the two-piece pistol grip is made out of cast metal. The safety/selector was missing and so it is difficult to determine if it was a Sten or Sterling pattern, but an educated guess would be the latter.

The trigger guard is fixed and the distance from the trigger to pistol grip is noticeably increased, and does not add to the ergonomics of the firearm. Quite the opposite in fact and this detracts from an otherwise sensible package.

The cocking handle was near identical to a Sterling as is the perforated barrel shroud. Despite this, the muzzle area is welded and departs from the Sterling design because the barrel of the British firearm is fitted to the muzzle via two retaining screws. It does feature a hand protector forward of the ejection port.

From the Sten come the rudimentary sights and aspects of the magazine well assembly. The magazine is similar to the Sterling in construction, but straight and not curved. The magazine release button is like that of a Sten.

Gone is the familiar Sterling rear tube cap, as the design called for a Sten-like sliding spring retainer/butt stock. However, the simply constructed buttstock was made to look somewhat like that of the Sterling, but does not fold. It is made of bar steel and not stampings.

The Cypriot firearm is painted black and at twenty paces, the SMG appears to be a Sterling using a Sten magazine. So, how many were made? The bolt is numbered 281 but in times of trouble, serial numbers seldom start at zero often in order to exaggerate figures. So who exactly made it? This is a mystery.

In all, you have the most curious Sten/Sterling hybrid ever made. It is not uncommon for blowback submachine guns to be made in troubled spots. Nevertheless the Stenling shows both simplification and care and thought in its manufacture. This SMG could have been made cruder but was not. Yet all frills were cast aside. Perhaps the readership can shine some light on this curiosity. The chances are that this submachine gun – made quickly during a time of war – is one of very few constructed, if not one of a kind.

The author would like to thank OMM curator Keith Boehmer for providing the sample firearm.

The Ceská Zbrojovka Samopal vzor 1958 assault rifle entered service as the standard assault rifle of the Czechoslovakian army in the late 1950s and continues to serve Czech forces on duty in Iraq. While it shares a passing resemblance to a Kalashnikov, its engineering is entirely different. Recently, a Czech factory released a semi-automatic version of the Model 58, called the VZ-58S. One such rifle became available for inspection and testing and Small Arms Review decided to see how it would perform at the range.

With the VZ-58S (a.k.a. the CZH-2003 Sport), you have an exact duplicate of the military version, right down to the markings and barrel length. For all intents and purposes, it appears to be the same 7.62x39mm rifle that Czech arms designer Jirí Cermák created in the town Uherský Brod. Here was a design so successful that the Czechs continued to produce them when all other Iron Curtain countries were forced to manufacture Kalashnikovs.

The VZ-58 is a gas operated, magazine fed, select fire weapon. It employs a short stroke gas piston located above the barrel but, unlike the AK the gas piston, has its own return spring. The locking system features a tilting locking piece, not too far off from what we see in the Walther P-38 and Beretta M92 pistols, and the bolt locks into the machined receiver.

The charging handle is located on the right side of the bolt carrier and the carrier also provides a stripper clip guide. The 30-round magazines are pressed aluminum construction and incorporate a rear tab to lock the bolt open when the magazine is empty. This is an inspired addition to the weapon which makes reloading very fast.

The trigger group arrangement is also unexpected as it is a striker fired design. The striker uses its own spring located under the main bolt carrier return spring. The fire selector is situated on the right side of the receiver and has three positions for safe, single shot and fully automatic fire. It is a simple design, but as with all Czech workmanship, the entire package is over-engineered and machined to a high degree. It would not have been cheap to produce the VZ-58.

The open sights include a hooded front post and open notch adjustable rear, which looks like the AK type. A bayonet mount is provided and unexpectedly the blade bayonet slips on from the rear to lock forward. In the same way, a folding bipod is fitted to certain 58s in the field.

There are three basic variants of the VZ-58: the 58P with its fixed buttstock and the 58V with a side folding metal stock. The 58Pi includes a large optic mounting bracket on the left side of the receiver for the mounting of night vision equipment.

The furniture is unique in that it is made of wood-impregnated plastic in later models. What we have here is essentially the addition of wood chips to a plastic resin placed into a mould. The resulting furniture is red in appearance, strong and durable.

When compared to Kalashnikovs, the VZ-58 is notably smaller and lighter. It is roughly the same size as an M1 Carbine. The Czech Army had planned to replace the rifles with the newer 5.56mm NATO CZ-2000 rifle system, but that transition has been stalled for economic reasons. If you watch the news, you would be surprised how often the VZ-58 is used, including its use by the current Afghanistan government forces.

A closer look

The factory produced semi-auto only version of the VZ-58 is now being sold to civilians around the world for under $500 a unit. It seems that cash is king in the Czech Republic and for qualified buyers, even full-auto 58s can be had for $80 US.

Note that the VZ-58S is not made by simply converting the host rifle into a semi-automatic version. Each VZ-58S starts out as a receiver that has never been used to construct a VZ-58, but one that has simply sat around in crates all this time. The receiver has then been modified to prevent the use of full-auto parts. The result is a rifle that externally looks identical to the military assault rifle right down to the fire control selector. Turning the selector to ‘30’ (full-auto) now disconnects the entire trigger group.

It should be stressed that the VZ-58S is not importable into the USA for civilian use for a number of reasons. Its barrel is the standard length of 15.35 inches, it is not constructed using any US made parts, and its receiver was originally built in the late-fifties to the 1970s as a select-fire receiver.

The finish on the VZ-58S is a uniform grey, likely manganese phosphate, that contrasts nicely with the red synthetic stock, handguards and pistol grip. It is evident that once the rifles were assembled, they were given a finish treatment so that out of the box the rifles look great.

In many respects the rifle is ambidextrous. The fire selector can be moved to ‘30’ with the left thumb from the safe position. Naturally, this is only useful for real VZ-58s. The cocking handle is angled up to a slight degree and located high on the right side of the breech block so right handed operators can load without canting the weapon. The magazine release can be used with either hand with equal ease.

Mechanically the rifle is tight and the fixed stock takes a long handled screwdriver to aggressively remove it. The ergonomics are exceptional but the rifle and its pistol grip will feel small in most hands. The pistol grip, additionally, needs periodic tightening.

What is exciting about receiving one of these rifles is the array of accessories available. The test rifle came from Marstar Canada and included two 30-round magazines, one short 10-round magazine, a new leather two pocket military magazine pouch, a field cleaning kit with blank firing attachment, military sling and a gun case.

It gets better with the optional accessories: four 30-round magazines, a four pocket leather magazine pouch, a bell type flash suppressor, a bayonet and scabbard, a military folding bipod and the paratroop issue folding stock. The folding stock is very strong but does not provide a comfortable cheek weld. For this reason, this writer constructed a slip on wooden cheek pad finished to match the rest of the furniture. It allowed the convenience of a folding stock with the comfort of a fixed stock.

Modern range test

For our evaluation, we took the Czech rifle to the range along with a crate of Czech 7.62x39mm, some Norinco ball and an assortment of magazines and accessories. The chosen range was 100 yards. Inserting a 30-round magazine into the carbine, it is easy to see why the VZ-58 is so popular – it is so light. One chambers a round by merely pulling back the operating handle and letting it go.

At 100 yards in the standing position, it is effortless to place five shots within seven inches. This kind of accuracy is more than enough to subdue an adversary. The trigger has a somewhat spongy two stage feel to it, but it works. The brass would eject up and forward and usually spun like a propeller; which was mesmerizing to watch.

When the 100 yard bench test was conducted using the military bipod, the groups shrunk to around 2.5 inches. This does not qualify the rifle as a tack driver, but for a military 7.62x39mm with open sights, this is pretty good. Most AKs and SKSs have a great deal of trouble duplicating this feat.

The rifle is easy to shoulder and operate and the recoil is moderate. The one negative aspect of the design, however, is its propensity for muzzle climb and subsequently its effect on the shooter’s cheek. Fortunately, the Slovakian firm Grand Power produces a highly effective muzzle compensator. This is a most welcome accessory that makes rapid firing accurate.

After 500 rounds, there was not a single failure to feed, fire, extract, or eject. Being able to use stripper clips was indeed handy. The carbine did not beat the shooter’s shoulder and it was quick to reload and bring to bear.

Field stripping

It is straightforward to field strip the VZ-58S. First remove the magazine, clear the chamber, and let the bolt go forward. Pull the trigger. Then press in a pin located at the rear and left side of the receiver. Pulling the pin to the right, the next motion is to press the sheet metal dust cover forward and up out of the receiver. The recoil spring and striker spring are captive and come with the dust cover.

The breech block and bolt are pulled to the rear and lifted out of the receiver. Removing the striker cylinder out of the breech block allows the bolt to drop out. The bolt can be further stripped using the tools provided in the issue cleaning kit, but this is not required for a field stripping.

The top handguard comes off by pressing another pin to the right. The operating rod is pulled back slightly to clear the gas block and then pivoted up and out of the rifle.

Conclusion

It may be that as a combat weapon the VZ-58’s time has eclipsed. As the civilianized VZ-58S, then again, the design may have a new lease on life. The range test provides a short insight into what it would be like to trust one’s life in the little rifle and the results are gratifying. In this writer’s opinion, the VZ-58 is in every way a superior weapon to the Kalashnikov.

It is true that the VZ-58S is not legal in America, but there is an alternative. So as to not tease the reader too greatly, those interested in the VZ-58 pattern should consider the well regarded VZ-2000 rifle obtainable through Ohio Ordnance Works.

New variants of the VZ-58 continue to come out of the Czech Republic, including one with an 18.9 inch barrel to make it legal in more jurisdictions. A picatinny rail upper hand guard is available as well as a CAR stock adaptor. The VZ-58 is one well-conceived package and so it should be interesting to see where the design is headed in civilian hands in its various forms.

by Warren Ferguson

Most shooters are familiar with the selective-fire Uzi submachine gun – battle winner and presidential defender. Now, the Polish firm of Lucznik-Radom has unveiled its latest Uzi-type carbine, the BRS-99. It’s Uzi meets AKM meets Autoloading Pistol and is an excellent product improvement over its originator, the Uzi. The BRS-99 modernizes the Israeli design to create a new weapon that fits the most stringent NATO specifications and police tactical unit requirements.

The BRS-99 comes down the line of several Uzi-type Polish submachine guns. That is interesting since the Warsaw Pact countries across the board had for decades been using AKMs and by the late 1980s would switch over to AK-74U (wz89) varieties of submachine guns.

Engineers from Z.M. Radom developed the Pm-84 “Glauberyt” in the early 1980s. It was blowback-operated and very similar to the Uzi. The forward part of the bolt wrapped around the chamber, the magazine fit into the pistol grip, and so forth. The Pm-84 was also constructed out of sheet metal stampings, making it easy and cheap to manufacture. Only the bolt, sear, hammer and the barrel required machining.

From the outset, the Pm-84 fired from the closed bolt and chambered the 9mm Makarov cartridge. The trigger mechanism sat in the rear part of the lower receiver and was controlled by a selector/safety lever located on the left side of the receiver.

There was also an inertia-operated retarding device in the lower receiver that reduced cyclic fire rate to about 600 rpm. A forward folding pistol grip (like the Pm-63) was fitted along with a retractable wire stock.

The sights had four setting: two for 75 meters (one open and one peep), 150 and 200 meters. Two handles located at both sides of the receiver loaded the weapon. Standard equipment consisted of a carrying belt, a canvas holster, magazine pouch and four magazines (one 15-round and three 25-round).

The Pm-84P is the 9mm Parabellum variant and therefore the bolt and construction is heavier. Submachine guns manufactured recently have additional layers of metal added to the sides of the receiver that partially cover the folding stock in retracted position. Both the Pm-84 and Pm-84P were offered in semiautomatic-only variants for police duty. The Pm-84P, as well as the newer and refined Pm-98, are used by the Polish military and will ultimately replace the Pm-63.

Who is Lucznik-Radom?

Lucznik-Radom carries on the excellent histories of Fabryka Broni Radom and Zaklady Metalowe Lucznik. Radom is known for its famous wz 1935 pistol and initially Lucznik-manufactured items for Polish military requirements and also bicycles and machine tools such as sewing machines.

Examining firearms from Poland, one will most often find them marked with the number “11” in an oval. This is the factory marking of Zaklady Metalowe LUCZNIK S. A., which is located in the city of Radom. Zaklady Metalowe Lucznik has been making Kalashnikov clones for many years and is now marketing weapons re-chambered for 5.56x45mm NATO ammunition under the name wz90 Tantal.

The Tantal is like the AK74, but houses a new trigger mechanism. The Kalashnikov selector switch is now used as a safety and a selector switch has been moved to the left side of the rifle with full-auto, semiautomatic and 3-shot burst settings. The improved wz96 Beryl has an optics mount on top of the receiver cover and an 18-inch barrel.

On the BRS-99, the Fabryka Broni symbol of an FB within a triangle is found along with the name BRS-99, the caliber, but no country of origin or importer. Matching serial numbers are located on the upper and lower receivers, inside of the top cover, bolt and barrel.

Why exactly is Lucznik-Radom selling military arms abroad or even taking the time to develop the BRS-99 semiautomatic carbine? This is because Polish authorities want to develop an export orientation, replace old equipment to ensure interoperability with NATO forces, open the Polish economy to foreign capital, and lead the way for the ultimate financial stabilization of Poland’s defence industries.

The Poles are actively trying to boost sagging arms exports and so the BRS-99 is part of that strategy. The number of countries embargoed by the United Nations has increased recently, and, along with the dissolution of the Warsaw Pact, contracts for Polish arms have decreased and so there has been a shift in sales policy. To save one its largest sources of income, weapons have been modernized and made to NATO specifications. Meanwhile, Poland is in the process of legitimizing its arms industry and has worked to minimize black market weapons sales (said to be about 1/3 of all weapons shipments from Poland now) to meet Western ethics.

Poland is doing its best to move toward market liberalization and privatization, but many of its defence firms are large and employ thousands of workers. The estimated debt of the arms sector exceeds 1 billion zlotys or nearly one half of the value of the firms. Many of the largest companies have hovered on the brink of bankruptcy. Some analysts suggest that in order to survive, defence firms should generate approximately $80,000 in revenue per employee.

In the interim, Poland needs arms sales to pay its unionized and vocal workers. Lucznik workers in recent years have missed months of wages and have picketed the Treasury and Economy Ministries in Warsaw for more state orders for their products. Currently, Lucznik’s 4,000-strong work crew wants the government to order 15,000 rifles that can meet NATO military standards.

With all this at play, the end result is a willingness to make very good military weapons for the end user.

Why refine the Uzi?

One strategy Poland is following in lieu of large exports is to purchase licenses to manufacture Western equipment. This way, the national defense infrastructure and employment is maintained while gaining access to advanced technology. The Poles are also looking to improve existing equipment and so the Uzi is a natural starting point for the Pm-98 and the BRS-99.

You will recall that the Uzi came about during the 1950s in Israel’s primitive economy and arms industry. It takes a lot from the Czech vz23 and vz25 SMGs. Soldiers liked its compactness and the location of the magazine housing inside the pistol grip. By placing more weight over the chamber upward climb during recoil was reduced.

The weapon has natural pointing traits because the point of balance is directly above the grip. The Uzi magazine, an adaptation from Beretta submachine guns, is of the two-position-feed type. This makes it easy to load and minimum bolt energy is required to strip rounds from this type of magazine. With these excellent characteristics, why reinvent the wheel?

The BRS-99

The BRS-99 is related to the Uzi, but cannot be mistaken for one. The BRS-99 is grey phosphate finished and comes with a canvas hip/thigh holster and as such makes it useful for armoured vehicle crews where an assault rifle is too cumbersome. It also comes with a sling, cleaning kit, 15-round magazine and a magazine pouch with three additional 25-round magazines.

The magazines are Uzi type but lighter and support a last shot hold-open device designed into the carbine. This hold-open device itself makes the BRS-99 a superior improvement over the Uzi or even the MP5. Compared to an Uzi magazine, the BRS-99 magazine is cut and opened up on the left side, the follower has a detent for the hold-open device, and it locks into the pistol grip by a thumb-activated release, much like an autoloading pistol. The magazine release button can be applied in reverse for southpaws, and so the magazine has locking cuts in both sides of the magazine. The user can easily determine the number of rounds in the magazine by inspecting the view holes numbered 2,5,7,9,11,13,15,21 and 25.

The BRS-99 is a semiautomatic-only 9x19mm Parabellum carbine with a fire selector marked “Z” for safe and “P” for single shot. Unlike previous models, there is only one cocking handle and it is on the left side of the receiver. Upon firing, the empty casing is ejected to the right with considerable force due to its fixed ejector.

The BRS-99 has a plastic pistol grip with an Egyptian archer logo on it and a large plastic modular fore grip that can optionally fit within it a Lucznik laser sight, or an American Sure Fire L-60 tactical light.

The folding stock is made of wire but is actually more rigid than it looks. It is pulled out of the receiver and pivoted down until it locks. An AKMS-type button locks it. The stock is longer than the Uzi’s and therefore quite comfortable but not as robust. The butt is covered with non-slip rubber padding.

Southpaws using the trigger finger can reach the magazine release and hold-open device with ease, but not the safety. This oversight should be corrected if the Poles are serious in making a modern firearm. There is no provision for a bayonet on the BRS-99.

Unlike the Pm-84, there are only two sight settings on the BRS-99 – a notch for 75 meters and peep for 150 meters. The front sight is a post-type and it can be adjusted. The receiver is stamped sheet metal and the lower receiver separates much like that of the Uzi. The trigger/hammer/sear arrangement is clearly Kalashnikov inspired.

How does BRS-99 compare?

It is inevitable that the BRS-99 will be compared with other Uzi-type firearms. Even Uziel Gal, the Uzi’s designer, was not satisfied with the Uzi and looked to improve it. The main change would be to lighten the Uzi, offer closed-bolt operation as an option, and make it more compact. Add compensating slots in the top of the muzzle and you have the Mini Uzi. Even smaller, the Micro Uzi is too tiny to be useful by a military force, but two other Uzis are noteworthy.

A Mini Uzi variant is offered in 9mm and .40 S&W as the Uzi America/Mossberg First Responder Police Carbine/Individual Officer Carbine. The two are identical closed bolt carbines except for barrel length. What we have here is a Mini Uzi with a fixed stock for police duty.

The Ruger MP-9 was Uziel Gal’s latest vision for a lighter, more compact and enhanced Uzi. Gal (of URDA) contracted Canada’s Diemaco to work with him in the design of his new submachine gun designated the 201, or as it is unofficially called, the NEWZI. The complete design was finished at Diemaco under his supervision and a final set of toleranced production drawings, tooling, and prototype test samples of the weapon were produced.

This was a 9mm or 10mm submachine gun that had a low rate of fire, was holsterable and could be fired off hand with good accuracy. Diemaco worked for about a year and a half on this project. When military sales were not forthcoming for the UZI 201, the URDA sold the rights, tooling and technical data to Ruger, which now produce the weapon.

The MP-9 is fired from the closed bolt to increase accuracy. The lower receiver is made from Zytel polymer while the upper receiver is made from stainless steel. The buttstock is redesigned to fold and telescope.

With the BRS-99, you have the best Uzi variant. It is the lightest, has a hold-open device, is accurate due to its closed-bolt operation, is mostly ambidextrous, its magazines fall free when the magazine release button is depressed, and is designed from the beginning to be optically enhanced.

The BRS-99 grips are ergonomically designed, but a fixed butt stock option would be beneficial. That is because the stock is functional but nowhere as good as the Uzi’s. Perhaps the Poles can make a modular two-piece stock that goes over the wire stock?

The magazine-well of the BRS-99 is bevelled at the front, but the firearm would be improved if it were more flared. The magazines do not have side stoppers like Uzi magazines (but one rear) and so this could easily be achieved.

Considering the firearm in its Pm-99 form, its 640-rpm rate is useful and not wasteful. It seemed that the enhanced Uzis just kept getting faster and faster.

On the Range

The BRS-99 is definitely a curiosity at the local range and many onlookers wanted to see how it worked – somewhat unidentifiable short-barrelled military rifles can do that.

The double-column magazine loads easily and slides easily into the pistol grip. The safety is switched to “P” since the bolt cannot move otherwise. Grasping the cocking handle, pull the bolt to the rear and release. The bolt will move forward upon spring influence and load the chamber. This is a closed-bolt weapon with an internal hammer and so the chamber is now loaded and no dirt can enter through the ejection port.

For the test and evaluation, both Winchester 115-grain FMJ and Spanish Santa Bárbara 112-grain FMJ cartridges were used. During the test, there were no failures in this new-in-the-box test sample whatsoever. Each empty case ejected out the large ejection port and landed about 15 feet to the right.

When used as a rifle, accuracy was quite acceptable. For the test, four groups of five rapid shots were initially placed on target at 50 meters. These groups averaged 2.7 inches with both loads. The trigger was firm and consistent with every shot. The BRS-99 was then shot at 100 and 150 meters, where the 100-meter (109.36-yard) groups averaged 12.19 centimetres (4.8 inches). These results were, of course, using only the iron sights and so one wonders what is possible with the Lucznik laser and/or an Aimpoint.

The magazine follower operates a plunger that retains the bolt in the rear position when the ammunition supply is exhausted. Press the magazine release button and the empty magazine literally kicks out of the pistol grip. Inserting a fresh magazine and depressing the Hold Open Device brings the bolt forward.

Field stripping

The BRS-99 strips very easily. Anyone familiar with the Uzi or AKs can do it on first sight. First, the recoil buffer apparatus is exposed on both sides of the receiver where it locks inside two channels. To remove the top cover, move this “breech casing cover catch” forward and down. Pull upward at the rear portion of the top cover and the cover comes off where it locks in a slot at the front (like the AK). Press the breech casing cover catch forward to unhook it, and remove the spring assembly. Pull the bolt to the rear until it is free from its rails. Lift and remove the bolt. Press the barrel nut catch and unscrew the barrel nut. Draw out the barrel from the receiver. Next, only if needed, press out the connector/expander pin on the lower receiver that connects the upper and lower receivers. The fore stock is removed with a screwdriver.

One will notice the obvious features of a closed bolt weapon: it has a spring-retracted firing pin like a pistol and not a fixed firing pin like most submachine guns. The bolt handle is fixed to the bolt. The trigger group is responsive and reminiscent of the AKM.

Worthy successor?

The Uzi is without a doubt a great military firearm. Yet the Poles are hungry to put their Communist ways behind them and make great guns for the open market. For many years, unsavoury nations like Yemen, Sudan, Somalia and Eritrea have been the main recipients of Polish weapons. For fear of a negative reaction from its NATO allies, Poland is looking to new markets (the Poles don’t even make 5.45x39mm ammo anymore). It also has a highly trained work force eager to maintain profitability during restructuring and privatization in order to keep their own jobs.

As a result, Polish arms are very good. With the Pm-99 and BRS-99, Lucznik-Radom has created a reliable and accurate firearm with the best characteristics of the Uzi. The Uzi is hence taken to its pinnacle, perfected and modernized to be the next generation of pistol caliber close quarters combat weaponry.

Additional color photographs of the BRS-99 and an MPEG video can be found at www.blackpowdersports.com/writer.htm. The author can be contacted at wfpaddy@hotmail.com.

By Warren Ferguson

THE NEW PLAYER

It’s the “bells and whistles” version of the popular M16A2 and the new century assault rifle to keep your eye on. Refined and tuned out of the box, the Diemaco C7 family of rifles are the non-American-made Black Rifles the free world’s soldiers are increasingly relying on to get the job done right. Has Canada managed to adapt the M16 design and possibly make it even better?

The M16 has gone from mistrusted to prolific after a number of well-known upgrades over the last few decades. But the work of product enhancement is not over, as evidenced by the design input from the Canadian firm of Diemaco, a division of Devtek. From assault rifles to survival rifles to grenade launchers, the Diemaco engineers have a lot to offer to the military community.

Diemaco is Canada’s center for small arms design, development and manufacture. The firm maintains a complete and autonomous capability to design, develop and test, as well as manufacture, small arms and related accessories for the Canadian Forces and the international market. Diemaco is also responsible for the repair and overhaul of the Canadian Forces in-service weapons and for the development of enhancement and life cycle extension programs on other small arms.

Diemaco operates from a 48,000 square foot combined engineering office and manufacturing facility located in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. It employs between 120 to 180 people depending on the number of contracts in house and works with some 90 Canadian sub contractors that provide materials and processing as well as manufacturing support. Diemaco also makes aircraft components for Boeing.

As the Canadian fourth line (factory) maintenance facility, Diemaco is regularly involved in the process of product enhancement through response to service requests and in the training of Weapons Technicians from Canada, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Denmark and Norway. Diemaco is a mobilization base supplier for small arms in North America.

Diemaco possesses a complete design facility including CAD/CAM system, prototype capability, instrumented engineering test facility including ranges; CNC manufacturing environment including gun barrel forge; and complete Quality Assurance facility including metallurgical lab and gauge calibration traceable to N.B.S. Standards. The work is completely qualified to ISO 9001 and NATO AQAP-1 level including S.P.C. (equivalent to MIL-Q-9858A) for Quality Assurance.

DESIGN EXPERIENCE

Diemaco has been commissioned to design or to perform extensive redesign work on programs for several customers including the Canadian Forces, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Colt Firearms, Uzi Research and Development Associates, Voyageur Survival Systems and Special Forces groups in various NATO countries.

Diemaco has been serving the international military small arms community since 1976. After a series of trials in Canada and other NATO countries in the late 1970s, the 5.56mm round was adopted as NATO’s standard ammunition. Following this, the Canadian National Defence Headquarters (DND) initiated the Small Arms Replacement Program (SARP) to find the best 5.56mm weapon for the Canadian Armed Forces. By this time, the Belgian-pattern FN C1A1 7.62mm semi-automatic rifle and the Sterling-type 9mm SMGs were showing considerable wear.

The Canadian Forces selected the M16A2 and the FN Minimi as the basis for their new family of small arms. Diemaco was awarded the contract for the development and manufacturing of the Canadian Forces’ new rifle, the C7, in 1984. Colt receives a royalty on everything sold.

Diemaco completed exhaustive tolerance studies and reviews to produce the weapon configurations desired by the Canadian Forces. The initial family of weapons consists of the C7 rifle, the C8 carbine, and the C9 light machine gun. The earliest order was for 79,935 copies of the C7, 1,565 (also 800 for the navy) of the C8 and 6,750 of the C9. Both the C7 and the C8 are fitted with the M16A1 sights instead of those adjustable out to 800 meters on the M16A2 version. This A1 upper receiver sports, however, a forward assist plunger and a case deflector. The fire controls are S-R-F, “SAFE, REPETITIVE and FULL AUTO.” For the rifles, there are two butt lengths and a spacer is available which provides four different lengths to suit the user. The flash eliminator omits cuts on the bottom to keep the muzzle down. After proof firing, Diemaco roll stamps a proof mark (the Devtek “D” with “MP”) and the manufacturing batch number for traceability ahead of the front sight. The manufacturing batch number is laser engraved on the barrel extension and bolt so that all parts that see pressure during the firing cycle can be traced, all the way back to the material, heat treat and other processes and subsequent machining.

Diemaco was involved in extensive development work to specify an adequate barrel material which would meet all of the Canadian Forces requirements for a material suitable for use in rifles and machine-guns barrels of 5.56mm and 7.62mm calibers. The Diemaco family uses hammer-forged steel barrels with an integral chamber and chrome-lined bores, strictly a Canadian affair. Many firms hammer forge barrels but not with integral chambers because of the large diameter reductions required. But the trouble is well worth the effort and the reward is better performance and longer life. Some of the benefits of hammer-forged barrels with integral chambers: Stronger, cleaner material is required; Greatly improved concentricity chamber to bore and within the bore; Dimensional consistency in the bore, lead and chamber (barrel no. 10,000 is the same as barrel no. 1); Forged in choke, breech to muzzle promotes accuracy and longer life; Strength. The forging process refines and aligns and compresses the grain structure of the material in a way that provides a stronger barrel. The aim is to create a barrel with a service life of 30,000 rounds.

Since the initial contract, Diemaco has continued to offer new products upgrades. In 1992, a major follow-on contract was awarded for the C7A1 (optically sighted) rifle for the Canadian Forces. Over 50,000 C7s and C8s were converted to A1 configuration by adding a flat top upper receiver and the older upper receiver assemblies are placed in long term storage. Optional are clamp-on handles with A1 or A2-type rear sights and a clamp-on backup sight. DND needed more sighting capability and some magnification for target identification in order to make “shoot, don’t shoot” decisions during peacekeeping and other ops. So a modern optical sight was needed.

OPTICAL ENHANCEMENT

ELCAN Optical Sighting equipment and mounts are distributed in North America by Armament Technology, out of Halifax, Canada. This rugged sighting instrument comprises an optical telescope and mount assembly, designed specifically for enhancing the performance of tactical and combat weapons like the C7.

Developed by Ernst Leitz Canada, the ELCAN’s extra large exit pupil diameter allows fast target acquisition, while the brilliant light gathering characteristics of the ELCAN (also called the C79) turn dawn and dusk into day. Attached to firearms incorporating a MIL-STD-1913 flattop design, it significantly improves hit probability at extended ranges and in low light conditions.

The intensity of the ELCAN’s beta light source is designed to be bright enough to give definition of the reticle tip in near-dark conditions without compromising the users natural night vision or providing signature to opposing passive observation and sighting devices. The mount has recently had some new modifications (solid vertical shaft and tension spring to remove vertical backlash) which has greatly improved its performance. In 1992, the DND ordered 63,500 ELCANs and today, Diemaco’s NATO customers typically receive their Diemacos with C79s.

The Danes are also using the C79 sight on their 7.62mm GPMGs and the 6X ELCAN on the .50 Caliber HMG. They also have purchased the Blackcat in 3X and 6X Night Vision Sight for the machine gun application. The Dutch are currently conducting trials on the same sight for the same application. The same sight with the Torx nut base (XM146) beat other entries in a recent US military trial.

The primary concern with the C79 sight, like any piece of machinery, is recognizing when it is unserviceable and getting it fixed instead of continuing to put it on the rifle and complaining about its performance. This was recognized in Holland and they now have a check that the infantryman can do that quickly determines if the sight is serviceable and retains zero within reasonable limits. It would seem others could learn from that. Incidentally, when Denmark got their new C7A1 rifles with C79 sights they went to the annual competition with the German Army and won the competition by a large margin. This was the first time they had won since WWII. They said that during the field portion of the competition they were able to see and engage targets with the C7A1 and C79, long after they could no longer be seen by the naked eye or the Germans and their optical sights. For emergencies, though, Diemaco’s plastic backup rear “iron” sight is usually parked on the rail ahead of the C79 Optical Sight.

With such a set up, the C7A1s have been sold in large numbers internationally. The main difference evident is the receiver markings. Each country has its own logo, except Holland who deleted the words CANADIAN FORCES but kept the Maple Leaf. The serial number for each country is also different in that it is followed by a country identifier: Netherlands = NL, Denmark = DK, Great Britain = GB, Norway = N.

In March 1994 Diemaco was awarded a contract for more than 58,000 C7-type weapons for the Netherlands Armed Forces. In 1996 and 1999 Diemaco was awarded two large contracts to supply the Danish Army, Navy Special Forces and the Home Guard with C7 family weapons and M-203A1 Grenade Launchers. Diemaco is currently also producing Special Forces Weapons with M-203A1 Grenade Launchers for the Special Forces of both Norway and Britain. The firm has also kept busy upgrading the Canadian Forces’ .50 Caliber M2 machine-gun fleet and supplying light machine-guns to the New Zealand Armed Forces.

However, some European users have requested an EU-made optical sight. Delft Sensor Systems of Oudenaarde, Belgium, was awarded a contract for the supply of MUNOS WS4 Weapon Sights with new XD-4 Image Intensifier Tubes to the Royal Dutch Army in late 1998. A total of 445 MUNOS WS4 Weapon Sights were mounted on C7A1s.

MUNOS WS4 is a 4x magnifying, extremely compact and lightweight night vision weapon sight which incorporates the new XD-4 Image Intensifier Tubes developed by Delft Sensor Systems’ sister company Delft Electronic Products (DEP). XD-4 Tubes provide an excellent image quality, equivalent to Gen. III Omnibus IV tubes, and an even better battery consumption and protection against over-illumination. Since then, OIP (the Belgian division of Delft Sensor Systems) sold more that 1000 WS6 systems (renamed IRBIS 6x) to the Belgian Army.

By January 2000, Delft Sensor Systems was renamed OIP Sensor Systems. Together with the de-investment of the Dutch and Italian branches, OIP’s MUNOS Observation Sights were given a new name, LORIS. The first weeks of the year 2000 were characterized with a boost of orders for OIP, for a total value of 10 Million EURO. OIP was granted a substantial contract by the Belgian Army for a total of 1097 Weapon Sights with XD-4 Image Intensifier Tubes (part of the Belgian VISLIM program) to be mounted on Minimi, MAG and .50 caliber weapons. Deliveries are planned to start in August 2000. A contract for an optional batch of 394 systems is expected to be granted further this year. Other contracts include weapon sights, laser rangefinders and thermal imagers for an undisclosed South-American customer, weapon sights for the Chilean Navy and a total quantity of 326 LUNOS night vision systems for a North African customer.

Experience has shown that with either optical sight, there are great user advantages: It enhances effective aiming and fire in low light conditions of dusk, dawn and moonlit nights; It enables the shooter to detect tracer in bright light and to see bullet impact against soft soil; It provides a wider field of view to the eye compared to aperture sight; It permits detection and recognition of personnel targets as well as identification by day; And, it improves the overall standard of marksmanship in field units.

THE MAGAZINE

Back in 1984, the Canadian military ordered 471,570 magazines for the SARP weapons. The original magazines, developed by Thermold, were glass filled Dupont Zytel nylon. Naturally, they were rated for cold weather, but their feed lips were not that robust and they were used far too long before being discarded – a Canadian military trait. This writer personally witnessed a 30-round burst from one when it was accidentally dropped, but the newer magazines are excellent. Diemaco Engineering and Dupont Canada did extensive design changes to manufacture a reliable product.

Any magazine made since the improvements and mold changes of 1990 in the molds marked 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, and 106, and featuring a maple leaf, are the best and most reliable magazines made, and are all Canadian. They have much thicker feed lips. The US Army trialed and bought about 700,000 during the Gulf War period. Also the Netherlands Army, Denmark Army, and Norway Army Trials Units, chose these magazines over any metal or other plastic magazines trialed during their selection process prior to procurement. All of Diemaco’s current customers have purchased and use the plastic magazine. No fill limit has been established but during endurance tests they have had more than 400 fills with no problems or stoppages. The Canadian Army, however, now uses Teflon coated aluminum magazines using some imported and some Canadian parts, which are then assembled and tested in Canada.

SPECIAL FORCES WEAPON

Bolstered by good sales, Diemaco decided to further develop the C7 design and soon displayed the first Special Forces Weapons. This is a specially designed 5.56mm weapon that is neither rifle nor carbine but contains aspects of both to achieve specific goals. The SFW is 30mm longer than the C8 carbine and with the Diemaco heavy barrel it is a higher velocity, high accuracy weapon capable of sustained fire. This heavy-barrelled weapon can be mission tailored and zero varies only slightly no matter what attachments are employed. The Diemaco M203A1 underslung Grenade Launcher attaches to the weapon in less than 10 seconds and makes a formidable duo.

Diemaco equipped the Danish International Brigade and others in the Danish Armed Forces with C7A1 and Special barreled carbines that they have named the Gevær M/95 and Karabin M/96. The Danish M/96 Carbine was the forerunner to the Special Forces Weapon that Diemaco sold to the Special Forces of Norway and the United Kingdom.

Diemaco discussed with the various Combat Schools what they liked and did not like about the then-new Colt XM4 Carbine, and set about making improvements. They increased the outside barrel diameter between the receiver and front sight forging. This allowed sling shooting and attachment of accessories to the barrel with virtually no change in zero at all practical combat ranges. They also placed heavier weights in the buffer to eliminate carrier bounce and the resulting light strike malfunction that the M4 was experiencing. Also, some chamber dimensions were changed to enhance performance, as well as a highly controlled tolerance on the rifling.

This served to eliminate any sensitivity the gun might have to the altered firing dynamics that occur when the mass of the front of the gun is changed, with the addition of any accessories, such as grenade launchers. The ejector / extractor dynamics has been exclusively redesigned by Diemaco engineering. The strength of the extractor spring and extractor spring insert was also increased to ensure extraction at all higher rates of fire and with various countries ammunition of sometimes-dubious quality.

The SFW evolved from a British Special Forces requirement for hit probabilities of .95 at 300 meters and .75 at 500 meters that could not be met by a standard carbine. So the hammer forged barrel of the M/96 was grown to achieve a velocity of about 900m/s with C77 ammo. This in combination with a support sleeve at the muzzle behind the compensator to quick attach the M-203A1 40mm Grenade Launcher, resulted in a weapon that could achieve about 1 MOA and better, right out of the box. For a combat weapon production line this isn’t bad. In the UK trials it beat the other contenders such as the SIG 500 series and H&K G36 series weapons in the desert, jungle, and arctic trials.

During a recent course at the Jaeger Kommando School in Norway one of the students brought a target that he had just fired prone unsupported, at 200 meters. The ten round group could be covered with the base of a coke can. He won the Diemaco souvenir hat for that relay. This was fired with a Trijicon ACOG sight that presents a rather large aim mark (6.9 MOA), at that range. Although many other soldiers got close that day.

The M/96 Carbine barrel is standard carbine length but the SFW is just over 16 inches long. The SFW barrel contour differs from the C8 because it provides a stable platform for firing off hand as well as a greater heat sink when firing sustained rates. The front of the barrel is the C7A1 profile at the front sight and uses the larger diameter forging. Ahead of the front sight is the grenade launcher mounting sleeve, which is secured by the compensator. The pistol grip is rounded at the backstrap and houses a pullthrough based cleaning kit. The SFW is fit with Knights Armament RAS (Rail Adapter System) as standard equipment. The UK ordered their first SFWs with furniture in four colours: black, sand, olive drab, and white.

The ambidextrous selector lever is a development for the SFW and not issue to any Canadian weapon, it’s for the Norway Jaeger Kommando. The latest development for the SFW is a Plate Receiver with a sling loop on both sides. This offers two additional sling attachment points that are not on the butt-sliding element. There have been no 10-11.5 inch barrel versions of the C8 or SFW, but that will be about the barrel length of Diemaco’s PDW currently under development.

SPECIAL FORCES SUPPORT WEAPON

Few people know that the Colt LMG was designed, tooled, and from the lower receiver up made at Diemaco under contract for Colt. This includes the hydraulic buffer, open bolt firing mechanism, bipod and entire upper receiver barrel assembly. It is the Light Support Weapon (LSW) and is currently in service with the Royal Dutch Marines and others. Colt hired the Diemaco engineering team to design and bring to production most of the LMGs. Diemaco has produced the upper receiver barrel assemblies, and other components in the lower, for all the LMGs ever made. The LSW is also equipped with a hydraulic buffer that reduces the rate of fire to 500-700 rpm. This SAW uses the 100 round “C” magazine made by BETA or a 30-rounder. At 13 pounds loaded, it’s handy and portable.

From the LSW soon came forth the Special Forces Support Weapon (SFSW). Diemaco has developed a common mounting block for all accessories to fit the Knights RAS and Canadian A1 upper receiver. This common mounting will house the carrying handle, vertical grip, bipod and sling attachment. The SFSW features a rate-reducing buffer to decrease the rate of fire to below 700 rpm (from about 830 rpm for the SFW). The SFSW may also be fitted with an open bolt firing mechanism, which is an option. A standard SFW can be converted to the support role in minutes with a simple parts change and clamp-on accessories. Diemaco makes the bipod for the LSW but for the SFW a Parker Hale is used. A new Diemaco heavy-duty, lightweight bipod is currently under development.

Incidentally, Diemaco made all of the critical components for the C9 (Minimi) LMG and a great many parts for the US Army M240 first fleet procurement, as a sub contractor to FN. These include components such as the cover assembly, trigger mechanism housing and all of its parts and the buffer block assembly. Diemaco was the first to close the top vent on an M16A2 compensator for use on the Minimi. The top vent is closed so that the upward escape of gas does not interfere with the machine gunner’s view at night and when using night vision aiming devices

CUSTOM TACTICAL RIFLES

These days everyone is accurizing the AR-15 and Diemaco is no exception. The C7 Custom Tactical (C7CT) semi-auto incorporates a bipod, and an unchromed floating heavy barrel to enhance accuracy. Its barrel is 6 groove, 1 in 17.8, 21.6 or 22.9 centimetre. The scope sometimes used is a Leupold 3/4 mil-dot, Vari-X III 4.5x14x40 but the Bausch and Lomb Tactical 10X42 is the sight provided to the military for user trials. The C7CT reportedly can engage targets up to 600 metres. Both the Weaver and the M1913 sight rails accommodate any day and night sighting options.

The buttstock is fitted with a removable weight to counter balance the additional weight of the heavy barrel for optimal performance. Additionally, bipods and slings are attached to the handguard, and do not influence the barrel. The bolt carrier assembly has a titanium firing pin for faster locking time and compliments two stage trigger mechanism. The CT barrel accommodates a removable noise and flash suppressor, a Knights Armaments which is capable of 32db reduction and better than 0.7 MOA with suppressor. There is an optional Gas Port Cut-Off System to further reduce noise of the mechanism.

The C8CT Carbines incorporates a bipod and an extra heavy floating barrel to enhance accuracy. The barrel has the standard 11-degree crown and is available fluted. The buttstock of each rifle has a three position sliding buttstock and the buttplate can be adjusted to swivel, move up or down and also additional refinement for extending the length. The “Bull” barrel has a slower twist rate (1:21.6 cm, or 1:22.9 cm) to accommodate both the normal NATO 5.56 mm and heavier match grade .223 bullets.

Who’s buying the CT Rifles? Diemaco is “not at liberty to say without customer’s approval, only NATO country and which are External Affairs and CCC (Canadian Commercial Corporation) approved.” And no, American police cannot order them, due to license restrictions. But some bull barrel competition grade C7s have been made, but not for sale to the public. No 7.62mm “AR-10” type rifle in the works.

DIEMACO’S OTHER PROJECTS

What else do you call Diemaco’s vast array of other weapons like their grenade launcher, chain gun, UZI and sawed-off 30-06, to name a few?

The M-203A1, 40mm Grenade Launcher, is a new product for Diemaco. It was designed, prototyped, tested, and the first production units delivered within four months of project start in late February 1998. It was designed to overcome shortcomings observed in M203 produced by other manufacturers, and to meet some specific needs expressed in User Statements of Requirement. In the spring and summer of 1999 the first production units were sold to Norway and Denmark. Small numbers are currently under evaluation and trial in Canada, Holland and the United Kingdom.

The launcher’s sight was designed and made in Canada and has a fold up rear leaf and is adjustable for elevation and azimuth in 1.33 MOA clicks. The sight can be mounted on the left or right side of the launcher and is graduated from 100 to 400 metres. The receiver is in two pieces and is positioned lower to meet military rifle and carbine sustained firing temperature requirements. The launcher will fit any C7 family rifle, carbine, or SFW weapon and quickly detaches by pulling the ball lock pin at the front hoop. The receiver is designed to be stronger in the web and around the firing mechanism than any of the M203 variants available. The barrel latch is also moved forward so that the launcher will accept the longest baton rounds (145mm). It has been found that the ELCAN C79 can be used out to about 70 metres by using the bottom of the post instead of the tip. SNC in La Gardeur, Quebec makes the 40mm grenades for Canada.

“No gas, no brass, no jamming.” Chain Gun, 7.62 mm, is Diemaco’s vehicle mounted, 40 pound, disintegrating M13 link, 550-rpm devil. The Chain Gun features a quick-change barrel, feeder/receiver assembly with manual and electrical safeties. In both pintle ground mount and vehicle installations, barrels can be exchanged without removing the entire weapon. The Chain Gun ejects the fired cartridge cases forward (overboard) and with its long bolt/dwell time, minimizes any residual gas buildup in cupolas or turret installations. The toxic fume emission within the vehicle during firing has been tested to be less than one percent of that found with contemporary, self-powered coaxial machine guns. The electrically driven chain drive mechanism permits a simplified gun cycle, which operates safely from an open bolt without requirements for chargers, declutching feeders or other special devices.

Diemaco was retained by the Canadian Forces Air Command to design and develop a novel Air Crew Survival Weapon for air crews deployed to and operating in the far north and other remote regions. This weapon was required to protect the downed aircrew from predators (including Polar Bears) and to fit within the tight confines of the CF-18 pilots seat pack. The ACSW has a special quick change barrel and under-slung butt stock allowing the rifle to fit into the seat pack. Diemaco completed two parallel programs to offer two different solutions to this requirement. The Search and Rescue (SAR) rifle has been fielded with the Canadian Forces rifle developed and produced for use by SAR technicians when jumping into remote areas. This 30-06 Calibre rifle is now in service in the Canadian Forces.

This rifle is a modified M77 Mark 2 Ruger 30-06. To convert, they cut and crown the barrel to 14.5 inches, which reduces the MV about 300fps, but reduces the overall length folded to 26 inches. Then they make and attach an enlarged trigger guard to permit shooting with heavy arctic finger mitts. The barrel is drilled and tapped and new sight ramps and sights are attached. The stock is a McMillan Fiberglass special stock, which is then cut to fold and inlet to accept the action, new hinges, latches, and rotating butt plate which closes an ammunition storage area in the butt for six additional cartridges. This stock is an orange colour so the rifle can be easily seen in the snow or in the bush. The rifle is stowed in a carrying case which is fastened to the SAR Technicians jump pack.

A Canadian UZI? Mr. Uzi Gal (of URDA) contracted Diemaco to work with him in the design of his new submachine gun designated the 201, or as it is unofficially called, the NEWZI. The complete design was finished at Diemaco under his supervision and a final set of toleranced production drawings, tooling, and prototype test samples of the weapon were produced.

This was a 9mm or 10mm SMG that had a low ROF, was holsterable and could be fired off hand with good accuracy. Diemaco worked for about a year and a half on this project. Diemaco does not make or market weapons for sale to the public, and its entire product line is sold to military customers either in Canada or by country to country sales to other military customers. When military sales were not forthcoming for the UZI 201, the URDA sold the rights, tooling and technical data to Sturm Ruger which now produces the weapon.

. A familiar design is revisited with the Voyageur “Survivor” Survival Rifle. It is a survival rifle intended for use in the far north. It was completed based upon the design parameters laid down by the contractor, a company specializing in the supply of survival systems for aircrew and far north travellers. The design was completed and a set of toleranced production drawings were created. Look at the picture and see if you recognize it.

For high accuracy target work, the C11 and C12 Canadian Forces Target Rifles were developed to meet Canadian Forces and Cadet service needs for a precise target rifle for international competition and advanced marksmanship training. They had to shoot a five shot group better than 0.7 MOA before acceptance by the resident DND Quality Assurance Representative. Diemaco created a system of two weapons, in 5.56mm NATO and 7.62mm NATO calibers, to meet all of the service requirements and to date 450 have been produced. A follow on product update program is currently fitting British RPA actions, new barrels and reinletted Macmillan stocks to some of these rifles in a continuing pursuit of accuracy.

Speaking about cadet and training rifles, the C10 design was developed to satisfy a set of design parameters for a small bore (.22LR) training rifle accurately simulating the full bore C7 rifle. The C10 successfully completed pre-production testing prior to program cancellation due to a recent change in the law. The former Canadian Justice Minister said that only police and military personnel should have access to any firearm, so in this climate even supervised military cadets were suspect.

Early on, the training rifle was a standard C7 rifle with a .22LR kit in the form of an upper receiver barrel assembly, bolt assembly and magazine assembly. This kit was not in production. It was designed and trialed by the CF and led to development of the C10 Rifle.

The C10 is a totally different .22LR rifle that shares common drill and shooting characteristics with the C7 rifle. It has a plastic injected molded one piece lower receiver that houses the trigger mechanism in a stainless steel frame that prevents conversion to Full Auto and will not permit function of a C7 bolt carrier assembly. The upper receiver barrel assembly is .22 LR and houses a .22 bolt assembly. Parts like the front sight housing, slip ring and others have been converted to injection molded plastic as heat is not an issue.

The 10 round magazine is made from three injected molded plastic components that are a friction fit into the body of a standard plastic magazine. This rifle completed all of its DND engineering and user trials, was ready for production with acceptance of the 20 pre-production samples.

Meanwhile, some of the C10 developments are making their way into the C7 family, such as the all nylon butt trap door assembly, the smaller round front sight post which offers a better sight picture and does not obscure the target and others. However, there are no plans for synthetic lower C7s.

Finally, it’s not a real gun, but its interesting…the Diemaco Rubber Rifle. It is made in any color and configuration the customer requires. They come in black, but the Dutch ones are bronze. All have fully functional, metal bayonet lugs. They are primarily used for training where the real equipment would be at risk or can not be stored for security reasons, such as cadet unit drill. The original reason for developing this training device was because the salt water was too harsh on the real rifles during submarine exit training. Some other uses now are bayonet training, obstacle and confidence courses, swimming, para jump tower, basic recruit drill training and vehicle and mount fit trials. The Rubber Rifle, now made entirely in Canada, begins with a welded steel frame, with front sight, to provide strength and correct weight and balance. This frame is then placed in a mold and the urethane is injected around the frame. A compensator is then tack welded to the barrel.

At last, the Canadian Armed Forces are well equipped with modern weaponry. The old semi-auto only FALs just weren’t making the grade in any modern combat scenario. Now many of the major players are asking for the Canadian Black Rifles. With all the engineering and tactical upgrades made by Diemaco, who can blame them?

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:

I would like to thank the following for permitting the reproduction in prints, drawings and photographs in their collections, for providing useful data, and for critique of this article: Ian Anderson, Kelly Stumpf, Andrew S. Webber and Francoise De Groote. You can visit Diemaco on the world wide web at: http://www.diemaco.com.

Warren Ferguson can be contacted at wfpaddy@hotmail.com.

Please see the SAR Identification Guide to the Diemaco Models starting on the next page.

EXCLUSIVE! Firing the unlocked rifle… dangerous to whom? The elusive story of the W.W.II German ‘People’s Rifle’ makes the weapon highly coveted.

Improvised firearm designs usually arise when a nation is faced with the threat of foreign invasion and formal weapons manufacture proves unattainable. Shortages of raw materials and a lack of elaborate manufacturing facilities during war create the kind of weapons that are typically very crude and unreliable. Yet some designs were effective, and that is all a grunt ever asked for. One such example is the Volksgewehr, or People’s Rifle, design from the German firm Gustloff Werke (Suhl), the VG 1-5.

Careful study of improvised and quickly manufactured weapons designs naturally brings the Volksgewehren and the Volkspistole (People’s Pistols) of World War II Germany into sharp focus. Material losses during the war combined with the need to arm domestic home guard units meant that manufacturers needed to produce great numbers of cheap and quickly built firearms. Several prototype firearms were developed under this program. Nearly all of these designs were crude and ugly, but they worked and were cheap and that is all that was required.

In the last few months of 1944, the German High Command urgently needed to replace the great volumes of weapons lost on the Eastern Front. There was a simultaneous demand for cheap firearms for irregular territorial defense troops, the Volkssturm (Home Guard) and others. At this stage of the War, most weapons plants could no longer cope with the demand for quality weaponry, such as the Mauser Infanteriegewehr 1898 rifle, the Walther P.38 handgun or the older Luger P-08. So various firms began to design firearms from the ground up which could be made quickly, simply and cost effectively. Critical to the design of any full-powered rifle or pistol was how to delay the opening of the breech long enough for the residual chamber pressure upon firing to lower to safe limits. This is not a problem in locked breech firearms like the Walther P.38 or those within the Browning family, since recoil unlocks the barrel from the slide assembly after the bullet leaves the muzzle. It is not a concern in a bolt action rifle or in a submachine gun either, the latter usually using bolt mass and spring strength to effect a delay. To solve this perplexity, various engineers began to look at something entirely new. They tapped a minute portion of the expanding gases of discharged ammunition to momentarily delay opening. On that account, the first gas-delayed blowback firearms came from the weapons factories of Nazi Germany.

Theory of Gas-Bleed Delay

The theory behind the ‘gas-bleed delay,’ is that part of the gas propelling the bullet seeps through ports in the barrel to impinge on the inner surfaces of the slide (or reciprocating cylinder). The breech stays closed until the bullet has passed from the muzzle, by which time, the pressure has dropped sufficiently to allow the breech block to move rearward in normal blowback manner. The breech block is not positively locked during the entire duration of the bullet’s passage up the bore. It is essentially a blowback system in which the rearward movement is momentarily delayed.

Several drawbacks of the design were identified early: first, the slide/barrel contact point required rather close tolerances or the gas would escape, making it blowback action, something it was not designed to be. Second, gas residue soon fouled the inner wall and plugged the gas port and needed frequent cleaning. Third, case warping and splits and rim separations occurred since there is a possibility of the bolt moving backwards while the case is still expanding against the chamber wall by gas pressure.

From an engineering perspective, overcoming the last problem is achieved by “fluting” the chamber, whereas thin grooves are cut longitudinally from in front of the case mouth to about one third of the case length from its base. Fluting is adopted to allow high-pressure gas to flow outside the case and thus ‘float’ it on a layer of gas and reduce friction during the initial movement of the bolt. The process prevents the cartridge case from sticking to the walls of the chamber on extraction but as a result, the mechanism is fouled to a black color after firing.

The evolved gas-delay system worked well in pistol form and could even function with the stout 7.92mm Pist. Patr. 43 ‘intermediate’ rifle round moving at 2150 fps! The German gas-delayed blowback VG 1-5 semi-automatic rifle was part of the Primitiv-Waffen-Programm of 1944 and was intended for the Volkssturm troops.

VG 1-5 Semiautomatic Carbine

The history of the VG 1-5, an arm made at Gustloff Werke (Suhl), is rather elusive because not many documents concerning it or actual weapon specimens survived the war. A letter to Suhl regarding the VG 1-5 exchanged hands many times before Elke Weiss, representative of the Suhler Jagd- und Sportwaffen GmbH weapons firm wrote:
“All materials about military guns and materials that were produced during the war in the Gustloff Werke were destroyed after the war. Since 1948 hunting guns and rifles have been produced in the former Gustloff Werke – now Suhler Jagd- und Sportwaffen GmbH so that we do not have a close connection with (the) military.” There ends the official trail.

What is known is that the VG 1-5 can be termed in various ways: “Selbstladegewehr”,“Selbstladekarabiner”, “Volkssturmgewehr 1-5”, “Volkssturm-Maschinenpistole45”, “Gustloffvolkssturmgewehren”, “Volkssturm-Selbstladegewehr, Gustloff-Werke”, “Selbstlader mit Kurzpatrone 44”, as well as the “Versuchsgerat 1-5.” [EDITOR: The ‘a’ in the last word, gerat, has double dots over it, an ‘umlaut’.] Note that the Volkssturm weapons were never adopted or assigned official nomenclature. The simple term “Volksgewehr” was used by the Germans as a general reference and the various other names were applied after the war.

At the time, perhaps about 10,000 of the semiautomatic carbines were manufactured for civilian resistance use. Today, the VG 1-5 is exceedingly rare and is primarily found only in noted arms museums. It is not known how many remain in private collections. What is known is that a VG 1-5 Title 1 deactivated war trophy was recently advertised in this magazine for $8200 – certainly not a cheap piece. Originally, the Volkssturm drew the bulk of its weapons from materiel captured by the Wehrmacht, but soon that supply was exhausted. In response, German industry showed remarkable resourcefulness by manufacturing serviceable weapons from basic materials and eminently simplified production techniques. Machining and heat treating was kept to an absolute minimum and steel tubing and pressed metal with welding, pins and rivets were used for component assembly. The alternate weapons program was initiated to field basic shoulder arms chambered for both the 7.92x57mm long cartridge and the 7.92x33mm short (Kurz) cartridge. The designs included single-shot and magazine-fed bolt-action rifles and semiautomatic carbines. Participating weapons firms included Appel, Berliner-Spandau; Bergmann KG, Velten; Gustloff Werke, Suhl; Walther, Zella-Mehlis; Deutsche Industrie-Werke AG, Berlin; Rochling, Wetzlar (Coenders); Berliner-Lubecker Maschinenfabriken; ERMA, Haenel, Hessische Industrie-Werke, Mauser, Rheinmetall-Borsig, Ruhrstahl, Spreewerk and Steyr.

Early development efforts climaxed during the autumn of 1944 and the weapons were demonstrated to Adolf Hitler during November 1944, according to Albert Speer’s writings. Among the models demonstrated to the Fuhrer “leader” [EDITOR: Fuhrer always has an umlaut (double dots) over the u] was a retarded blowback self-loader for the Kurz cartridge, with a 30-round magazine, a model from the Gustloff Werke, Suhl.

Karl Barnitzke, the chief designer at Gustloff Werke, designed the VG 1-5 to feature a barrel permanently assembled to the receiver. A sheet metal design, the receiver was formed in separate halves and then welded together. Surrounding the barrel and extending behind it over the receiver is a thick-walled, machined operating cylinder (.175-inch-thick, 15.5-inch-long steel tube, approx. 1.420-inch in diameter.) At its front, the cylinder is closed by a long cylindrical collar. To the rear, a half-cylindrical bolt is pinned directly to the long cylinder and a recoil spring is mounted around the barrel. The operating cylinder reciprocates and carried the bolt with it. Upon firing, normal blowback action begins until combustion gas escapes through four radial gas ports in the barrel 2.5 inch behind the muzzle to act upon the forward cylinder collar. This gas is trapped in the space formed by the operating cylinder collar and the barrel. The gas pushes forward against the collar and rearward against a shoulder on the barrel, thus retarding the opening of the action. After one-inch rearward travel, the ports are exposed and normal blow-back continues. Loading is achieved by the returning recoil spring.

After examining each firearm, Hitler rejected all single shot models and indicated that the VGs should have a magazine of about 10-rounds to facilitate prone position shooting. The longer 30-round MP 44 magazine was not to be used. The Gustloff self-loading model was snubbed by Hitler due to its expense, excessive ammunition consumption and because the MP 44 was already in production with about the same use of material and cost.

Indeed, while workable, the VG 1-5 was never highly regarded compared to the MP 44. There is no reliable information concerning the field performance of the VG 1-5, but it is assumed that it suffered from the most typical problem of gas-delayed blowbacks – fouling. Since it was machined to somewhat close tolerances, unless the surfaces were habitually cleaned and carefully lubricated, the combined effect of accumulating gas residue and barrel expansion would occasionally cause the weapon to jam. Yet the VG 1-5 did work and it is likely that Allied Intelligence reports would have declared that it was “presumed to be effective.”

Post-War Developments

Much has changed since some of the first German designs were field tested. Today the wartime method of breech locking, using expanding cartridge gas to delay a blowback action, has become accepted by several noted military and police forces.

Following the war, gas-delayed rifles were mostly abandoned but other forms of mechanically delayed blowbacks were attempted, all of which used W.W.II German technology and experience in one form or another. Early post-war variants of the delayed blowback system included the Spanish Fusil d’Assalto Cetme Modelo 58 7.62x51mm NATO, the French AAT modele 52 7.62x51mm machine gun, and the Swiss Sturmgewehr Modell 57 7.5x54mm rifle. To illustrate how war-time innovation carries on to date, take a look at the French 5.56x45mm FAMAS “bullpup” rifle. It is a delayed blowback that uses a fluted chamber, and the same can be said about the German G3/HK33/MP5 family. Since the War, the gas-delayed blowback pistol design has continued with several modern entries. They have overcome the aforementioned drawbacks of gas-delayed designs in various ways, including fluted chambers, an insistence on jacketed ammunition (never lead bullets), and precise, quality manufacturing. In fact, the manufacturing practices and standards for gas guns are the same as those for conventional designs. The newest gas guns are both reliable and generally inexpensive to produce, something the original German engineers vigorously sought after.

These include the Austrian Steyr Model GB, the German Heckler & Koch P7 variants, Network Custom Guns’ M1911 drop-in gas gun conversion kit, the Heritage Manufacturing Stealth pistols, and the South African Du Plessis ADP pistols. These designs will safely fire 9x19mm subgun ammo and the newer and hotter .40 S&W rounds. Indeed, so successful has been the P7 entry that it has become standard issue to several military and police units including the armed forces of Germany and the New Jersey State Police. Further, the P7M13 (high capacity version) was initially a candidate for the Joint Services Small Arms Program in the early 1980s as a replacement for the older .45 ACP service pistol. That is, however, another story.

The VG 1-5 gas guns certainly started out on the drawing board as a cheap improvised design, but it has nevertheless earned its place in weapons history. Its collectability is as unquestioned as the certainty that firing this rifle with its unlocked breech would have been infinitely more dangerous to our GIs than to its user. Author’s note: I would like to thank Z. Frank Hanner, Andrew Phillpotts, Steve Galloway, Elke Weiss, Randall Sinclair and Peter Kearns for their considerable help in compiling graphics and data for this article and for its critique.

Editor’s note: Warren Ferguson is a former Weapons Technician with the Canadian Army’s Electrical Mechanical Engineers and is now a freelance writer. He can be contacted at: wfpaddy@hotmail.com.

References

Hogg, Ian V. and Weeks, John. Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, 5th ed. DBI Books, Inc., Northfield, IL, 1985. Markham, George. Guns of the Reich: Firearms of the German Forces, 1939-1945. Arms & Armour Press, London, U.K., 1989.

Senich, Peter R. The German Assault Rifle 1935-1945, Paladin Press, Boulder, CO, 1987