armoury
ICS CES-P MP-5 + CXP-MARS PDW9
THE CHANGING FACE OF 9MM PLATFORMS
I would argue that the very first of what we would
refer to as the “modern military SMG” was the MP 18
manufactured by Theodor Bergmann Abteilung Waffenbau,
which was brought into service in 1918 by the German
Army during World War I as the primary weapon of the
“Sturmtruppen”, the specialised German WWI trench
assault groups. Up until then, infantry combat was
traditionally “ranged” and the bolt-action rifle was the king
of the battlefield but the bloody and gruesome, often hand
to hand combat seen within the close-confines of trench
systems, called for something smaller and with a higher
rate of fire… the term “trench broom” which referred
to shotguns, fully-automatic carbines and eventually the
Bergmann SMG was coined for a reason!
WWII saw most armies still largely armed with those
bolt-action rifles and the .303 SMLE did sterling service
against the venerable 7.92×57mm Kar98k but the with the
“Blitzkrieg” came a new, fast-moving type of land warfare
fought from the backs of vehicles that required more easily
carried, fast-firing sub-machine guns with effective riflemen
and LMG gunners in support. Far from the days of the
“Sturmtruppen” being over when trench warfare ceased
to be the norm, the soldiers of a new war were confronted
with fighting in towns and cities and the “weapons mix”
was chosen accordingly.
WWII was surely the “War of the SMG” and whilst the
Germans were again at the forefront with the excellent
MP38/MP40, the Allied forces soon followed with the likes
of the Thompson, the STEN, the Owen Gun and PPSh-41
and, of course, the M3A1 “Grease Gun”.
Even during the Cold War years the “battle rifle” still
ruled the roost with the likes of the FN FAL, L1A1 SLR,
G3, M14 and of course the AK47/AKM and the submachine
gun largely fulfilled the role of “Individual Defence
Weapon”, or IDW, for the likes of signallers, engineers,
drivers and support personnel. Whilst, for instance, the
British had the Sterling and the M3 was still seen in the
hands of some American rear echelon personnel, once
again the Germans went their own way with the MP5.
During the early to mid-1960s it became apparent to
security forces worldwide that the rise in terrorist atrocities
was a trend that they had to counter and for this reason
many police and military units started the hunt for a
lightweight, accurate, pistol calibre sub-machine gun. The
Germans had a bit of a history with SMGs and “machine
pistols” and two companies, Carl Walther Waffenfabrik
in Ulm-an-Donau and Heckler and Koch (H&K) GmBH
in Obendorf-am-Necker, were at the forefront of the
development process.
H&K looked at the successful G3 rifle designs and
then adapted things so as to make use of the 9×19mm
Parabellum pistol cartridge. The MP5 was created within
this group of firearms and was initially known as the HK54.
First created in 1964, the H&K MP5 was developed as a
pistol-calibre, blowback operated, roller-locked member
of the H&K weapons system and, in 1966, it was officially
adopted by the German Federal Police, border guard and
army special forces.
Still regarded of as one of the most reliable and
effective submachine guns in the world after more than
fifty years, has seen the MP5 become the choice of the
worlds’ most famous elite anti-terrorist, special operations
and special law enforcement organisations. While more
modern submachine guns have been designed since the
introduction of the MP5 it is still the user’s choice when
lives are at stake.
But times they continue to be a’changin’ and whilst
the SMG world has largely cooled, the development of
IDW/PDW platforms has grown hotter and hotter! The
terminology began to change and in the 1990’s the term
“PDW” began to crop up more and more when it came to
fully-automatic small calibre firearms, then, in 1991, the FN
P90 appeared, featuring an unusual design with a futuristic
appearance. A simple blow-back automatic weapon, it was
designed to fire the FN 5.7×28mm cartridge which could
penetrate soft body armour and was designed to have a
length no greater than a man’s shoulder width, to allow it
to be easily carried and manoeuvred in tight spaces, such as
the inside of a vehicle.
Form a firearms historian’s perspective, a few years
later Parker-Hale unveiled an interesting and dedicated
personal defence weapon in 1999. The Parker-Hale PDW
(a reworking of the Bushman Ltd IDW) was designed as
a multi-purpose weapon that could take on a number
of roles. Primarily it was designed as a super-compact
submachine gun but it could also be used as a handgun,
a marksman weapon or a light support weapon. It was
very much intended to be the ultimate “SF” weapon.
It was tested by the British Army and Special Forces,
and again showed signs of promise but Parker Hale hit
financial trouble and was bought out, ceasing all firearms
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