Mors submachine gun

Mors
300px Mors (left) in the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw
Type	Submachine gun
Place of origin	Poland
Service history
In service	1936-39
Production history
Designer	Piotr Wilniewczyc Jan Skrzypiński
Designed	1936
Variants	Prototype version
Specifications
Weight	4.25 kg (without magazine)
Length	970 mm
Barrel length	300 mm
Cartridge	9×19mm Parabellum
Action	blowback
Rate of fire	500-550 rpm
Muzzle velocity	400 m/s (1,312 fts)
Effective firing range	440 m
Maximum firing range	600 m
Feed system	24-round magazine
Sights	Adjustable iron sights

Pistolet maszynowy wz. 39 Mors (Mors is Latin for death, Polish for walrus) was a Polish submachine gun designed by Piotr Wilniewczyc and Jan Skrzypiński between 1936 and 1938. It was to have become the standard submachine gun of the Polish Army some time in the 1940s. However, its production was halted by the 1939 Invasion of Poland and World War II.

The design was generally modelled after the German ERMA EMP-35. Common features of the two weapons included a wooden butt and forward pistol grip; the most noticeable difference was the magazine extending downwards in the Mors rather than to the left side of the ERMA. The SMG was to be issued to some of the infantry units, as well as to tank crews and boarding parties of the Polish Navy and armoured trains. Later the idea of equipping tank crews was abandoned due to its size. After extensive tests, the construction proved to be reliable and durable. Some Polish non commissioned officer used it along with the Vis pistol and the Szabla wz.34. The first series was ordered in March 1939 and additional purchases were planned. However, until September 1939 the Fabryka Karabinów in Warsaw produced only 39, 3 of these being the prototypes. After the start of hostilities, all were issued to one infantry battalion and were used with success during the battle for Warsaw.

Only 2 or 3 have survived: one in the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw (acquired from the Soviet Union in late 1980s), one in Russia and one probably in a Budapest museum.

Bibliography

• Konstankiewicz A., Broń strzelecka Wojska Polskiego 1918-39, Warsaw 1986
• Głębowicz W., Indywidualna bron strzelecka II wojny światowej, Warsaw 2010

External links

• Prezentacja pistoletu maszynowego Mors, from series of documentaries Z Arsenału Muzeum Wojska Polskiego