The Belgian FN P90 submachine gun is widely known. One of the main factors drawing attention to this weapon is the original store. The magazine of this submachine gun is mounted above the receiver. The cartridges in it are located horizontally and perpendicular to the axis of the barrel. Before feeding the cartridge to the dispensing line, it is deployed by a special feeder, which is part of the store. This design made it possible to provide a sufficiently large magazine capacity (50 rounds) while maintaining the acceptable dimensions of both the magazine itself and the entire weapon as a whole.
It should be noted that the designers of the FN company were not the first to try to reduce the dimensions of the weapon and increase the magazine capacity due to the non-standard arrangement of cartridges and the use of a "longitudinal" magazine. However, only the Belgian P90 was able to become a truly massive weapon. Consider some submachine guns, the developers of which tried to use the original ammunition supply system with the location of the magazine along the receiver.
G. Sosso submachine gun (Italy)
One of the first proposals for a non-standard store location was a project by the Italian gunsmith Giulio Sosso, who worked for FNA (Fabrica Nationale D'Armi). In the late thirties, he developed an original submachine gun, in which a special channel inside a wooden box served as a store. It was proposed to place the cartridges in this channel at a slight angle to the vertical. In such a store, several dozen cartridges could be placed without compromising the convenience of using the weapon.
Unfortunately, information on the Sosso submachine gun is extremely scarce. Nevertheless, the available information and images allow you to get a general idea of the proposed weapon ammunition system.
The two-row magazine was supposed to be located inside the box, passing from the butt plate of the butt to the mechanism for feeding cartridges into the chamber. From the butt plate side of the butt, the cartridges had to be squeezed by a spring-loaded feeder. The existing drawing with a general diagram of the Sosso submachine gun shows a magazine with two rows of 47 pistol cartridges each. Probably, the ammunition load of this weapon, depending on the size of the stock and the butt, could indeed exceed 70-80 rounds.
Picture from the patent illustrating the transfer of cartridges from vertical to horizontal state before feeding
Under the pressure of the supply spring, the cartridges from the store had to move to the mechanics responsible for lifting them onto the dispensing line. The lifting mechanism consisted of a tube and a pusher. The latter was mechanically connected to the shutter. Turning, the pusher had to send the cartridge into the curved tube and guide it along it. After exiting the upper cut of the tube, the cartridge was in a horizontal position and could be sent by the bolt into the chamber. After the shot, the cycle had to be repeated.
The characteristics of this system are unknown. Apparently, J. Sosso's project remained on paper, in the form of drawings and a patent. For this reason, the rate of fire of the proposed automation, as well as the very fact of its operability, remain in question.
ZB-47 (Czechoslovakia)
After the end of World War II, Czechoslovak engineers began developing new types of small arms. In 1947, Vaclav Holek presented his own version of a promising submachine gun. As part of the ZB-47 project, the gunsmith tried to solve several serious issues related to improving the characteristics of the weapon. V. Holek tried to simplify the design, as well as to provide the maximum possible store capacity. After working out a number of proposals, it was decided to use the original long magazine, located at an angle to the barrel. In this case, while maintaining the acceptable dimensions of the weapon, the magazine capacity reached 72 rounds.
The ZB-47 submachine gun received a two-piece receiver. The upper had a tubular shape and was equipped with a barrel casing in the front. It contained a bolt and a return spring. The lower part of the receiver had a characteristic triangular shape and was connected to the upper one with a hinge. The lower part housed the components of the firing mechanism, as well as the cartridge feed mechanism. In addition, this assembly was provided with mounts for the store. A submachine gun could be equipped with one of two types of buttstock: a rigidly fixed wooden or folding metal. It is noteworthy that the metal stock imposed serious restrictions on the length and capacity of the magazine.
The magazine for 72 rounds of 9x19 mm Parabellum had a sufficiently long length, which is why it had to be placed under the lower edge of the receiver. Thanks to this, the store was located along the main structural elements of the submachine gun and almost did not affect its dimensions. This location of the store required the development of an original system for feeding cartridges. Under the action of the spring of the store, ammunition was fed into its front part, where it rested against a special sprocket with complex teeth. The free bolt of the weapon, through the linkage system, transmitted the recoil impulse to the sprocket and turned it a quarter of a turn. At the same time, the sprocket hooked a cartridge from the store and lifted it to the ramming line, at the same time bringing it to a position parallel to the barrel. Under the action of the return spring, the bolt sent the cartridge into the chamber.
This system made it possible to provide a rate of fire of 550 rounds per minute. Even when using a bulky magazine, the ZB-47 submachine gun turned out to be quite light and compact. The version of the weapon with a wooden stock had a total length of 740 mm and a barrel length of 265 mm. The own weight of the submachine gun was 3.3 kilograms. The weight of the empty magazine was 330 g, loaded - 1, 2 kg. Thus, the submachine gun and two magazines for it (174 rounds) weighed less than 6 kilograms, which could increase the fighter's capabilities in battle.
The ZB-47 submachine gun was equipped with an open sight of the most simplified design, which made it possible to fire at distances of 100 and 300 m.
When developing the ZB-47, V. Holek took into account the need to deploy production at existing factories, which affected the complexity of the design. In the design of the submachine gun, there were only 24 parts, most of which could be made by stamping. The designer believed that such simplicity, combined with combat characteristics, would allow his development to become widespread.
In the middle of 1947, an experimental batch of new model submachine guns was assembled. According to some reports, two dozen ZB-47s were presented for testing. There is no exact information on the progress of the testing of this weapon, but it is known that the military was not interested in it. For some reason - probably due to the complexity of the mechanism for feeding cartridges into the chamber - the ZB-47 submachine gun was not adopted. The main submachine gun of the Czechoslovak army in 1948 was the Sa vz.23 designed by J. Holechek.
J. L. Hill submachine guns (USA)
Former fighter pilot John L. Hill worked as an engineer for an American oil company in the 1940s. His responsibilities included the development and commissioning of new equipment required for the extraction of minerals. However, Hill was not limited only to official duties and therefore tried to try himself in other areas. In the late forties, he independently developed and manufactured a submachine gun of an original design. The main feature of this weapon was the new design of the store, which made it possible to significantly increase the ammunition load without major changes in its dimensions.
Hill used the same system as the Belgian gunsmiths decades later. He placed an elongated box magazine on the upper surface of the receiver. To increase the ammunition load, the cartridges were located perpendicular to the axis of the barrel, bullets to the left. Thanks to this, a two-row magazine of an acceptable length could hold up to 50 9x19 mm Parabellum rounds. An increase in the capacity of the store was not ruled out, however, in this case, some modifications to the design of the submachine gun itself were required, including a change in its length.
Hill's proposed store demanded the development of a new system for feeding cartridges into the chamber. Before being sent, they had to be turned 90 °. For this, a special feeder was added to the design of the weapon. The cartridge had to fall under its own weight into the feeder tray, mechanically connected to the shutter. The feeder had to turn the cartridge in the right direction. After that, the bolt with a special protrusion pushed the cartridge out of the tray onto the ramming line and sent it to the chamber.
The store of the J. L. Hill submachine gun had a fairly simple design and did not differ much from the stores of the shooting systems of a similar class that existed at that time. The only noticeable change was the knot through which the cartridges were fed into the weapon: there was a rectangular hole on the lower surface of the hull. Through it and through a round hole in the receiver, the cartridges were supposed to get to the mechanisms of the weapon. According to some reports, Hill offered to fill stores with cartridges at an arms factory and supply the troops in full form. In this case, the shop window had to be covered with foil. Additionally, some sources claim that Hill's submachine gun may have used disposable magazines made from cardboard or other cheap material.
With the exception of the original store, Hill's submachine gun of the first version was of no interest. He used an automatic mechanism based on a free bolt with a drummer rigidly fixed to the bolt. The weapon received a rectangular receiver and a wooden stock. In the lower surface of the box there was a hole for ejection of cartridges. The shell casings were to be removed by the bolt and fall out of the weapon under their own weight.
John L. Hill began developing his submachine gun in the late 1940s, but the weapon was not ready for testing until 1953. In this regard, Hill's first submachine gun is often referred to as mod. 1953 (model 1953). Despite the apparent complexity of the design, the new weapon turned out to be quite reliable and worked almost without failures. The rate of fire reached 450-500 rounds per minute. After some modifications, the mod.1953 submachine gun was offered to the US military.
The military reacted to Hill's weapons without enthusiasm. The troops had a large number of M3 submachine guns, including modifications designed to use the 9x19 mm cartridge. In addition, the army was preparing for the transition to new small arms for new ammunition, and the fighting qualities of Hill's development no longer met the new requirements. Therefore, the mod.1953 submachine gun remained at the prototype testing stage. Only a few weapons of this type were collected. According to some reports, all prototypes were made by Hill in his own home workshop.
The engineer did not abandon his project and continued its development. Towards the end of the fifties, John L. Hill had developed a new submachine gun, designated the H15 or mod. 1960. The principles of operation of the updated weapon remain the same, and the design of the store has not changed either. Hill intended to offer a new H15 to the police, for which some design changes were made. As ammunition, the new submachine gun was supposed to use.38 ACP cartridges. In a two-row store, it was possible to place 35 of these cartridges. The H15 did not receive a wooden stock. Instead, a pistol grip with a trigger was placed under the middle part of the receiver. For the convenience of using the weapon, spent cartridges were thrown out through the hollow handle. In some images, the weapon is equipped with a butt, but in most photographs this detail is missing.
About 100 H15 submachine guns were produced, which Hill was going to offer the police for testing. However, this time, the potential customer did not show interest in the new weapon. Probably, the police leadership could not find a tactical niche for such systems. Most of the hundreds of submachine guns produced were scrapped. According to some reports, no more than 10 units of this weapon have survived to this day, which were previously exhibited in one of the private museums.
The design of the J. L. Hill system magazine is very similar to the technical solutions used by the FN engineers in the P90 submachine gun. The only noticeable difference between these two designs is the rounding system: on Hill, they were deployed with a special weapon mechanism, and on the P90 submachine gun, a special part of the magazine is responsible for this process. However, the location of the ammunition and the way it is fed into the weapon are the same. According to some reports, in the mid-sixties, FN invited J. L. Hill for consultations and was even able to persuade him to leave the H15 submachine gun for careful study.
