Hello bajtársak and fellow forumdwellers,
The M-1938 is a completely indigenous Republican (or Catalonian to be precise) design that was manufactured in Catalonia by Industrias de Guerra de Cataluña for the Republican forces in the mid to late stages of the civil war; with only a few thousand having been built at best.
Despite the pressing firearm shortage that plagued the Republican army all throughout the war, this Catalonian submachine gun was made with quality over quantity in mind, almost everything is finely machined on the M-1938 and for a wartime submachine gun design it is unusually well made, easily comparable to Colt made M1921 Thompson or Steyr MP34 submachine guns.
Chambered for the powerful 9x23mm Largo cartridge and fed from a 20 or 36-round box magazine, the M-1938 was a formidable weapon . With its high 750 rounds-per-minute rate of fire, it could deliver devastating close-range firepower. According to Thomas Nelson the design was influential, since a similar fire selector mechanism was later used on the British Sten gun.
The fate of the M-1938 is shrouded in the chaos of the war’s end. Production likely ceased before the conflict’s conclusion due to material shortages. The final blow came with the Erbo offensive, which crippled the Republican army, completely isolated Catalonia and shattered the morale of the Republicans. After the civil war, the only notable users of the M-1938 were guerrilla groups attempting to resist the Spanish government and the Guardia Civil they fought against.
The oddest thing about this gun is that 3 of 4 factions can form loose claims for it.
No faction has actually recorded use of it though.
Axis on the basis that they had good relations with Spain and were supplied with Spanish weapons.
The Soviet faction on the basis that the Spanish republic that made the guns was basically their puppet government and the Soviet Union also received guns from (Republican) Spain.
Finally, Allies on the basis that it is rumored that some of these guns were passed to the French resistance during the war.
front cover of the book Pistolas y subfusiles de la República. Producción de guerra depicting a M-1938 loaded with a 20 round magazine
Ammunition: 9x23 Largo (20 or 36 rounds in detachable box magazine)
Muzzle velocity: 400 m/s
Weight: 4.4 kg (empty)
Length: 794 mm
Barrel length: 260 mm
Rate of fire: 750 rounds per minute, push-button fire selector for full-auto and semi-auto firing
With these stats, the gun could both be BR3 and BR4, but in the topic “Firearms used by communist forces” 75% voted on making it BR3, so I do not see the need to repeat the vote.
sources:
Thomas B. Nelson - The world’s submachine guns (machine pistols)
Modern Firearms - Labora submachine gun
Bergmann or Bayard Long Fontbernat M 1938 (Labora)
https://guns.fandom.com/wiki/Labora_submachine_gun
Thread by @Ismael_Historia: HILO Today I would like to talk to you about a weapon designed and produced in Catalonia during the Spanish Civil War by the Comissió d’Indústries de G…
- Yes
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- Allies
- Axis
- Soviet faction
- Battle Pass weapon
- Event weapon
- Event/Premium squad weapon
