Carl Gustaf m/45

The Kulsprutepistol m/45 (Kpist m/45), also known as the Carl Gustaf M/45 and the Swedish K SMG, is a 9×19mm Swedish submachine gun (SMG) designed by Gunnar Johansson, adopted in 1945 (hence the m/45 designation), and manufactured at the Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori in Eskilstuna, Sweden. The m/45 was the standard submachine gun of the Swedish Army from 1945 to 1965. It was gradually replaced in Swedish service by updated Ak 4 battle rifles and Ak 5 assault rifles. The last official user of the m/45, the Swedish Home Guard (Hemvärnet), retired it from service in April 2007.[4]

This article is about the submachine gun. For the electronic band, see Kpist (band).
Kulsprutepistol m/45 (Kpist m/45)
Carl Gustaf m/45B
TypeSubmachine gun
Place of originSweden
Service history
Used bySee Users
WarsSuez Crisis
Vietnam War
Laotian Civil War
Congo Crisis
Salvadoran Civil War
Lebanese Civil War
Israeli-Arab conflict[1]
Soviet–Afghan War[2]
First Congo War
Iraq War
Mali War[3]
2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Production history
Designed1944
ManufacturerCarl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori
Maadi Factories, Egypt
Produced1945–1964 (Sweden)
1965–1970 (Egypt)
No. builtapprox. 300,000
Variantsm/45, m/45B, m/45C, m/45BE, m/45BET, m/45S, Port Said, Akaba, US Navy modification (no official designation) with suppressor.
Specifications
Mass7.38 lbs (3.35 kg) without magazine
Length21.65/31.81 in (550/808 mm)
Barrel length8.34 in (212 mm)
Cartridge9×19mm Parabellum (Known as 9×19mm m/39B in Sweden)
ActionBlowback, Simple (straight)
Rate of fire600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity1395 ft/s (425 m/s)
Effective firing range~273 yards (250 m)
Feed system36-round box magazine

The m/45 SMG was developed in 1944–45, with a design borrowing from and also improving on many design elements of earlier submachine guns. The sheet metal stamping techniques used in making the German MP 40, the British Sten, and the Soviet PPSh-41 and PPS-43 were studied in detail. Two designs were tested in 1944, one from Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori and one from Husqvarna Vapenfabriks and the prototype from Carl Gustafs Stads Gevärsfaktori was chosen for further development. The first production version was adopted in 1945 as the Kpist m/45. The Danish Hovea M/49 SMG, although similar in appearance, is not a version derived from the m/45. The Hovea was a development of the failed test contender (fm44) from Husqvarna.

Features
U.S. Army soldier firing an m/45B SMG during special weapons training. The soldier is incorrectly holding the weapon by its magazine, which may cause the magazine to come loose as well as damage the magazine housing. The correct grip requires the user to place their supporting hand just in front of the magazine.

The standard m/45 is a fully-automatic-only weapon without any option for semi-automatic fire. It weighs 3.3 kg (7.3 lbs.) unloaded, and 4.2 kg (9.25 lbs.) loaded with a 36-round box magazine. It is 808 mm (31.8 in.) long with the stock extended, and 550 mm (21.7 in.) long with the stock folded. The m/45 is an open bolt design with a fixed firing pin. The relatively slow cyclic rate of fire (550–600 rds/min.) and low recoil of the bolt-mechanism actuation (straight blowback) makes it easy to control during full automatic fire. Single shots are also easy to achieve (with very little training) by letting go of the trigger before another round is cycled. The m/45 is fairly accurate up to 200 meters.

Accessories include a special sub-calibre barrel (painted silver) for firing blanks and low-powered gallery ammunition. When firing blanks, a cone shaped blank firing adapter must be attached to the threaded muzzle of the sub-calibre barrel (and secured by a clip) to ensure the mechanism has adequate pressure for its blowback operation. Other accessories include night sights (wartime use only) that attach to the fixed day sights (f: protected post, r: L-type), a brass catcher for collecting spent cartridges (peacetime use only, for reloading and recycling),[5] a quick-detachable (by attached cord) ejection port cover (painted bright red) for guard duty which secures the bolt from accidental firing, and a magazine loader that loads a magazine from a cartridge tray in seconds. The m/45 was also issued with a standard cleaning kit containing a threaded cleaning rod, threaded jag and a container for the jag, lubricant and cleaning patches. The standard sling issued was made of leather, attached to the rear left receiver and left barrel-sleeve sling bars.

The 36-round straight detachable staggered row box magazine is wider at the rear than at the front, the extra space allows the tapered 9mm Parabellum cartridges to feed more efficiently. The trapezium design makes the magazine very reliable in dusty environments and sub-zero temperatures, because magazines of parallel-side design are more likely to jam under adverse conditions. The magazine was used post-war by Finland in the m/31 Suomi under the designation m/54, a distinguishing feature of the variation m/55 (made by Lapua) is a steel wire carrying loop mounted at the bottom front edge. The basic design idea of the m/45 magazine was also used for the magazines of the Czech model 23 and model 25 and the French MAS submachine guns.

The m/45 has no safety switch. Instead the m/45 is put in "safe" by sliding the cocking handle into a short side-slot above the main (lock) slot. In the example US Army photograph, this short safety side-slot is visible behind the rear L-sight. When the m/45 is unloaded the bolt is locked in place in the bolt-forward position by pushing the cocking handle inwards, engaging a hole in the lower left receiver wall.

Variants
  • First production: the SMG models Kpist m/45 and Kpist m/45S[6] (integrated suppressor, never used in Sweden) featured a detachable (via removable clip) magazine support. It accepted the kpist m/37-39 50-round "coffin" magazine and the later standard 36-round box magazine.[5] The m/45 had a dark gun metal finish.
  • General production: the m/45B model features a fixed magazine support, smaller holes in the barrel shroud, a strengthened bolt buffer (in the receiver-rear), and a hook securing the buffer cap in place.[7] Early m/45B models had the same metal finish as the m/45 but most had a dull green lacquer finish. Over time, most first production m/45's were converted by permanently riveting the magazine support to the receiver.[7]
  • UN/ONU and Ceremonial: the m/45C is an m/45B with a bayonet mount on the barrel sleeve which was used for parade and guard duties. During the Congo Crisis in the 1960s, the Swedish UN forces used the C version extensively. The standard m/45 and m/45B have no bayonet mount.[7]
  • Police: The Swedish Police used the m/45 as a reinforcement weapon, issued to specially trained police officers under exceptional circumstances like terrorist attacks and armed robberies. Unlike the military model it was equipped with a selector switch for full auto or semi-auto fire. The police model designation was m/45BE (E = enkelskott/single-shot) and BET (T = tårgas/tear gas). The BET model was later locked to semi-auto with a screw to the selector switch. The Police model had an all black finish, this in contrast to the slate grey phosphate and enamel green of the military versions. In the mid to late 70's the BE version was retrofitted with a modified stock (m/75) with a removable upper cheekpiece allowing the operator to wear a visored riot protection helmet (Huvudskydd m/69). The BET model was only used to fire a tear gas canister (Tårgaskastspray m/74). To be able to fire the canister, a special blank cartridge (9mm lös ptr m/T) had to be used. A red sticker on the left side of the weapon reminded the operator that only blank ammunition could be used. The BET also had a high front sight and an adjustable rear sight (30, 45 and 60 meters). The m/45 BET was replaced by Heckler & Koch MZP-1 (HP 40) in the early/mid 1990s because it was regarded unfashionable and also because new tear gas canisters became hard to obtain since they contained the hazardous substance: Freon-12.

Manufacture and use
The Kpist m/45 in service (left) with Swedish soldiers during the Congo Crisis.

The Swedish Army list price of the Carl Gustaf m/45 in the late 1970s was around 600 Swedish krona.

The Carl Gustaf m/45 was replaced in the Swedish Armed Forces during the mid-1960s with the 7.62mm Ak 4 battle rifle, and starting in 1986 with the 5.56mm Ak 5 assault rifle. On 2 April 2007 the kpist m/45 was officially declared obsolete when it was retired from the Home Guard who were the last users in the Swedish Armed Forces.[4]

In addition to Sweden, several other countries have used the weapon, with versions of the weapon being produced in Egypt and the United States.

Licensed production in Egypt
A Carl Gustaf m/45, probably a Port Said variant, seized in 2016 during the Northern Mali conflict.

The m/45 has been manufactured under license in Egypt as the Port Said and the Akaba. The tooling needed for production, as well as technical assistance, was sold by Sweden to Egypt during the 1950s. The Port Said looks and functions exactly as the m/45 (first version while the Akaba is a modified and simplified version). The Akaba has no barrel jacket and a slightly shorter barrel and the folding butt stock has been replaced by a telescoping wire butt stock similar to the one used on the US M3A1.[8] The simplified sights of the Akaba were moved to the front (unprotected post) and back (protected peep) of the receiver.

Use by the United States in Southeast Asia

During the Vietnam War, the US Navy SEALs used the m/45 extensively. One of the gun's qualities which appealed to the US Navy was that the m/45 can fire almost immediately out of the water (over the beach). It also saw use by CIA operatives and advisers. In US service it was largely known as the "Swedish-K" or "K-Rifle".[9] The US Navy was so impressed by the m/45 that when Sweden embargoed the export of weapons to the United States in 1966, Smith & Wesson was given the task of producing a copy. This was designated the Smith & Wesson M76. However, by the time the M76 was ready for combat deployment, the US Navy interest had largely evaporated.[10] Many of the m/45s used by US forces and agencies were devoid of markings, implying clandestine use ("sanitized").

Illegal production in South America

In 1975, the Junta de Coordinación Revolucionaria, a Cuban-backed far-left internationalist organization, established a clandestine military factory in Buenos Aires. Although it was easy to produce explosives, there was a severe lack of materials to make firearms. In order to revert this, a Bolivian engineer, nicknamed "Comrade N", aiming to design "a submachine gun with the characteristics of an Uzi, but easier to build and disassemble and using 9mm ammunition" came out with the JCR-1. It was presented by the Argentinian People's Revolutionary Army through its newspaper Estrella Roja as a lightweight and concealable weapon.[11] Approximately 5,000 units were manufactured, though only a few hundred could be assembled until the Argentine Army dismantled the factory in late 1975.

Users

See also

References
  1. Laffin, John (15 June 1982). Arab Armies of the Middle East Wars 1948–73. Men-at-Arms. Vol. 128. Osprey Publishing. pp. 31–33. ISBN 978-0-85045-451-2.
  2. "Afghanistan – Seized Mujahideen weaponry 008.jpg". Wikimedia Commons.
  3. "En images : Découverte d'un lot d'armes dans la ville de Tombouctou au Mali" [In pictures: Discovery of a batch of weapons in the city of Timbuktu in Mali]. VOA Afrique (in French). 8 September 2016.
  4. Andersson, Thomas B. (2017). "Kpist m/45 – trotjänare med skral räckvidd" [Kpist m/45 - faithful servant with a narrow range]. Militär historia (in Swedish). No. 10. Bonniers förlag.
  5. "Carl Gustaf Kp M/45 submachine gun". Modern Firearms. Archived from the original on March 8, 2009. Retrieved 17 March 2008.
  6. Rottman, Gordon L. (20 October 2013). The Big Book of Gun Trivia: Everything you want to know, don't want to know... London, UK: Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-78200-950-4. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  7. Janson, Olof. "The submachine guns of Sweden". Gothia Arms Historical Society.
  8. "Egyptský samopal Akaba" [Egyptian Akaba submachine gun]. Vojenský historický ústav Praha (in Czech).
  9. Bishop, Paul. "Karl Gustav M/45 "Swedish K"". MACV-SOG Living History Group. Retrieved 10 September 2013.
  10. "Smith & Wesson M76". World Guns. 27 October 2010.
  11. "JCR Modelo 1". Estrella Roja. No. 49. 10 March 1975 – via El Topo Blindado.
  12. Jones, Richard D.; Ness, Leland S., eds. (January 27, 2009). Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010 (35th ed.). Coulsdon: Jane's Information Group. ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  13. Small Arms Survey (2005). "The Central African Republic: A Case Study of Small Arms and Conflict". Small Arms Survey 2005: Weapons at War. Oxford University Press. p. 318. ISBN 978-0-19-928085-8. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 9, 2010.
  14. "Käsitulirelvad: 9 mm Püstolkuulipilduja M/45 B" [Small Arms: 9 mm submachine gun M/45 B]. Estonian Defence Forces (in Estonian). Retrieved 14 February 2015.
  15. "Carl Gustaf M/45". Modern Firearms. 27 October 2010.
  16. Small Arms Survey (2012). "Surveying the Battlefield: Illicit Arms In Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia". Small Arms Survey 2012: Moving Targets. Cambridge University Press. p. 321. ISBN 978-0-521-19714-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2018-08-30.
  17. Hogg, Ian (2002). Jane's Guns Recognition Guide. Harper Collins. p. 223. ISBN 0-00-712760-X.
  18. Bosiljevac, T.L. (1991). SEALs: UDT/SEAL operations in Vietnam. Ballantine Books. p. 114. ISBN 080410722X.
  19. Rottman, Gordon L. (25 July 2002). Green Beret in Vietnam 1957–73. Warrior. Vol. 28. Osprey Publishing. p. 41. ISBN 978-1-85532-568-5.
  20. Ezell, Edward Clinton (1988). Personal Firepower. The Illustrated History of the Vietnam War. Vol. 15. Bantam Books. p. 60. ISBN 978-0-55334-549-0. OCLC 1036801376.
  21. @CalibreObscura (10 Nov 2022). ""Ukrainian forces on the border with Belarus using... Carl Gustaf m/45!"". Archived from the original on November 10, 2022.
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