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Personal defense weapon

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The FN P90, one of the most well-known personal defense weapons (PDW)

Personal defense weapons (PDWs) are a class of compact, magazine-fed automatic firearms that are typically submachine guns designed for secondary defensive use rather than as a primary service weapon. Some PDWs fire a small-caliber (generally less than 8 mm or 0.31 in in bullet diameter), high-velocity centerfire bottleneck cartridge resembling a scaled-down intermediate cartridge, essentially making them an "in-between" hybrid between a submachine gun and a conventional carbine assault rifle.

The name describes the weapon's original conceptual role: as a compact but powerful small arm that can be conveniently carried for personal defense, usually by support personnel behind the front line such as military engineers, logistic drivers, medical specialists, artillery crews, or signallers. These "second-line" personnel are not strictly combat troops expected to directly engage the enemy, but may still be at risk of encountering decently equipped (and often well-armored) hostile skirmishers and infiltrators, therefore having to defend themselves in close quarters. Such encounters were thought to warrant an effective weapon that would have sufficient range for engagements that exceed handgun capabilities, but without the unnecessary bulk of a full-sized service rifle causing a burden during their normal duties. However, the concept has generally proven unsuccessful for this application, with carbines still being widely preferred for these roles.

History

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9mm Parabellum "Red 9" Mauser C96 with stock

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shortened versions of the infantry rifle were issued as "carbines" for cavalry troops and gun crews. This designation was dropped as infantry rifle designs became shortened overall, such as in the Short Magazine Lee–Enfield rifle. Thereafter, handguns were typically issued as self-defense weapons. However, they were not effective in most close combat situations.[citation needed] As a result, during the First World War, the Mauser C96 and artillery versions of the Luger pistol were issued with attachable shoulder stock holsters, which allowed for greater control and accuracy.

Pedersen device drawing

During World War I, the United States secretly developed the Pedersen device attachment for the M1903 Springfield rifle that allowed it to fire the .30-18 Auto (7.65×20mm Longue) pistol cartridge in semi-automatic mode.[1][2] This attachment was developed to allow an infantryman to convert "his rifle to a form of submachine gun or automatic rifle" in approximately 15 seconds.[2][1]

Production of the device and modified M1903 rifles started in 1918.[2] However, the war ended before they were sent to Europe.[1][2] The contract was cancelled on March 1, 1919, after production of 65,000 devices, 1.6 million magazines, 65 million cartridges and 101,775 modified Springfield rifles.[1][2][3] The Pedersen device was declared surplus in 1931.[3] To prevent them from falling into the hands of the lawless, nearly all of the stored devices were destroyed by the Army except for a few examples kept by Ordnance Department.[4][3]

The Chauchat-Ribeyrolles 1918

In 1918, Ribeyrolles, Sutter and Chauchat designed the Chauchat-Ribeyrolles 1918 submachine gun. This weapon was meant to be used for close-range protection for the French tank crews. The weapon is based on the RSC Mle. 1917 semi-automatic rifle mechanism. The first trials used a Mannlicher–Berthier clip holding eight cartridges. The trials continued until 1919 with a weapon using the same magazine as the Chauchat. The results were satisfactory but the weapon was too powerful for the intended self-protection use. A mix of standard and tracer bullets was planned to be used to assist in aiming.

M1 Garand and M1 Carbine

In 1938, the U.S. Army Ordnance Department received a request for a light rifle to be issued to mortarmen, radiomen, drivers, clerks, cooks, and similar grades.[5] During field exercises, these troops found that the M1 Garand rifle was too heavy and too cumbersome for general issue.[citation needed] And, while handguns are undeniably convenient, they had limited range, accuracy and power.[citation needed] This request was refused by authorities.[5]

In 1940, after Germany's use of glider-borne and paratroop forces to infiltrate and attack strategic points behind the front lines,[6][7] the request for a light rifle was resubmitted and subsequently approved.[5] U.S. Army Ordnance issued a requirement for a "light rifle" with greater range, firepower, and accuracy than the M1911 pistol while weighing half as much as the M1 Garand.[8] As a result, the U.S. developed the semi-automatic M1 Carbine and shortly thereafter the select-fire M2 Carbine.

AO-46

In 1969, AO-46 was an unsolicited design by Peter Andreevich Tkachev working at TsNIITochMash. Although not accepted for service, this design, in combination with report of the US use of the XM-177 in Vietnam led the GRAU to start the competition known as Project Modern, which led to the adoption of AKS-74U for service.[9][10]

FN P90
Heckler & Koch MP7A1

Introduced in 1991, the FN P90 features a bullpup design with a futuristic appearance. It has a 50-round magazine housed horizontally above the barrel, an integrated reflex sight and fully ambidextrous controls.[11] A simple blow-back automatic weapon, it was designed to fire the FN 5.7×28mm cartridge which can penetrate soft body armor.[12][13] The P90 was designed to have a length no greater than a man's shoulder width, to allow it to be easily carried and maneuvered in tight spaces, such as the inside of an armored vehicle.[11]

Introduced in 2001, the Heckler & Koch MP7 is a direct rival to the FN P90. Featuring a more conventional-looking design, the MP7 uses a short-stroke piston gas system as used on H&K's G36 and HK416 assault rifles, in place of a blowback system traditionally seen on submachine guns.[14] The MP7 is able to use 20-, 30- and 40-round magazines and fires 4.6×30mm ammunition which can penetrate soft body armor. Due to the heavy use of polymers in its construction, the MP7 is much lighter than older SMG designs, weighing only 1.2 kg (2.65 lb) with an empty 20-round magazine.

Applications

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Three civilian 5.7×28mm cartridges as used in the P90. The left cartridge has a plain hollow tip, the center cartridge has a red plastic V-max tip intended to ensure bullet expansion, and the right cartridge has a blue plastic V-max tip.

The PDW concept has not been widely successful, partly because existing PDWs are not significantly cheaper to manufacture than carbines or full-size military rifles. Most PDWs also use a proprietary cartridge, such as the 5.7×28mm cartridge for the FN P90 or the 4.6×30mm for the H&K MP7, neither of which were originally compatible with any existing pistols or rifles/carbines. Although both manufacturers planned handguns that used the same proprietary rounds, only FN went forward with production of the Five-SeveN pistol, which was the only handgun option available for the 5.7×28mm cartridge for over two decades until the introduction of Ruger-57 in 2019. In turn, this made the PDW cartridges expensive to consumers due to the lack of mass production.[15]

Though personal defense weapons have not been very popular for their intended application, they have been acquired by various military special forces units and law enforcement groups, as an upgrade for their older submachine guns[citation needed]. The FN P90 and Five-seven pistol are used by military and police forces in over 40 countries, including Canada, Cyprus, France, Greece, India, Peru, Poland, Spain, and the United States.[16] The Heckler & Koch MP7 is also used in a number of countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Malaysia, and the United Kingdom.[17][18]

PDW cartridges

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Traditional personal defense weapons

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Name Cartridge Country Serial production Note
Brügger & Thomet APC9 RWS ACTION SE Gen. II SXF variant 9×19mm, regular loads and armor piercing RWS ACTION SE Gen. II SXF loads Switzerland
Brügger & Thomet MP9 6.5×25mm CBJ, 9×19mm Switzerland yes
Colt SCAMP .22 SCAMP United States no
ČZW-438 4.38×30mm Libra Czech Republic no
FN P90 5.7×28mm Belgium yes
Heckler & Koch MP7 4.6×30mm Germany yes
Saab Bofors Dynamics CBJ-MS 6.5×25mm CBJ Sweden no
SR-2 Veresk 9×21mm Gyurza Russia yes
ST Kinetics CPW 4.6×30mm, 5.7×28mm, 9×19mm[22] Singapore yes
Tuma MTE 224 VA .224 Voboril Switzerland no
VBR-Belgium PDW[23] 7.92×24mm Belgium

Other

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Name Cartridge Country Serial production Note
AAC Honey Badger .300 AAC Blackout (7.62×35mm) United States yes
AKS-74U 5.45×39mm Soviet Union yes
AO-46 5.45×39mm Soviet Union no
AR-57 5.7×28mm United States yes M16 lower receiver with a redesigned upper receiver fed by FN P90 magazines
Barrett REC7 PDW 6.8mm Remington SPC (6.8×43mm) United States
Floro PDW 5.56×45mm Philippines
FN SCAR PDW 5.56×45mm Belgium yes
GA Personal Defense Weapon 7.62×37mm Musang Philippines
GAU-5A Aircrew Self Defense Weapon 5.56×45mm United States yes Takedown gun
Globserver PDW[24] 9x19mm Parabellum Hungary yes
Heckler & Koch MP5K-PDW 9×19mm Parabellum Germany yes
Knight's Armament Company PDW 6×35mm KAC,.300 Blackout United States yes
Magpul PDR 5.56×45mm United States no
SIG MCX Rattler 5.56×45mm United States yes


See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d https://www.guns.com/news/2013/06/22/perishings-super-weapon-the-pedersen-device/ "The Pedersen Device: The World War I superweapon that (almost) won the war". 6/22/13. by Chris Eger
  2. ^ a b c d e Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. pages 284 & 285
  3. ^ a b c Julian S. Hatcher, Hatcher's Notebook, Military Service Publishing Co., 1947, Ch. 15 The Pedersen Device, pp. 361-372.
  4. ^ Canfield, Bruce N. (2003). "Never in Anger: the Pedersen Device". American Rifleman. 151 (June). National Rifle Association of America: 58–61&71.
  5. ^ a b c Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. pages 289-290
  6. ^ George, John, Shots Fired In Anger, NRA Press (1981), p. 394
  7. ^ Weeks, John, World War II Small Arms, London: Orbis Publishing Ltd. and New York: Galahad Books, ISBN 0-88365-403-2, ISBN 978-0-88365-403-3 (1979), p. 130
  8. ^ Larry Ruth, M1 Carbine: Design, Development & Production, (The Gun Room Press, 1979, ISBN 0-88227-020-6) contains many Ordnance documents related to the "Light Rifle" specification that led to the M1 carbine
  9. ^ Monetchikov, Sergei (2005). История русского автомата [The History of Russian Assault Rifle] (in Russian). St. Petersburg: Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps. p. 165. ISBN 5-98655-006-4.
  10. ^ "Солдат удачи" номер 9 (72) 2000 Д.Ширяев "Кто изобрел автомат Калашникова?"
  11. ^ a b Kevin, Dockery (2007). Future Weapons. New York: Berkley Trade. ISBN 9780425217504.
  12. ^ Miller, David (2001). The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns. London: Salamander Books Ltd. ISBN 9781840652451.
  13. ^ Oliver, David (2007). "In the Line of Fire". Global Defence Review. Archived from the original on October 16, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  14. ^ Cutshaw, Charles Q. (2003). "Heckler & Koch's cutting-edge compacts G36C and MP7 PDW: when less really is more". Guns Magazine.
  15. ^ "New VBR-B Multi-Caliber (9mm NATO/7.92×24mm) Compact PDW Pistol: Most Intelligently-Developed Personal Defense Weapon Yet?". 2009-11-28. Archived from the original on 2009-11-28. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  16. ^ Francotte, Auguste; Claude, Gaier; Robert, Karlshausen, eds. (January 2008). Ars Mechanica – The Ultimate FN Book. Vottem: Herstal Group. ISBN 978-2-87415-877-3.
  17. ^ "BMI" (PDF). www.bmi.gv.at. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  18. ^ Gourley, S.; Kemp, I (November 26, 2003). "The Duellists". Jane's Defence Weekly (ISSN 0265-3818), Volume 40 Issue 21, pp 26–28.
  19. ^ "Cal. 7.92x24 FMJ-OGI-71-P". 2010-11-23. Archived from the original on 2010-11-23. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  20. ^ "7.92 Ammo selector". 2010-12-17. Archived from the original on 2010-12-17. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  21. ^ "Cal. 7.92x24 AE-FMJ-RN". 2011-09-22. Archived from the original on 2011-09-22. Retrieved 2023-06-19.
  22. ^ "STKinetics CPW submachine gun – Compact Personal Weapon". Singapore. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  23. ^ "New VBR-B Multi-Caliber (9mm NATO/7.92×24mm) Compact PDW Pistol: Most Intelligently-Developed Personal Defense Weapon Yet?". 2009-11-28. Archived from the original on 2009-11-28. Retrieved 2023-08-22.
  24. ^ "Hungarian Globserver's Pistol-to-SMG Conversion Machine Pistol Chassis". 27 February 2025.
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