MCEM 2 Submachine gun
Encyclopedia
MCEM-2 submachine gun was produced only in prototype form, but it is worth to mention by the simple fact that it is one of the very first submachine guns to combine wrap-around bolt and magazine in pistol grip - features, later copied in the Czechoslovak Sa vz. 23, Israeli Uzi and a great number of other submachine guns. MCEM-2 was the second prototype in a line of experimental submachine guns, designed in Britain in 1944. It was envisioned as a possible replacement for the STEN submachine gun then in service. The MCEM-2 was developed by Jerzy Podsedkowski, a Polish constructor involved in work on Vis and Mors
, who fled from occupied Poland to Britain. It is believed that prototypes of MCEM-2 were made before the end of WW2, and its derivatives MCEM-4 and MCEM-6 were tested soon after the war. The latter modifications differed mostly in adoption of the rate-reducing mechanism, incorporated into trigger unit; the rate of fire therefore was decreased from 1000 to more realistic 700 rounds per minute. Nevertheless, neither prototype was found suitable for adoption, and several years later British army adopted a more conventional submachine gun, the Sterling-Patchett
.
MCEM-2 is blowback-operated, selective fired weapon which fires from an open bolt
. The bolt is of the "telescoped
", or "wrap-around" type, with most of its mass being in front of the breech face. The receiver is made from steel tube, and pistol grip with trigger unit is attached below. The magazine is inserted into the pistol grip - a feature copied from Mors. Safety and fire mode selector are incorporated into one three-position switch, located in front of the trigger on the left side of the trigger unit housing. The gun was developed along with a large semi-rigid holster, which can be attached to the receiver of the gun to form the shoulder stock.
Pistolet maszynowy Mors
Pistolet maszynowy wz.39 Mors 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...
, who fled from occupied Poland to Britain. It is believed that prototypes of MCEM-2 were made before the end of WW2, and its derivatives MCEM-4 and MCEM-6 were tested soon after the war. The latter modifications differed mostly in adoption of the rate-reducing mechanism, incorporated into trigger unit; the rate of fire therefore was decreased from 1000 to more realistic 700 rounds per minute. Nevertheless, neither prototype was found suitable for adoption, and several years later British army adopted a more conventional submachine gun, the Sterling-Patchett
Sterling submachine gun
The Sterling submachine gun is a British submachine gun which was in service with the British Army from 1944 until 1994, when it was phased out with the introduction of the L85A1 assault rifle.-History:...
.
MCEM-2 is blowback-operated, selective fired weapon which fires from an open bolt
Open bolt
A semi or full automatic firearm is said to fire from an open bolt if, when ready to fire, the bolt and working parts are held to the rear. When the trigger is pulled the bolt goes forward, feeding a round from the magazine into the chamber and firing it...
. The bolt is of the "telescoped
Telescoping bolt
A weapon with a telescoping bolt is one with a bolt which telescopes over, that is, wraps around and past, the breech end of the barrel...
", or "wrap-around" type, with most of its mass being in front of the breech face. The receiver is made from steel tube, and pistol grip with trigger unit is attached below. The magazine is inserted into the pistol grip - a feature copied from Mors. Safety and fire mode selector are incorporated into one three-position switch, located in front of the trigger on the left side of the trigger unit housing. The gun was developed along with a large semi-rigid holster, which can be attached to the receiver of the gun to form the shoulder stock.