OVP (firearm)
Encyclopedia
The OVP was a light submachine gun
developed in Italy
.
cartridge. This was the Villar Perosa
that ceased to be a service weapon in 1918. The mechanism of the VP was a sound design and shortly after the end of the war the manufacturers of the VP were asked to produce a more practical weapon that became known as the OVP.
An unusual feature of the OVP that was not on the original VP gun was the use of a cylindrical sleeve surrounding the receiver for cocking the weapon. This was grasped and pulled to the rear to retract the bolt and then pushed forward during firing. Another oddity, this time carried over from the VP, was the provision of a slot in the rear edge of the top mounted magazine that allowed the firer to see how many rounds remained inside it. However, this also allowed dust and dirt to enter the magazine, so perhaps it was not such a good idea after all.
The OVP was issued in the early 1920s and by the time of World War II had been largely replaced by the various Beretta models. However the OVP saw use in the Abyssinian war
and was used in small numbers by some Italian units in the Western Desert
in 1941. After this it appears that the weapon was withdrawn from service and specimens of this weapon are rare.
Submachine gun
A submachine gun is an automatic carbine, designed to fire pistol cartridges. It combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol. The submachine gun was invented during World War I , but the apex of its use was during World War II when millions of the weapon type were...
developed in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
Development
The Italians were the first army ever to adopt a submachine gun, or more correctly, a light automatic gun firing a pistolPistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
cartridge. This was the Villar Perosa
Villar-Perosa aircraft submachine gun
The Villar-Perosa aircraft submachine gun was an Italian double barreled light machine gun designed by Bethel Abiel Revelli, a Major in the Italian Army in 1914. The weapon fired pistol calibre 9 mm Glisenti ammunition, a reduced-power version of the famous 9 mm Para, at the extremely high rate of...
that ceased to be a service weapon in 1918. The mechanism of the VP was a sound design and shortly after the end of the war the manufacturers of the VP were asked to produce a more practical weapon that became known as the OVP.
History
The OVP was little more than the barrel and action of the VP attached to a wooden buttstock and provided with a trigger and some small refinements. Although formally classed as a delayed blowback, the delay is minimal and certainly had little practical effect as seen by the high rate of fire. The mechanism is the usual one of bolt and return spring, but the bolt is controlled by a track in the receiver body that causes the bolt to rotate 45 degrees as it closes. The striker carries a lug bearing on the receiver track that also bears on a cam face on the bolt, so that the firing pin, driven by the return spring, cannot go forward to fire the cartridge until the bolt has rotated. When the gun is fired, recoil of the cartridge case moves the bolt back, causing it to rotate to the unlocked position, during which movement the pin is withdrawn by the action of the bolt's cam surface. Once unlocked the bolt is free to recoil and complete the firing cycle.An unusual feature of the OVP that was not on the original VP gun was the use of a cylindrical sleeve surrounding the receiver for cocking the weapon. This was grasped and pulled to the rear to retract the bolt and then pushed forward during firing. Another oddity, this time carried over from the VP, was the provision of a slot in the rear edge of the top mounted magazine that allowed the firer to see how many rounds remained inside it. However, this also allowed dust and dirt to enter the magazine, so perhaps it was not such a good idea after all.
The OVP was issued in the early 1920s and by the time of World War II had been largely replaced by the various Beretta models. However the OVP saw use in the Abyssinian war
Second Italo-Abyssinian War
The Second Italo–Abyssinian War was a colonial war that started in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war was fought between the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy and the armed forces of the Ethiopian Empire...
and was used in small numbers by some Italian units in the Western Desert
North African campaign
During the Second World War, the North African Campaign took place in North Africa from 10 June 1940 to 13 May 1943. It included campaigns fought in the Libyan and Egyptian deserts and in Morocco and Algeria and Tunisia .The campaign was fought between the Allies and Axis powers, many of whom had...
in 1941. After this it appears that the weapon was withdrawn from service and specimens of this weapon are rare.