Sanna 77
Encyclopedia
The Sanna-77 is the end of a line of submachine gun
s which can trace their existence and lineage to the days of Rhodesia
and their Unilateral Declaration of Independence
in the early 1960s.
from 1965 as well as guerrilla warfare
from 1966 and so began producing their own arms. Having been supplied a quantity of the now ubiquitous Uzi submachine gun, Rhodesia set up facilities to produce a similar sub-gun based on the CZ-25
which incidentally was also the inspiration for the Uzi.
The first attempts was the Cobra Carbine
, LDP
and R-76
which was taken from the initials of the manufacturing firm and the engineer/designer, although many Rhodesians felt that it stood for "Land Defence Pistol". The LDP was strikingly based upon the CZ or Vz-25 series of sub-guns, which was the first to have a telescoping bolt
and a magazine situated inside the pistol grip of the weapon.
It is not exactly clear when the production moved south of Rhodesia to South Africa but it appears that some production began in the early 1970s. The name changed to the Kommando-LDP, the Kommando making extensive use of plastics in the frame. The Kommando was tested as a potential submachine gun for use with "Counter-Terror Forces" as well as having a semi-auto version for civilian use with a three round burst facility. However the Kommando, which used an Uzi magazine, proved somewhat unreliable as the selector would sometimes trip between semi-, burst- or full-auto mode. It essentially failed as both a civilian product as well as a military one, the SADF using either the Israeli Uzi or the locally South African produced BXP
sub-gun.
Dogged by unreliability, legislative restrictions on licenses and being no more than a heavy semi-auto pistol, the Sanna-77 was a commercial failure; the Sanna-77 has long since ceased to be produced and is no longer commercially available.
, and has the magazine in the grip and a folding metal stock. The front sight was hooded and the cocking handle located high on the left side of the receiver. The Sanna-77 is not really a submachine gun, being made for civilian use only and therefore, due to legal restrictions, only available in the semi-auto
mode of fire. It is therefore better termed a pistol-caliber carbine rather than a submachine gun. Many claim that the Sanna-77 was not a new firearm
but actually simply a refurbished version of the Czechoslovakian CZ-25
submachine gun which was designed, manufactured and used by the Czech army in the early 1950s.
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...
s which can trace their existence and lineage to the days of Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
and their Unilateral Declaration of Independence
Unilateral Declaration of Independence (Rhodesia)
The Unilateral Declaration of Independence of Rhodesia from the United Kingdom was signed on November 11, 1965, by the administration of Ian Smith, whose Rhodesian Front party opposed black majority rule in the then British colony. Although it declared independence from the United Kingdom it...
in the early 1960s.
History
The small landlocked Rhodesian state faced international sanctions and an arms-embargoEmbargo
An embargo is the partial or complete prohibition of commerce and trade with a particular country, in order to isolate it. Embargoes are considered strong diplomatic measures imposed in an effort, by the imposing country, to elicit a given national-interest result from the country on which it is...
from 1965 as well as guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
from 1966 and so began producing their own arms. Having been supplied a quantity of the now ubiquitous Uzi submachine gun, Rhodesia set up facilities to produce a similar sub-gun based on the CZ-25
CZ Model 25
The CZ Model 25 was perhaps the best known of a series of Czechoslovak designed submachine guns introduced in 1948. There were four generally very similar submachine guns in this series: the Sa 23, Sa 24, Sa 25, and Sa 26...
which incidentally was also the inspiration for the Uzi.
The first attempts was the Cobra Carbine
Cobra submachine gun
The Cobra Submachine Gun is a semi-automatic stocked pistol of Rhodesian origin manufactured during the Rhodesian Bush War era as a 'Land Defence Pistol' for white Rhodesian farmers and is chambered in the 9mm parabellum. The layout of this weapon is somewhat based on the Uzi submachine gun....
, LDP
Kommando LDP
The Kommando LDP , also known as the Lacoste LDP is a submachine gun of Rhodesian origin manufactured by Kommando Arms and Lacoste Engineering during the Rhodesian Bush War as a 'Land Defence Pistol' for white Rhodesian farmers...
and R-76
Northwood R-76
The Northwood R-76 was a submachine gun of Rhodesian origin. It was intended as a 'Land Defence Pistol' during the Rhodesian Bush War era. Its layout is somewhat much like a Vz.61 Skorpion and the TEC-9. It was available with a spike bayonet, retractable wire stock and removable bipod which...
which was taken from the initials of the manufacturing firm and the engineer/designer, although many Rhodesians felt that it stood for "Land Defence Pistol". The LDP was strikingly based upon the CZ or Vz-25 series of sub-guns, which was the first to have a telescoping bolt
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...
and a magazine situated inside the pistol grip of the weapon.
It is not exactly clear when the production moved south of Rhodesia to South Africa but it appears that some production began in the early 1970s. The name changed to the Kommando-LDP, the Kommando making extensive use of plastics in the frame. The Kommando was tested as a potential submachine gun for use with "Counter-Terror Forces" as well as having a semi-auto version for civilian use with a three round burst facility. However the Kommando, which used an Uzi magazine, proved somewhat unreliable as the selector would sometimes trip between semi-, burst- or full-auto mode. It essentially failed as both a civilian product as well as a military one, the SADF using either the Israeli Uzi or the locally South African produced BXP
BXP
The BXP is 9 mm submachine gun developed in the mid-1980s by the South African company Mechem and brought into production in 1988. Due to international arms embargoes of Apartheid South Africa, the country was forced to design and manufacture their own weapons. The weapon was intended for use by...
sub-gun.
Dogged by unreliability, legislative restrictions on licenses and being no more than a heavy semi-auto pistol, the Sanna-77 was a commercial failure; the Sanna-77 has long since ceased to be produced and is no longer commercially available.
Description
The Sanna-77 was of all metal construction, unlike the plastic framed Kommando LDPKommando LDP
The Kommando LDP , also known as the Lacoste LDP is a submachine gun of Rhodesian origin manufactured by Kommando Arms and Lacoste Engineering during the Rhodesian Bush War as a 'Land Defence Pistol' for white Rhodesian farmers...
, and has the magazine in the grip and a folding metal stock. The front sight was hooded and the cocking handle located high on the left side of the receiver. The Sanna-77 is not really a submachine gun, being made for civilian use only and therefore, due to legal restrictions, only available in the semi-auto
Semi-automatic firearm
A semi-automatic, or self-loading firearm is a weapon which performs all steps necessary to prepare the weapon to fire again after firing—assuming cartridges remain in the weapon's feed device or magazine...
mode of fire. It is therefore better termed a pistol-caliber carbine rather than a submachine gun. Many claim that the Sanna-77 was not a new firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
but actually simply a refurbished version of the Czechoslovakian CZ-25
CZ Model 25
The CZ Model 25 was perhaps the best known of a series of Czechoslovak designed submachine guns introduced in 1948. There were four generally very similar submachine guns in this series: the Sa 23, Sa 24, Sa 25, and Sa 26...
submachine gun which was designed, manufactured and used by the Czech army in the early 1950s.