By Michael Heidler
Italy and submachine guns – with these words usually three large names come to one’s mind: Villar Perosa, Beretta, and from the 1950s, Luigi Franchi. Until the end of World War Two few other companies tried to break into the market dominated by Beretta. Only the model 1943 of the Fabbrica Nazionale Armi di Brescia and the TZ-45 of the Armaguerra Cremona went into serial production.
At a first glance the TZ-45 looks like a typical submachine gun of its day: a simple blowback system (open bolt), constructed of sheet metal parts fixed to a tubular receiver. Only the grip plates are made of wood. The retractable steel rod stock resembles the American M3 (Grease Gun). In the pushed-in condition the ends of their two rods are resting in a holder plate beneath the barrel. When shooting from vehicle hatches this plate also prevents an accidental withdrawing of the weapon. That’s a similar safety precaution as the hook-style barrel rest of the German MP 38 and 40.
But the TZ-45 has something more special: an automatic grip safety. Such a thing had never been used on a submachine gun until then. At that time, apart from saving raw materials, the needs of a simple and speedy manu-facturing process had priority before all. Little attention was given to safety. Not so with the brothers Tonon (“Toni“) and Zorzoli Giandoso, when they were working on the draft of their first submachine gun. They created a very simple but effective safety that became active by itself. All other submachine guns only possessed manual safety devices.
The automatic grip safety wasn’t a mold-breaking innovation. Already some early self-loading pistols like the early German Pistole 08 (Luger) or the Colt M1911 featured a grip safety on the back side of the grip, which was only released by a firm clasp of the shooter’s hand. In German it’s called “Hand-ballensicherung” (heel-of-hand-safety). But for a submachine gun this con-struction was too complex. Therefore, the brothers Giandoso transferred the safety to the outside of the receiver behind the magazine well. It consists of a spring-suspended L-shaped lever, which projects into the receiver and blocks the path of the bolt. Only if the second hand clasps the magazine well firmly, and presses the lever forward, does it release the bolt. As soon as the shooter’s hand loosens, the lever snaps back again and the weapon is safe no matter whether the bolt is in its front or rear position.
Despite all adversities, and the foreseeable end of the war, the Giandoso brothers succeeded in manufacturing nearly 6,000 weapons in their own com-pany Armaguerra Cremona. A majority of it went to the units of the R.S.I. (Repubblica Sociale Italiana) in Northern Italy to fight against partisans. The magazines of the TZ-45 are identical to the Beretta submachine gun magazines, so in mixed armed units they could be easily swapped during combat.
After the war some weapons were brought to England and the USA for trial measures, but were soon classified as outdated. However, the Burmese government bought the rights on the construction and introduced the weapon as BA-52 in their army. For support during the preparation of the serial pro-duction, Tonon and Zorzoli Giandoso went to Burma. Afterwards, their trail was lost. Production numbers and the period of official use in the Burmese army are unknown.
The safety of the TZ-45 was foolproof – nevertheless it did not continue to become generally accepted. After the war, more quality and comfort were required again. Numerous submachine guns were designed with an integrated grip safety like the pioneer ZK 476 from Czechoslovakia, the Uzi from Israel or the Beretta models from 1955 on. Thus, a crucial disadvantage of the TZ-45 was eliminated: both hands had to grasp the weapon when shooting. One-handed shooting, e.g. after being wounded, was not possible. Same with dif-ferent aiming styles during an attack. That could be a crucial disadvantage in fighting. Furthermore, the safety had not been optimally designed – the shooter had to press the shorter arm of the L-shaped lever, which required a strong grip due to the leverage and the strong spring. If the hand became fa-tigued, the lever began to touch and slow down the bolt moving inside the re-ceiver. This often led to malfunctions.
The problem was recognized, namely by the Danes. The company Dansk Industri Syndicat A/S (DISA) from Copenhagen was one of the few that built a submachine gun with grip safety at the magazine well. In the year 1946 their P.16 went into production, better known as the Madsen 1946. The unusual construction with the laterally hinged receiver featured a more favorably placed lever. The bolt is caught by the lever’s nose just before it’s end position in battery. To hold the bolt in the rear position a manual sliding-safety was used. The grip safety seemed to have worked satisfactorily in this case, because it remained unchanged with all revised subsequent models (M.1950, M.53 and Mark II). Beside the Danish police, the weapons found their way mainly to South America and Asia. Larger quantities were sold to El Salvador, Paraguay, Guatemala, Colombia, Thailand, Korea and Indonesia.
Despite the success of the Madsen MPs, the history of the grip safety at the magazine well already ended with only a few weapon-models designed for it (like the Argentine Grease Gun copy “P.A.M.2”).
Technical Data
Caliber: 9x19 mm
Length stock extended: 845 mm (33.26 inches)
Length stock retracted: 552 mm (21.75 inches)
Barrel length: 254 mm (10 inches)
Weight (empty): 3.2 kg (7.1 pounds)
Cyclic Rate: 500 – 600 rounds/minute
Magazines: box magazines / 10, 20, 32 and 40 rounds
(The author wishes to thank Al Houde of the U.S. Marine Corps Museum at Quantico.)
This article first appeared in SmallArmsReview.com on September 13, 2013 |
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