Machine Pistols: Difference between revisions

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|[[File:Flag_vc_new.png|50px]]<br><strong>[[VC]]</strong>|| [[File:Vz61.png|250px]]<br><b>[[vz. 61 Škorpion]]</b> || [[File:Weapon vz61e.svg|250px]] ||  [[File:Class_medic.png|50px]] <b>[[Medic]]</b><br> [[File:Class_Engineer.png|50px]] <b>[[Engineer]]</b><br> [[File:Class_radioman.png|50px]]  <b>[[Radioman]]</b><br> || 20[[+1]] / 80 || 33 || 79
|[[File:Flag_vc_new.png|50px]]<br><strong>[[VC]]</strong>|| [[File:Vz61.png|250px]]<br><b>[[vz. 61 Škorpion]]</b> || [[File:Weapon vz61e.svg|250px]] ||  [[File:Class_medic.png|50px]] <b>[[Medic]]</b><br> [[File:Class_Engineer.png|50px]] <b>[[Engineer]]</b><br> [[File:Class_radioman.png|50px]]  <b>[[Radioman]]</b><br> || 20[[+1]] / 80 || 33 || 79
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|[[File:Flag_vc_new.png|50px]]<br><strong>[[VC]]</strong>|| [[File:Vz61 sog.png|250px]]<br><b>[[vz. 61 Đặc công]]</b> || [[File:Weapon vz61e_sog.svg|250px]] ||  [[File:Class_medic.png|50px]] <b>[[Medic]]</b><br> [[File:Class_Engineer.png|50px]] <b>[[Engineer]]</b><br> [[File:Class_radioman.png|50px]]  <b>[[Radioman]]</b><br> || 20[[+1]] / 80 || 31 || 74
|[[File:Flag_vc_new.png|50px]]<br><strong>[[VC]]</strong>|| [[File:Vz61 sog.png|250px]]<br><b>[[vz. 61 Suppressed]]</b> || [[File:Weapon vz61e_sog.svg|250px]] ||  [[File:Class_medic.png|50px]] <b>[[Medic]]</b><br> [[File:Class_Engineer.png|50px]] <b>[[Engineer]]</b><br> [[File:Class_radioman.png|50px]]  <b>[[Radioman]]</b><br> || 20[[+1]] / 80 || 31 || 74
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Machine pistols are extremely compact automatic firearms that blend features of a handgun and a submachine gun, most often by combining a pistol-like form with the ability to fire in fully automatic (or burst) modes. They are usually chambered for pistol cartridges and fed from detachable magazines, prioritizing portability and close-range firepower over long-range performance. In Vietnam-era context, machine pistols were generally niche weapons compared with standard rifles and submachine guns, and were most associated with specialist, security, or personal-defense roles rather than typical infantry issue.
==DEFINITION & CHARACTERISTICS==
“Machine pistol” is a practical label, and usage varies: in some contexts it means a very small submachine gun with a pistol grip, while in others it specifically means a select-fire pistol-sized weapon. In either case, the common idea is a compact weapon intended to provide more close-range firepower than a conventional handgun, often at the cost of controllability in automatic fire.
;Common traits
* '''Role:''' Compact personal-defense or specialist weapon for close-range fighting where a full-size rifle/SMG is impractical.
* '''Typical cartridges:''' Pistol cartridges such as 9×19mm, 9×18mm Makarov, .32 ACP (7.65×17mm), and similar.
* '''Typical fire modes:''' Semi-automatic plus fully automatic or burst is common; some designs emphasize burst/controls to improve handling.
* '''Typical feeding:''' Detachable box magazines; many designs place the magazine in the pistol grip or directly forward of the trigger area.
* '''Common engagement ranges:''' Primarily close-range (often “pistol/SMG distances”), with effectiveness dropping quickly as range increases.
* '''Notable tradeoffs:''' Very portable and capable of high volume of fire, but difficult to control accurately in automatic fire; short barrels reduce ballistic performance and increase blast/flash compared with longer weapons.
==HISTORY==
Machine pistols grew out of repeated attempts to give personnel a compact weapon with more immediate firepower than a standard sidearm. Cold War designs often framed the machine pistol as a “bridge” between pistol and submachine gun: for example, the Soviet Stechkin APS was adopted in 1951 as a compact automatic sidearm concept for roles where carrying a full rifle was considered unnecessary, while the Czechoslovak vz. 61 Škorpion was developed as a lightweight self-defense weapon for soldiers whose duties made carrying a rifle impractical, with its small .32 ACP chambering also lending itself to suppressed/specialist use.
In the Vietnam War era, machine pistols were comparatively uncommon relative to mainstream rifles and submachine guns that dominated infantry issue on all sides. Where they did appear, they were most plausibly tied to specialist or security contexts (personal-defense weapons, clandestine use, or close-range tasks) rather than being a standard long gun for typical rifle squads.
===Sources===
* https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/machine%20pistol machine pistol (definition) | Merriam-Webster
* https://www.forgottenweapons.com/machine-pistols/stechkin-automatic-pistol/ Stechkin Automatic Pistol (APS) adoption context | Forgotten Weapons
* https://www.forgottenweapons.com/submachine-guns/vz61-skorpion/ Czech vz.61 Skorpion (mechanics and purpose) | Forgotten Weapons
* https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30029091 Vz61 Skorpion (purpose and cartridge) | Imperial War Museums
* https://royalarmouries.org/collection/object/object-277724 Centrefire automatic machine pistol – Skorpion M61 (collection record) | Royal Armouries
* https://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object/nmah_1062811 Skorpion vz61 machine pistol (collection record) | Smithsonian National Museum of American History
* https://www.britannica.com/technology/submachine-gun Submachine gun (context for pistol-caliber automatic weapons) | Encyclopaedia Britannica
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[[Category:Weapons]]
[[Category:Weapon types]]

Latest revision as of 04:11, 4 March 2026

Factions Weapon Icon Classes Ammo Damage
Normal Headshot

VC
APS		 Medic
Engineer
Radioman
 20+1 / 80 34 81

US
MAC-10		 Medic
Engineer
Radioman
 32 / 96 27 64

US
MAC-10 SOG		 Medic
Engineer
Radioman
 32 / 96 25 60

VC
PM-63 RAK		 Medic
Engineer
Radioman
 25 / 75 36 86.4

VC
vz. 61 Škorpion		 Medic
Engineer
Radioman
 20+1 / 80 33 79

VC
vz. 61 Suppressed		 Medic
Engineer
Radioman
 20+1 / 80 31 74


Machine pistols are extremely compact automatic firearms that blend features of a handgun and a submachine gun, most often by combining a pistol-like form with the ability to fire in fully automatic (or burst) modes. They are usually chambered for pistol cartridges and fed from detachable magazines, prioritizing portability and close-range firepower over long-range performance. In Vietnam-era context, machine pistols were generally niche weapons compared with standard rifles and submachine guns, and were most associated with specialist, security, or personal-defense roles rather than typical infantry issue.

DEFINITION & CHARACTERISTICS

“Machine pistol” is a practical label, and usage varies: in some contexts it means a very small submachine gun with a pistol grip, while in others it specifically means a select-fire pistol-sized weapon. In either case, the common idea is a compact weapon intended to provide more close-range firepower than a conventional handgun, often at the cost of controllability in automatic fire.

Common traits
  • Role: Compact personal-defense or specialist weapon for close-range fighting where a full-size rifle/SMG is impractical.
  • Typical cartridges: Pistol cartridges such as 9×19mm, 9×18mm Makarov, .32 ACP (7.65×17mm), and similar.
  • Typical fire modes: Semi-automatic plus fully automatic or burst is common; some designs emphasize burst/controls to improve handling.
  • Typical feeding: Detachable box magazines; many designs place the magazine in the pistol grip or directly forward of the trigger area.
  • Common engagement ranges: Primarily close-range (often “pistol/SMG distances”), with effectiveness dropping quickly as range increases.
  • Notable tradeoffs: Very portable and capable of high volume of fire, but difficult to control accurately in automatic fire; short barrels reduce ballistic performance and increase blast/flash compared with longer weapons.

HISTORY

Machine pistols grew out of repeated attempts to give personnel a compact weapon with more immediate firepower than a standard sidearm. Cold War designs often framed the machine pistol as a “bridge” between pistol and submachine gun: for example, the Soviet Stechkin APS was adopted in 1951 as a compact automatic sidearm concept for roles where carrying a full rifle was considered unnecessary, while the Czechoslovak vz. 61 Škorpion was developed as a lightweight self-defense weapon for soldiers whose duties made carrying a rifle impractical, with its small .32 ACP chambering also lending itself to suppressed/specialist use.

In the Vietnam War era, machine pistols were comparatively uncommon relative to mainstream rifles and submachine guns that dominated infantry issue on all sides. Where they did appear, they were most plausibly tied to specialist or security contexts (personal-defense weapons, clandestine use, or close-range tasks) rather than being a standard long gun for typical rifle squads.

Sources

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Videos
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