The 1980s were a wild time. It was a fairly radical period in arms design. It was also the last breath of the submachine gun. The 1980s were a time when the submachine gun still ruled in tactical teams, and there was still a large market for SMGs internationally and amongst police forces around the world. The short carbine was coming and coming fast, but the submachine gun was still viable. As an appreciator of firearm oddities, I wanted to gather some weird SMGs of the 1980s.
The ’80s Gave Us Some Weird SMGs. Check Them Out
Let’s see what the last breath of submachine guns delivered.
Calico 960 LWS
As the happy owner of a Calico 950 that works extremely well, I want a Calico 960 of some variety. Calico Light Weapon System’s firearms had one big gimmick, and it was the magazine. These guns used a top-mounted magazine that held 50 to 100 rounds of ammo. The rear sight was even located on the magazine. It’s an odd magazine, but when loaded correctly, it works reliably.
These guns used a roller-delayed blowback operation, much like an MP5. This kept recoil low and maintained a highly reliable operating system. The 960 was the submachine gun-specific version, and Calico made eight models with varying features and accessories. They had the ultra-short machine pistol model, models with collapsing stocks, and more. The guns were never officially adopted, but according to Calico, piles of them were purchased by various police and military forces.
Benelli CB M2
Benelli, famed producer of semi-auto shotguns, experimented with producing some fairly radical and weird SMGs. The Benelli CB M2 ditched Benelli’s inertia-driven systems and went with a simple blowback design. It’s magazine-fed, uses a top-folding stock, and has lots of polymer in its construction. Nothing too weird there.
It didn’t stop there. Benelli developed a semi-caseless 9mm round called the 9mm AUPO. The ammo wasn’t completely caseless and featured a small rear portion of a case that was discarded when the round was fired. It was neat but didn’t do anything all that different than any standard 9mm SMG.
Jatimatic
There is something inherently Finnish about the Jatimatic. Something about the way it looks just screams Finnish to me, and I don’t know why. As far as weird SMGs go, the Jatimatic both looks and functions weirdly. The gun was an open-bolt, blowback design, but its bolt guide rails sit in an odd relation to the bore axis. The guide rails force the bolt to move up an incline as it cycles.
This slows the bolt naturally and counteracts muzzle rise. The bolt design and incline plane reduce muzzle rise and recoil, making the weapon controllable when fired in full auto. To help this effect even more, the pistol grip sits higher, closer to being in line with the end of the barrel, which helps improve control. The Jatimatic is an excellent combination of weird looks and weird function mixed with traditional design.
Ares FMG
From what I can tell, the Ares FMG is the first of the many folding submachine guns that were designed to be disguised when folded. Ares Inc was a company owned by Eugene Stoner, and an engineer named Francis Warin designed the gun. It was a fairly simple blowback-operated submachine gun that just happened to fold around the pistol grip and a 20-round magazine.
The Ares FMG was designed to fold and unfold at a moment’s notice and would be easily concealed or disguised. I imagine it was intended for discreet and covert use, but sadly, the Cold War ended. The Ares FMG never entered full production, but companies like Magpul and B&T were clearly influenced by the idea, as were the Russians and Ukrainians.
Spectre M4
The Spectre M4 wins the award for best-looking of the weird SMGs. It does look cool as hell. It’s also an interesting oddity. The Spectre M4 is a blowback-operated, closed-bolt 9mm submachine gun. That’s standard, but what’s not is the double-action design that integrates a striker-fired mechanism. After firing the first shot, double action, it reverts to a single-action design and has a decocker.
The Spectre M4 uses a variety of magazines, including a coffin-shaped 50-round magazine. A front grip and top-folding stock topped the gun off. It’s an oddity, but the Spectre M4 was an efficient and effective firearm. Plenty were produced, and even some semi-auto-only variants made their way to the United States.
Weird SMGs and the 1980s
You gotta give it up for the 1980s. Submachine guns were on the way out, but they went with a bang rather than a meek little whimper. Things got a little weird, but weird is always good as far as I’m concerned.
