TZ-45

TZ-45

A TZ-45
Type Submachine Gun
Place of origin Italian Social Republic Italian Social Republic
Service history
In service 1944-1945
Used by Italian Social Republic Italian Social Republic
Nazi GermanyWehrmacht
State of Burma
Wars World War II
Production history
Designer Tonon and Zorzoli Giandoso
Designed 1944
Manufacturer Fabbrica Fratelli Giandoso
Produced 1944–1945
1952-55 (Burma)
Number built 6,000 (Approx.)
Variants TZ-45 (Italy)
BA-52 (Burma)
Specifications
Weight 7 lb (3.2 kg)
Length 33.27 in (845 mm) (stock extended)
21.5 in (550 mm) (stock folded)
Barrel length 9 in (230 mm) [1]
Cartridge 9×19mm Parabellum, 9mm Fiocchi
Caliber 9 mm
Action API Blowback, selective fire
Rate of fire 800 Rounds Per Minute
Muzzle velocity 380 m/s (1,200 ft/s)
Effective firing range 150 m (490 ft)
Feed system 40 round detachable box magazine
Sights front sight, rear sight

The TZ-45 was an Italian made submachine gun produced in small numbers between 1944 and 1945, with an estimated 6,000 made.

History

External images
TZ-45

The TZ-45 submachine guns was designed by two Italian brothers, Tonon ("Toni") and Zorzoli Giandoso, and was produced by their own small company. All the TZ 45's were issued to R.S.I. (Repubblica Sociale Italiana) units fighting against Italian partisan forces during the civil war in Northern Italy (1944–45), yet it is possible that a few of them ended up serving with Wehrmacht forces engaged in similar operations. After the war, the remaining guns were given to the military of the British and the American forces. It was then evaluated by them, but the general opinion was unfavorable. The gun was emerged from the war with a poor reputation for reliability and the style of the manufacture and finish was not liked.

The projects and manufacturing rights for the gun were later sold to the Burmese army where it was manufactured as the BA-52 and colloquially known as the "Ne Win STEN". The Burmese copies were roughly manufactured and unreliable, but they remained in service into the mid-1980s with their infantry and even into the early 1990s with support troops.[2]

Development

Compared to the FNAB-43, the TZ-45 is much more the sort of weapon one would expect in that place and at that time. It was made out of metal stampings, welded together in parts, and the finish is rudimentary. For all that, it worked and managed to exhibit one or two interesting features. The action is simple blowback, but the return spring is assembled around a guide rod which is in two pieces and telescopes as the bolt returns. A muzzle compensator is fitted, and the shoulder stock is formed of steel rods that slide alongside the receiver when retracted. Two separate safety systems are fitted: the fire selector lever has a “safe” position that locks the bolt in either the forward or rearward positions, while a grip safety is fitted behind the magazine housing. Unless the weapon is held properly and this grip compressed, the bolt cannot move in either direction to cock or fire. Even with a closed bolt and a magazine inserted, the pin of the second safe wedged in a specially-designed notch in the lower center-left part of the bolt, preventing the bolt itself from rolling back in case of accidental shocks taken by the weapon. Considering that accidental discharges were an all too common occurrence in contemporary submachine guns (Sten gun and others), the double safety system of the TZ-45 proved to be a breakthrough which would inspire many later submachine guns, starting from the Danish Madsen M50.

Users

References

  1. ↑ Hogg, Ian (1977). The Encyclopedia of Infantry Weapons of World War II. Arms and Armour Press. ISBN 0-85368-281-X.
  2. ↑ Maung Aung Myoe (2009). Building the Tatmadaw: Myanmar Armed Forces Since 1948. Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. p. 106. ISBN 978-981-230-848-1.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Wednesday, March 16, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.