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Blyskawica SMG

1943 WORLD WAR 2

Blyskawica SMG Story

Led by Adolf Hitler, German troops began the invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, officially beginning World War II. The battle lasted just over a month, although the valiant Polish defense was able to attract thousands of Axis invaders, a full German division, and about a quarter of the Luftwaffe.

However, Poland's defenses were snuffed out on September 17 by the Soviet invasion from the East led by Josef Stalin - virtually no country at the time had survived a two-pronged invasion of this magnitude. Polish troops surrendered under great pressure, ending official hostilities, and the country was then divided in two by the victors. In the absence of a formal government capitulation (a government-in-exile was formed in London), Poles of all walks of life continued to struggle in various organized and makeshift underground/resistance movements, attempting to recruit various forms of sabotage, assassination and destruction of people, weapons and smuggling. The German occupation of Poland continued until the end of the war in 1945, when Soviet troops entered Poland to begin the communist period.

Poland did not gain independence until 1991 after the fall of the Soviet Empire (1922-1991).

During World War II, the Polish resistance continued, and in 1942 its main leader was Armia Krajowa ("Hometown Army"). To provide a low-cost homegrown solution to advance this work, an engineer named Waclaw Zawrotny developed a design for a simple but basic submachine gun (SMG) that could be assembled with minimal materials, and requires no heavy training and machinery.

The weapon owes a lot to the ease of use of the British STEN (one of the most famous SMSs of the war) and is chambered for the standard German 9x19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge (with MP38/MP40 submachine guns and Stan). To allow resistance to take advantage of captured enemy ammunition stocks, the new submachine gun can be fed from off-the-shelf SMG-style magazines.

The main components of the receiver should be held together simply by threaded screws to minimize structural requirements. Engineers completed a working prototype in September 1943, which was secretly tested in the Zielonka Forest northeast of the capital Warsaw.

The weapon was then officially adopted by the resistance authorities, with serial production plans that could require thousands of pieces. Since the weapon didn't have a more recognizable real identifier, it was called "Blyskawica", which means "lightning", and was named for the three downward-firing bolts etched on the prototype.

Blyskawica certainly takes the British STEN design to heart, although it has two notable physical differences in the external configuration - its box magazine uses a more traditional bottom feed (versus STEN's side-loading). The feed is reversed) and incorporates a special pistol grip with a trigger mechanism (STEN uses its original metal stock as the primary grip). Otherwise, it's clear that the Blyskawica is in many ways a STEN-influenced weapon, as it retains an open-bolt recoil operating system, holds the same 9mm cartridge, and shares an identical tubular receiver.

There is also a small section of perforated heat shield and barrel in front of the receiver, the latter without any muzzle details. The trigger mechanism is contained in a STEN-like plate-side housing, while the stock is of solid metal construction, although it features a double-bar design pattern and can be hinged under the weapon for a more compact profile (reminiscent of the German MP SMG series). ).

The performance of the Blyskawica gun includes a rate of fire of 600 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 1,300 feet per second. Effective range is recorded at 656 feet. By comparison, the STEN fires about 500 rounds per minute, has a muzzle velocity of 1,200 feet per second, and has an effective range of 330 feet.

Like the STEN, the Blyskawica is fed from a straight, detachable magazine with 32 rounds.

As expected for such a relatively complex product, the underground workshop was slow to manufacture Blyskawica submachine guns and was limited by ambitious requirements. It is thought that only about 700 of this type were made, although in reality the Resistance needed thousands. Of course, the weapon was deployed almost immediately and was known to be used in a variety of operations aimed at disrupting Germany's preparations for an impending Soviet offensive.

The Resistance aims to coordinate the occupation of strategic areas and recover useful supplies and materials. In addition to this, the restoration of the Polish army and the restoration of Polish political and social authority.

In reality, the Polish resistance program achieved only limited early victories, but failed to achieve many of its major overarching goals. This movement culminated in the famous and heroic "Warsaw Uprising" which took place from August 1 to October 2, 1944. Despite the assistance of the RAF, with limited help from the United States and the Soviet Union, the uprising was suppressed by the German occupiers, resulting in the death of many Poles and the complete destruction of Warsaw. During the battle, advancing Soviet troops stopped outside the city, which allowed the Germans to subdue the rebels and make it easier for the Soviets to attack the remaining, now exhausted, Germans.

Some 600,000 Soviet troops would then be killed in the occupation of Poland.

Nonetheless, given its roughness and wartime design/development environment, the Blyskawica proved to be a viable weapon. It had a short lifespan but was actively used alongside the more familiar STEN and other weapons captured or domestically manufactured at the time.

Proving a solid feat of Polish engineering, Blyskawica offers a ray of hope during a dark time in the country's long history. The type was quickly scrapped at the end of the war, replaced by more refined and modern post-war products, largely influenced by Soviet designs.