FBP submachine gun

FBP

FBP m/948
Type Submachine Gun
Place of origin  Portugal
Service history
In service 1948-1980s
Used by Portugal
Wars Portuguese Colonial War
Production history
Designer Major Francisco Gonçalves Cardoso
Designed 1948 (production model)[1]
Manufacturer Fábrica de Braço de Prata (FBP)
Produced 1948-1955 (FBP m/948)[1][2]
1961-1980 (later models)[1]
Variants m/948, m/963 and m/976
Specifications
Weight 3.77 kg (8.31 lb)[2]
Length 807 mm (31.8 in)
Cartridge 9×19mm Parabellum
Action Blowback
Rate of fire 500 rounds/min[2]
Muzzle velocity 390 m/s (1,280 ft/s)
Feed system 21, 32-round box magazine
Sights Iron

FBP is a 9 mm submachine gun originally developed from a design first conceived in 1940 by Gonçalves Cardoso, an officer of artillery in the Portuguese Army. The onset of World War II halted development of the weapon, which was further modified and put into production in 1948.

History

The submachine gun was produced by the Fábrica de Braço de Prata weapon factory at Lisbon,[3] whose initials FBP gave the name to the weapon, adopted for service as the m/948 in 1948. It utilized the large bolt and telescoping operating spring of the German MP40 submachine gun, and the collapsible wire stock of the American M3 submachine gun.[4] Unusual for submachineguns, the m/948 was fitted with a barrel sleeve with a mount to accept the standard Portuguese Mauser bayonet.

The original version of the submachine gun (the FBP m/948) only allowed for fully automatic fire. An upgraded version ( designated FBP m/963) introduced in 1961 also allowed for semi-automatic fire.

The weapon was primarily issued to officers and NCOs in the Portuguese Armed Forces and security forces, along with quantities of ex-German MP 34 submachine guns. In Portuguese service it was used in combat in Angola, Portuguese Guinea, Mozambique, Portuguese India and Portuguese Timor. It was eventually replaced in service by the 9 mm Uzi and the collapsible-stock version of the standard m/961 G3 rifle.

In 1976 Fábrica Militar de Braço de Prata, led by Major Engenheiro Mário Tavares, developed a modernized version of the FBP with a barrel cooling sleeve, but it never entered production.[3]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "FMBP-48". Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 "Armas Pessoais da 4CCE" (in Portuguese). 24 September 2009. Retrieved 3 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 Pinto, Renato Fernando Marques (2010). "As Indústrias Militares e As Armas de Fogo Portáteis no Exército Português". Revista Militar (in Portuguese) (Revista Militar). Retrieved March 3, 2013.
  4. ↑ FBP/M948 smg Portuguese. Retrieved on May 25, 2008.
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