Model 1910 and Model 1910/21
At the same time, the Bergmann–Bayard model 1910 was adopted by the Danish military. A total of 4,840 M1910 Bergmann Bayards was initially delivered to the Danish Army. The pistol was produced in Belgium until 1914, when production ceased during World War I and never resumed. The Bergmann–Bayard was later produced in Denmark from 1922 to 1935.
Several modifications to the original design, such as an improved extractor and bolt; a screw to retain the side plate instead of a spring-loaded catch; and a new grip design extending the full length of the backstrap to the frame were made. The original grips were made of Trolit, a checkered plastic material similar to Bakelite. It was, however, prone to chipping and warping, and the majority of new 1910/21 models was fitted with checkered wooden grips.
More than 2,200 Danish Bergmann–Bayard pistols were produced in Copenhagen. In addition, most of the prewar M1910s delivered to the Danish army by AEP were converted to meet the new specifications. These were restamped “M1910/21” beneath the Societe Anonyme Anciens Establissments Pieper on the left side of the barrel extension. The last Danish 1910/21 models were built in 1935, but they remained standard issue for the Danish military until 1946 when they were replaced by the Browning Hi-Power
One rule of thumb in the shooting world is that bigger guns are easier to shoot but harder to conceal, whereas small guns are easy to conceal but more difficult to shoot. I’ve spent most of my shooting career in the big gun arena due to a penchant for handgun hunting, but as more and more states have acknowledged the validity of the second amendment and the need for personal self-defense, my attention has been captured by the importance of concealed carry. I’ve always been comforted by the presence of large calibers when afield, especially the .44 Magnum, but when one leaves America’s vast hunting areas and ventures back into civilization, how does one maintain some level of comfort with the idea of a .44 Magnum for concealed carry?
The first step is to reduce the size of the handgun such that it can remain concealed while wearing street clothes. Because it’s a .44 Magnum, there isn’t much you can do with the size of the frame. The power of the .44 requires a certain amount of surrounding metal for the gun to remain in one piece when firing magnum ammunition. You also need a minimum amount of weight to keep the felt recoil within your tolerance limits so you’re not afraid of pulling the trigger. The second step is to find a holster that allows you to carry the gun in relative comfort with reasonably rapid access without protruding through your outer garment. As it turns out, all these requirements for .44 Magnum concealed carry can be met with a couple of factory-produced handguns from S&W and Ruger and a pair of custom holsters from Rafter-L Combat Leather.
My Model 629 has the standard S&W features like stainless steel frame, barrel, and cylinder. While the barrel on this “N” frame .44 Magnum is only 3 inches long, it’s still a heavy handgun weighing around 40 ounces, and you’ll appreciate every ounce when you ignite a serious magnum load. The sights are Smith’s fixed red ramp front blade with a white outline adjustable rear sight. The grip frame is rounded and fitted with finger groove grip panels that have been dimpled for better control. Hammer spur is wide and checkered for single action shooting while the trigger is wide with a smooth surface for double action shooting, (what we called a “combat trigger” years ago.) These features combined allow me to shoot this gun one handed either single or double action, something I can’t do with square grip frame Smith’s wearing the old-style oversize wood grips.
Likewise, the Ruger is typical Super Blackhawk with everything being stainless steel except for the plain black front blade and adjustable rear sight. A wide hammer spur with lateral serrations insures no slippage when thumbing back the hammer for a rapid follow up shot. The barrel is 3.75 inches long with a full-length ejector rod housing. That’s about as short a barrel as you can get and still have the ejector rod push your fired cases reasonably clear of the cylinder’s breach face. The Ruger is slower to shoot and reload than the Smith, but for me the single action grip and 44 ounces tames recoil better. The Super Blackhawk and holster occupy more real estate on your hip than the 629, but with Eric Little’s purpose designed OWB holsters, both guns show the same amount of leather below the belt line, thus making them equally easy to conceal under an outer garment.
Holsters are made of smooth leather and form fitted to each gun. The smooth outer surface of the holster prevents it from catching the cover garment when you sweep it aside for the draw while the form fit insures the gun will remain stationary and not flop around when moving. The Rafter-L belt is sturdy enough to keep the gun close to the body but narrow enough to fit through the smaller belt loops normally found on “civilized” trousers as opposed to the wider “manly” loops normally found on jeans. If you hope to have any comfort carrying a .44 Magnum, a sturdy belt/holster rig is essential. I’ve worn this combination for 3-day shoots at Gunsite Academy and on all-day hog hunts in Texas.
I’m not suggesting that a .44 Magnum is the optimum CCW choice for everyone. Obviously if you share your habitat with big bears, the big bore pistol has a certain appeal. But, when leaving one of Gunsite’s ranges at the end of a day’s shoot or venturing through town after a Texas hunt, I rarely feel like performing a firearm wardrobe change. While you might be considered overgunned for the urban life, you’re never undergunned when wearing “the most powerful handgun in the world!” There are a couple of other advantages when you enter a vehicle or the world of vehicles. Those 3- and 3.75-inch barrels ride quite comfortably when seated, especially when trapped in a seat belt. Likewise, should you be threatened by some moron who thinks he can use a vehicle for cover, your .44 Magnum has the power to dramatically change his thinking about “cover” vs. “concealment!”
Don’t let my comments about ferocious recoil curb your potential enthusiasm. There is a great selection of .44 Special ammo being produced by the industry that will fill almost all your needs from popping pine cones to busting big bears. Well, maybe medium bears! Determining your level of recoil tolerance is a personal judgement that can only be made by you and can affect your decision to follow the path of .44 Magnum concealed carry..
It was six feet tall and 163 lbs. without a gram of extraneous body fat. Though I didn’t enjoy it, I did a weekly 10k run with my mates in boots with a rucksack and M16. I was in the best physical condition of my life and believed myself to be both bulletproof and immortal. Then I met the Pig.
A proper 15-mile forced march was about the hardest thing I have ever done. On this particularly fateful day, I don’t recall whose dog I had inadvertently kicked to deserve what happened to me. This was, however, the day I got tagged to lug the Pig.
Near the Cu Chi tunnels in Vietnam, this U.S. Army soldier fires the M60 machine gun from a crouch. Image: Tom Laemlein
The “Pig” was the M60 belt-fed General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). Back in my day, we used M60’s as SAWs (Squad Automatic Weapons). Nowadays, our 5.56mm SAWs are relatively lightweight, portable and mean. By contrast, the Pig weighed 23 lbs. empty and fired a 7.62x51mm round the size of my little finger. The Pig would cut through walls, chew through ceilings, ventilate cars and reach out to truly serious ranges. It was, however, indeed still a pig. At the end of that horrible road march, I thought I’d died.
Origin Story
The M60 GPMG wanted so badly to be awesome. Rising from the ashes of World War II, the M60 reflected the U.S. Army’s effort at developing a truly state-of-the-art light machine gun. We fought the Second World War with the Browning M1919A4. This beast ran like the Energizer bunny, but it weighed 31 lbs. and was a veritable mass of sharp corners. The M1919A4 was also designed to be fired off of a separate M2 tripod, an awkward piece of kit that itself weighed another 16 pounds. The subsequent M1919A6 tried to morph the gun into something more portable, but it was yet a pound heavier. We could do better.
In 1967, this U.S. Marine fires the M60 machine gun from the shoulder while deployed to Vietnam. Image: Tom Laemlein
The M60 began life as the experimental T44. In what has got to be the coolest job in the history of jobs, American firearms engineers took the belt-fed mechanism from a captured German MG42 and grafted it onto the action of an FG42 paratroop rifle. The resulting frankengun served as the basis for the M60 action.
The M60 orbited around a stamped steel receiver for both economy and weight management. The Germans had shown the world with their MG42 that you could indeed stamp out a GPMG that was rugged enough to thrive on the modern battlefield. Though M60 receivers were ultimately found to stretch a bit, this part of the design performed fairly well.
During the Vietnam War, the M60 was used by ground forces, on the waterways and in the air. It proved effective in all locations. Image: Tom Laemlein
The M60 featured a gas piston-driven action that fed ammunition in M13 disintegrating links solely from the left. The gun fired from the open bolt and was exceptionally simple to operate. Lock the bolt to the rear, put the gun on safe, open the top cover, and place the ammunition belt in the feedway link side up or “brass to the grass.” Close the top cover, point the gun at something you dislike, flick the safety off, and squeeze. Repeat as necessary. As seems always to be the case, however, the devil was in the details.
The M60 was an air-cooled design intended for sustained fire applications. Running lots of belt-fed rounds through a machinegun creates astronomical amounts of extraneous heat. Getting rid of all that thermal energy is the Achilles heel of any sustained fire weapon system. The generally accepted solution on a gun like the M60 is a quick change barrel system.
U.S. Marines engage the communist invaders near the DMZ between North and South Vietnam in May of 1967. Image: Tom Laemlein
You can cut spirals or flutes into a barrel to increase its surface area and subsequently its capacity to dissipate heat. However, if you want this thing to shoot for a while you need mass. Making your barrels heavy is one of the reasons the Pig and I got along so poorly that torrid afternoon at Fort Benning. Certain aspects of the M60’s design were just fatally flawed.
A soldier with the 173rd Airborne Brigade holds a position with his M60 on Hill 875, Vietnam. Image: Tom Laemlein
The bipod on the M60 was located at the far end of the gun. This location optimized stability and control. However, in the case of the Pig, this meant that every spare barrel had its own dedicated bipod. For the sorts of guys who might break the handles off of their toothbrushes to help conserve weight on a long patrol, any extraneous mass was the unforgiveable sin.
Additionally, certain components of the M60 gas system had an annoying tendency to come apart at high round counts. As a result, the gas cylinders on our guns were always held together with safety wire. In practice that was not a particularly onerous problem, but it didn’t inspire confidence.
Swapping barrels on the Pig was indeed fast and intuitive. Lock the bolt back, throw the barrel release lever, snatch out the barrel using the handy but heavy carrying handle, and lock a fresh tube in place. Easy peasy.
Variations
The M60 was intended from the outset to be everything for everybody. Uncle Sam wanted one gun that could serve in a variety of roles. In the final analysis, there were only three versions that saw widespread service back in my day.
An Air Force team member fires a 7.62mm M-60 machine gun during Peacekeeper Challenge, an annual competition. Image: Tom Laemlein
The standard ground gun featured a rubber-coated steel handguard and buttstock with a folding shoulder rest. This weapon served in most conventional roles to include vehicle mounts. In Vietnam, particularly early in the war, helicopter door gunners frequently hung a standard M60 from a bungee cord and used it for suppressive fire. Innovative gunners sometimes chopped the barrels short or affixed a spare pistol grip to the forearm with pipe clamps. It was a common practice to wire a C-ration can to the left aspect of the feed tray to enhance feeding.
This Springfield Armory image shows the M60 broken down into its major components. Image: SANHS
The M60C was used in fixed mounts aboard helicopter gunships, most typically in dual fixtures on each side of the aircraft. The C-model was hydraulically charged and electrically fired via solenoid. The C-model guns used the same basic chassis as the ground guns. However, their barrels lacked bipods, front sights, and carrying handles.
The M60D was the standardized pintle-mounted aerial version of the weapon. The D-model dispensed with the forearm and included a spade grip with twin ring triggers in lieu of the buttstock assembly. The M60D included a folding ring sight as well. The barrels on our D-models still carried their own bipods so you could use the gun on the ground in a crisis.
Reliability
I did not have a homogeneously positive experience with the M60. Most of the guns I was issued seemed fairly finicky. We trained to fire five to eight-round bursts and remain ever mindful of barrel heat. I recall having to fiddle with the guns more than I should have to keep them running, particularly in an austere environment.
Here the M60 is being put through a series of tests in 1959. Image: Tom Laemlein
I was once signed for twenty-four D-model M60s to be used as door guns on my tactical aircraft. Despite being spotlessly maintained and perfectly lubricated there never seemed to be more than about six that really ran well. Failures in training tended to diminish confidence in the weapons. Given that the mission was to provide suppressive fire going into and out of hostile landing zones that always seemed a wee bit disturbing.
Practical Tactical
When the Pig ran, it ran well. The sedate 550-rpm rate of fire encouraged ammunition efficiency, and the heavy .30-caliber chambering carried plenty of downrange thump. Running the gun was both fun and exhilarating. Humping it, however, particularly for a skinny guy like me, not so much.
A U.S. Navy SEAL team member fires an M60 lightweight machine gun from the shoulder during a field training exercise. Image: Tom Laemlein
Running a belt-fed machinegun out of a moving helicopter is an incomparable rush. It also embodies a fair amount of unexpected physics. When the aircraft is in forward flight and the guns fired out the sides each screaming bullet becomes its own little flying machine.
The 22” barrel on the M60 is rifled one turn in twelve inches. The bullet leaves the gun’s barrel at around 2,800 fps. That means it has a rotational velocity of 2,800 revolutions per second or about 168,000 rpm. The bullet turns clockwise as viewed from the firer. When fired in forward flight out the right side of the aircraft the airflow across the bullet creates a low pressure area on the top that actually draws the projectile upward. Smarter folks than I call this the Magnus Effect. On the left side of the aircraft this low pressure area is formed underneath the bullet and pulls it down.
The end result is that to hit a target on the right the gunner aims intentionally beneath it and lets the bullets fly up to impact. The opposite is true on the left with the bullets plunging precipitously toward the ground. The practical effect when doing this for real firing tracers is frankly surreal.
Denouement
The M60 will forever be associated with Sylvester Stallone and John Rambo. The 1982 action movie First Blood established its own film genre. A fun fact is that Stallone co-wrote the screenplays for First Blood as well as the next four sequels.
A U.S. Navy Sailor fires an M60 7.62 mm Machine Gun during a weapons familiarization on the fantail of the USS Abraham Lincoln. Image: Tom Laemlein
In the first film, Stallone’s put-upon Vietnam-era Special Forces veteran character eventually takes up an M60 and uses it to shoot the bejeebers out of the small town of Hope, Washington. Along the way, Rambo even runs his M60 one-handed, albeit on a sling. Just punch “First Blood M60” into YouTube if you haven’t seen the juicy bits. However, should this be the case I sure wouldn’t admit that to any of your guy friends.
For the most part, the M60 has been supplanted in U.S. military service by the M240-series of belt-fed guns. Upgraded versions like the M60E6 still soldier on in certain select units, however. Despite its warts, the Pig yet remains one of the coolest looking automatic weapons ever contrived.
SFC Wayne Michelson sat still as death. He was point man for a six-man special forces patrol counting traffic along the Ho Chi Minh Trail. His fellow SF operator and four Montagnards were the only friendlies for 75 klicks. This was their third day downrange, and they had thus far been lucky. However, it seemed that was about to change.
He heard the NVA before he saw them. Now they were close enough to smell. This was their world, and they had no suspicion that there could be Americans this deep into Laos.
The Swedish K was a popular weapon among Special Forces in Vietnam.
Michelson wanted desperately for the patrol to move on past. However, the last man in their column stopped to answer the call of nature. Now he stood urinating into the brush not ten feet from where SFC Michelson crouched.
The moon shone brightly enough to cut through the dank Asian jungle. The NVA soldier, his AK rifle slung, was putting his black pajama bottoms back in order when their eyes met. For a pregnant moment all Michelson saw was confusion. The unconcerned banter of the rest of the NVA patrol was diminishing around the corner. The NVA trooper then opened his mouth to shout.
Michelson raised his sound-suppressed Swedish K submachine gun and snapped out a quick four-shot burst. All four 124-gr. ball rounds struck the small-statured communist soldier in the chest, bowling him over as though struck by a sledge. The hefty suppressor on the Swedish subgun kept the report in check, while the dank, thick jungle quieted things yet further. In moments Michelson had the man’s lifeless body far enough into the jungle to be tough to find in the dark.
When the stock was folded, as shown here, the Swedish K SMG became a very compact firearm.
They had indeed been lucky, of that there was no doubt, but this NVA soldier would soon be missed. Michelson accounted for his men and struck out at a run for their primary PZ. His American comrade was already on his PRC-25 radio. The Huey slick would meet them at the prearranged pick-up zone at first light. That was two hours. Lord willing it would take the NVA longer than that to figure out what happened and track them down. Had it not been for his weird Swedish subgun, they’d all six be dead.
The Swedish K
The Kulsprutepistol m/45 aka Carl Gustav M/45 was a conventional submachine gun with very unconventional origins. The gun saw limited use with American special forces and Navy SEALs during the Vietnam War. In U.S. Military service, the m/45 was called the Swedish K or “K Rifle.”
This is an aftermarket suppressor the author has that is mechanically similar to the originals.
Sweden strove mightily to remain neutral throughout World War II, while the rest of the planet burned. Desperate to eschew involvement, tiny little Sweden had to remain as prickly as possible. To avoid the appearance of partiality, the Swedes frequently had to develop their own weaponry.
Gunnar Johnsson took elements from the most common subguns in service at the time and crafted the Swedish K as a hybrid. The Sten, MP40, M3 “Grease Gun”, and PPSh were all built around a pressed or drawn steel receiver. This kept production costs low while still yielding a rugged chassis. Johnsson’s similar tubular steel receivers could be pressed out in bulk by semi-skilled workers.
The Swedish K was stable and effective in action. The cyclic rate was moderate, allowing for excellent control.
The 36-round box magazine for the Swedish K is one of the best ever produced. A trapezoidal cross section keeps the rounds oriented properly, while the double-stack, double-feed design means easy loading without a special tool. The magazine release is a thumb-activated lever oriented behind the magwell.
All involved respected the inherent firepower of the Russian PPSh equipped with its 71-round drum. Johnsson therefore designed his gun with a removable sheet steel magwell that would accommodate a drum, or a 50-round “coffin” mag as well. Thusly equipped, the Swedish K does indeed pack a lot of bullets. However, with the drum in place the gun maneuvers like Jabba the Hutt navigating a corn maze.
Details
The Swedish K is of thoroughly conventional design. The gun is full-auto-only and fires from an open bolt. It operates via advanced primer ignition, meaning the firing pin is nothing more than a dimple machined into the bolt face. The gun’s sole safety is a slot cut into the receiver to hold the bolt to the rear.
The grip on the Carl Gustav m/45 was unusually wide. It served large hands best, though shooters of all statures could shoot the gun.
For some reason the pistol grip on the K is absolutely enormous. I have big long monkey fingers, and I can barely reach around the thing. Very basic wooden slab grips keep the bare steel comfortable. The front sight is adjustable for windage, while the rear sight is flip adjustable for elevation. Both are heavily fenced.
The side-folding stock is both rigid and effective. A safety lock ensures that the stock will not collapse unexpectedly. To deploy the stock, just give it a snatch. To collapse it you press the release catch and then fold it to the right.
The barrel and its shroud are easily removed without tools. A sound-suppressed barrel assembly can therefore be easily exchanged for the standard sort. Swedish K suppressors include a ported barrel that drops standard velocity supersonic 9mm rounds down to the subsonic range, substantially decreasing their report.
The design and construction of the Carl Gustav m/45 muzzle was very simple — yet the gun proved to be extremely effective.
The bolt on the Swedish K is absolutely massive, and its associated travel fairly prodigious. This results in a very pleasant rate of fire of around 550-600 rpm. I have read that you could slip a c-cell battery into the back of the receiver and substantially increase the firing rate. I’d personally sooner not try that myself.
The Rest of the Story
American special operators coveted the Swedish K in Vietnam for its unswerving reliability. At a time when the M16 was dogged with problems, the Swedish K could be relied upon to run under most any circumstances. The gun’s ample tolerances also gave it a desirable over-the-beach capability for Navy SEALs just emerging from the surf or muck.
The American-made M76 (bottom) was designed as a replacement for the Swedish K after an arms embargo restricted access.
The Swedes instigated a weapons embargo against the United States in 1966 to protest the war in Vietnam. In response, the U.S. Military reached out to American industry for a replacement. The result was the M76, a similar but still substantially dissimilar weapon. Most everything about the M76 is a little bit sleeker than its Swedish forebear. However, in my experience the M76 is not nearly so robust.
In the end none of that mattered. The Swedish K was manufactured in Egypt under license as the Port Said and saw some distribution to terrorist ne’er-do-wells around the globe. First World militaries, however, soon became besotted with stubby rifle-caliber carbines and lost their enthusiasm for subguns shooting pistol bullets. Those who ran the K Rifle in Vietnam, however, absolutely loved the thing.
