Netsch automatic carbine

Samopal Netsch

Netsch

In 1919 a Slovakian engineer, Josef Netsch, assisted by his son František, designed a 9mm automatic carbine that can be said to fall in with the first generation of submachine guns. However, it is not exactly known whether this gun fired in full-auto or whether it was a semi-automatic weapon. It was based largely on the Italian Revelli-Beretta carbine (also known as the Beretta Model 1918), which was a semi-automatic weapon. The action was almost an exact copy of the Revelli-Beretta's (which itself was recycled from the Villar Perosa), employing an inertial-type delay in which the bolt was forced into a 45° incline in the forward part of the bolt guide. Another feature copied from the Revelli-Beretta was a folding spike bayonet at at the muzzle.

The Netsch gun did exhibit some original features. It fed from a small proprietary drum magazine which fed into the underside of the receiver. The cocking slot had featured a hinged cover which protected it from exposure to dirt and mud. The Netsch carbine was submitted for testing by the Czech Army in the early 1920s, along with an automatic rifle and machine-gun. Several patterns of the Netsch carbine were made, but none were adopted and the weapon never advanced beyond the early prototype stages.

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