Netsch automatic carbine
Samopal 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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