This Day in History: the UD42 is Patented

By Logan Metesh

U.S.A. –-(Ammoland.com)- On October 14, 1940, Carl Swebilius of High Standard patented a submachine gun chambered for the 9x19mm cartridge.

While it was visually similar to the Thompson submachine gun, the guns were decidedly different. Swebilius’s gun fired from an open bolt at a rate of approximately 880 rounds per minute. Fitted with an 11-inch barrel, the gun weighed approximately ten pounds. Its magazines held 25 rounds and were affixed to one another face-to-face, allowing for rapid reloads.

Initially, Carl sought to offer the gun to foreign countries, and he retained a man named Frank Jonas to handle the overseas contracts.

Right away, though, things did not go smoothly with this new design. For starters, High Standard was focusing its energy on fulfilling a British contract for 12,000 .50 caliber machine guns to be delivered in just 10 months. This meant that they had little time or resources to devote to this new submachine gun, no matter how lucrative the other overseas contracts might be. If the gun was to be produced, another firm would have to do it.

Essentially just a company on paper, the newly-created United …Read the Rest

Source:: AmmoLand