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Personal defense weapon

January 26, 2023

"PDW" redirects here. For the Paul Dudley White Path, see Charles River Bike Path.

Personal defense weapons (PDWs) are a class of firearms intended for self-defense and security rather than warfare and infantry. Most PDWs fire a small-caliber (less than 6 millimetres or 0.24 inches), centerfire bottleneck cartridge resembling a scaled-down intermediate rifle cartridge, essentially making them an "in-between" hybrid between a submachine gun and a carbine.

The use of these rifle-like cartridges gives the PDWs much better ballistic performance (effective range, accuracy and armor-penetrating capability) than conventional submachine guns, which fire larger-caliber but slower and less aerodynamic handgun cartridges. The low recoil of these "sub-intermediate" cartridges also makes muzzle rise on PDWs (which typically have short gun barrels) much easier to handle than short-barreled rifles, especially when shooting full-auto or in burst fires.

The name describes the weapon's original conceptual role: as a compact but powerful small arm that can be conveniently carried for personal defense, usually by support personnel behind the front line such as military engineers, logistic drivers, medical specialists, artillery crews or signallers. These "second-line" personnel are not strictly combat troops expected to directly engage the enemy, but may still be at risk of encountering decently equipped (and often well-armored) hostile skirmishers and infiltrators, therefore having to defend themselves in close quarters. Such encounters will warrant an effective weapon that is easy to use while having sufficient firepower to suppress enemy charges and hold them beyond a safe perimeter to prevent the defenders from being overrun, but the risk of hostility is rare enough that a standard service rifle would be an unnecessary burden during their normal duties.

Because of their light weight, controllability, ease of operation and close-range effectiveness (can defeat a NATO CRISAT vest[1] or an NIJ IIIA soft Kevlar armor[2][3] at up to 200 meters or 220 yards), PDWs have also been used by special forces, paramilitaries, heavily armed tactical police and even bodyguards.

History

 
9mm Parabellum "Red 9" Mauser C96 with stock

In the 19th and early 20th centuries, shortened versions of the infantry rifle were issued as "carbines" for cavalry troops and gun crews. This designation was dropped as infantry rifle designs became shortened overall, such as in the Short Magazine Lee–Enfield rifle. Thereafter, handguns were typically issued as self-defense weapons. However, they were not effective in most close combat situations. As a result, during the First World War, the Mauser C96 and artillery versions of the Luger pistol were issued with attachable shoulder stock holsters, which allowed for greater control and accuracy.

 
Pedersen device drawing

During World War I, the United States secretly developed the Pedersen device attachment for the M1903 Springfield rifle that allowed it to fire a .30 caliber (7.62 mm) pistol-type cartridge in semi-automatic mode.[4][5] This attachment was developed to allow an infantryman to convert "his rifle to a form of submachine gun or automatic rifle" in approximately 15 seconds.[5][4]

Production of the device and modified M1903 rifles started in 1918.[5] However, the war ended before they were sent to Europe.[4][5] The contract was cancelled on March 1, 1919, after production of 65,000 devices, 1.6 million magazines, 65 million cartridges and 101,775 modified Springfield rifles.[4][5][6] The Pedersen device was declared surplus in 1931.[6] To prevent them from falling into the hands of the lawless, nearly all of the stored devices were destroyed by the Army except for a few examples kept by Ordnance Department.[7][6]

In 1938, the U.S. Army Ordnance Department received a request for a light rifle to be issued to mortarmen, radiomen, drivers, clerks, cooks, and similar grades.[8] During field exercises, these troops found that the M1 Garand rifle was too heavy and too cumbersome for general issue. And, while handguns are undeniably convenient, they had limited range, accuracy and power. This request was refused by authorities.[8]

In 1940, after Germany's use of glider-borne and paratroop forces to infiltrate and attack strategic points behind the front lines,[9][10] the request for a light rifle was resubmitted and subsequently approved.[8] U.S. Army Ordnance issued a requirement for a "light rifle" with greater range, firepower, and accuracy than the M1911 pistol while weighing half as much as the M1 Garand.[11] As a result, the U.S. developed the semi-automatic M1 Carbine and shortly thereafter the select-fire M2 Carbine. Widely employed until the end of the Vietnam War, these carbines are generally considered the forerunners of modern personal defense weapons.[12]

Developed during the 1980s, the "Personal Defense Weapon" (PDW) concept was created in response to a NATO request as a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum submachine guns. The PDW is a compact automatic weapon that can defeat enemy body armor and which can be used conveniently by non-combatant and support troops, as well as a close quarters battle weapon for special forces and counter-terrorist groups.[13][14]

Introduced in 1991, the FN P90 features a bullpup design with a futuristic appearance. It has a 50-round magazine housed horizontally above the barrel, an integrated reflex sight and fully ambidextrous controls.[15] A simple blow-back automatic weapon, it was designed to fire the FN 5.7×28mm cartridge which can penetrate soft body armor.[13][14] The P90 was designed to have a length no greater than a man's shoulder width, to allow it to be easily carried and maneuvered in tight spaces, such as the inside of an armored vehicle.[15]

Introduced in 2001, the Heckler & Koch MP7 is a direct rival to the FN P90. Featuring a more conventional-looking design, the MP7 uses a short-stroke piston gas system as used on H&K's G36 and HK416 assault rifles, in place of a blowback system traditionally seen on submachine guns.[16] The MP7 is able to use 20-, 30- and 40-round magazines and fires 4.6×30mm ammunition which can penetrate soft body armor. Due to the heavy use of polymers in its construction, the MP7 is much lighter than older SMG designs, weighing only 1.2 kg (2.65 lb) with an empty 20-round magazine.

Applications

 
Three civilian 5.7×28mm cartridges as used in the P90. The left cartridge has a plain hollow tip, the center cartridge has a red plastic V-max tip intended to ensure bullet expansion, and the right cartridge has a blue plastic V-max tip.
 
PP-2000 SMG can be used as a PDW by firing high-pressure armor-piercing ammunition

The PDW concept has not been widely successful, partly because existing PDWs are not significantly cheaper to manufacture than carbines or full-size military rifles. Most PDWs also use a proprietary cartridge, such as the 5.7×28mm cartridge for the FN P90 or the 4.6×30mm for the H&K MP7, neither of which were originally compatible with any existing pistols or rifles/carbines. Although both manufacturers planned handguns that used the same proprietary rounds, only FN went forward with production of the Five-SeveN pistol, which was the only handgun option available for the 5.7×28mm cartridge for over two decades until the introduction of Ruger-57 in 2019. In turn, this made the PDW cartridges expensive to consumers due to the lack of mass production. A different take on the PDW concept is the Russian-made PP-2000, which can fire common 9×19mm Parabellum ammunition or a special high-pressure armor-piercing variant to give it similar capabilities as other PDWs.

Though personal defense weapons have not been very popular for their intended application, they have been acquired by many special forces and law enforcement groups as direct upgrade for submachine guns. The FN P90 and Five-seven pistol are used by military and police forces in over 40 countries throughout the world, including Canada, Cyprus, France, Greece, India, Peru, Poland, Spain and the United States.[17] The Heckler & Koch MP7 is also used in a number of countries, including Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.[18][19]

Modern PDW cartridge

Personal defense weapons

PDW-caliber pistols

See also

References

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Personal defense weapons.
  1. ^
  2. ^ Wall, Sandy (April 2003). . Hendon Publishing Co. Archived from the original on July 11, 2011. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  3. ^ Fortier, David (2008). . Handguns Magazine. Archived from the original on January 22, 2010. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  4. ^ a b c d https://www.guns.com/news/2013/06/22/perishings-super-weapon-the-pedersen-device/ "The Pedersen Device: The World War I superweapon that (almost) won the war". 6/22/13. by Chris Eger
  5. ^ a b c d e Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. pages 284 & 285
  6. ^ a b c Julian S. Hatcher, Hatcher's Notebook, Military Service Publishing Co., 1947, Ch. 15 The Pedersen Device, pp. 361-372.
  7. ^ Canfield, Bruce N. (2003). "Never in Anger: the Pedersen Device". American Rifleman. National Rifle Association of America. 151 (June): 58–61&71.
  8. ^ a b c Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. by Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. pages 289-290
  9. ^ George, John, Shots Fired In Anger, NRA Press (1981), p. 394
  10. ^ Weeks, John, World War II Small Arms, London: Orbis Publishing Ltd. and New York: Galahad Books, ISBN 0-88365-403-2, ISBN 978-0-88365-403-3 (1979), p. 130
  11. ^ Larry Ruth, M1 Carbine: Design, Development & Production, (The Gun Room Press, 1979, ISBN 0-88227-020-6) contains many Ordnance documents related to the "Light Rifle" specification that led to the M1 carbine
  12. ^ Thompson, Leroy (2011). The M1 Carbine. Osprey Publishing. pp. 4, 68.
  13. ^ a b Miller, David (2001). The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns. London: Salamander Books Ltd. ISBN 9781840652451.
  14. ^ a b Oliver, David (2007). . Global Defence Review. Archived from the original on October 16, 2006. Retrieved October 19, 2009.
  15. ^ a b Kevin, Dockery (2007). Future Weapons. New York: Berkley Trade. ISBN 9780425217504.
  16. ^ Cutshaw, Charles Q. (2003). "Heckler & Koch's cutting-edge compacts G36C and MP7 PDW: when less really is more". Guns Magazine.
  17. ^ Francotte, Auguste; Claude, Gaier; Robert, Karlshausen, eds. (January 2008). Ars Mechanica – The Ultimate FN Book. Vottem: Herstal Group. ISBN 978-2-87415-877-3.
  18. ^ "BMI" (PDF). www.bmi.gv.at. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  19. ^ Gourley, S.; Kemp, I (November 26, 2003). "The Duellists". Jane's Defence Weekly (ISSN 0265-3818), Volume 40 Issue 21, pp 26-28.
  20. ^ "New FN SCAR®-SC Subcompact Carbine | FN HERSTAL". www.fnherstal.com. 15 November 2017. Retrieved 2017-11-24.
  21. ^ "STKinetics CPW submachine gun – Compact Personal Weapon". Singapore. 27 October 2010. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  22. ^ D.K. Pridgen (November 12, 2014). "Masterpiece Arms MPA57 SST 5.7×28mm". Retrieved April 24, 2017.

January 26, 2023
personal, defense, weapon, redirects, here, paul, dudley, white, path, charles, river, bike, path, pdws, class, firearms, intended, self, defense, security, rather, than, warfare, infantry, most, pdws, fire, small, caliber, less, than, millimetres, inches, cen. PDW redirects here For the Paul Dudley White Path see Charles River Bike Path Personal defense weapons PDWs are a class of firearms intended for self defense and security rather than warfare and infantry Most PDWs fire a small caliber less than 6 millimetres or 0 24 inches centerfire bottleneck cartridge resembling a scaled down intermediate rifle cartridge essentially making them an in between hybrid between a submachine gun and a carbine FN P90 The use of these rifle like cartridges gives the PDWs much better ballistic performance effective range accuracy and armor penetrating capability than conventional submachine guns which fire larger caliber but slower and less aerodynamic handgun cartridges The low recoil of these sub intermediate cartridges also makes muzzle rise on PDWs which typically have short gun barrels much easier to handle than short barreled rifles especially when shooting full auto or in burst fires The name describes the weapon s original conceptual role as a compact but powerful small arm that can be conveniently carried for personal defense usually by support personnel behind the front line such as military engineers logistic drivers medical specialists artillery crews or signallers These second line personnel are not strictly combat troops expected to directly engage the enemy but may still be at risk of encountering decently equipped and often well armored hostile skirmishers and infiltrators therefore having to defend themselves in close quarters Such encounters will warrant an effective weapon that is easy to use while having sufficient firepower to suppress enemy charges and hold them beyond a safe perimeter to prevent the defenders from being overrun but the risk of hostility is rare enough that a standard service rifle would be an unnecessary burden during their normal duties Because of their light weight controllability ease of operation and close range effectiveness can defeat a NATO CRISAT vest 1 or an NIJ IIIA soft Kevlar armor 2 3 at up to 200 meters or 220 yards PDWs have also been used by special forces paramilitaries heavily armed tactical police and even bodyguards Contents 1 History 2 Applications 3 Modern PDW cartridge 4 Personal defense weapons 5 PDW caliber pistols 6 See also 7 ReferencesHistory Edit 9mm Parabellum Red 9 Mauser C96 with stock In the 19th and early 20th centuries shortened versions of the infantry rifle were issued as carbines for cavalry troops and gun crews This designation was dropped as infantry rifle designs became shortened overall such as in the Short Magazine Lee Enfield rifle Thereafter handguns were typically issued as self defense weapons However they were not effective in most close combat situations As a result during the First World War the Mauser C96 and artillery versions of the Luger pistol were issued with attachable shoulder stock holsters which allowed for greater control and accuracy Pedersen device drawing During World War I the United States secretly developed the Pedersen device attachment for the M1903 Springfield rifle that allowed it to fire a 30 caliber 7 62 mm pistol type cartridge in semi automatic mode 4 5 This attachment was developed to allow an infantryman to convert his rifle to a form of submachine gun or automatic rifle in approximately 15 seconds 5 4 Production of the device and modified M1903 rifles started in 1918 5 However the war ended before they were sent to Europe 4 5 The contract was cancelled on March 1 1919 after production of 65 000 devices 1 6 million magazines 65 million cartridges and 101 775 modified Springfield rifles 4 5 6 The Pedersen device was declared surplus in 1931 6 To prevent them from falling into the hands of the lawless nearly all of the stored devices were destroyed by the Army except for a few examples kept by Ordnance Department 7 6 M1 Garand and M1 Carbine In 1938 the U S Army Ordnance Department received a request for a light rifle to be issued to mortarmen radiomen drivers clerks cooks and similar grades 8 During field exercises these troops found that the M1 Garand rifle was too heavy and too cumbersome for general issue And while handguns are undeniably convenient they had limited range accuracy and power This request was refused by authorities 8 In 1940 after Germany s use of glider borne and paratroop forces to infiltrate and attack strategic points behind the front lines 9 10 the request for a light rifle was resubmitted and subsequently approved 8 U S Army Ordnance issued a requirement for a light rifle with greater range firepower and accuracy than the M1911 pistol while weighing half as much as the M1 Garand 11 As a result the U S developed the semi automatic M1 Carbine and shortly thereafter the select fire M2 Carbine Widely employed until the end of the Vietnam War these carbines are generally considered the forerunners of modern personal defense weapons 12 Heckler amp Koch MP7A1 Developed during the 1980s the Personal Defense Weapon PDW concept was created in response to a NATO request as a replacement for 9 19mm Parabellum submachine guns The PDW is a compact automatic weapon that can defeat enemy body armor and which can be used conveniently by non combatant and support troops as well as a close quarters battle weapon for special forces and counter terrorist groups 13 14 Introduced in 1991 the FN P90 features a bullpup design with a futuristic appearance It has a 50 round magazine housed horizontally above the barrel an integrated reflex sight and fully ambidextrous controls 15 A simple blow back automatic weapon it was designed to fire the FN 5 7 28mm cartridge which can penetrate soft body armor 13 14 The P90 was designed to have a length no greater than a man s shoulder width to allow it to be easily carried and maneuvered in tight spaces such as the inside of an armored vehicle 15 Introduced in 2001 the Heckler amp Koch MP7 is a direct rival to the FN P90 Featuring a more conventional looking design the MP7 uses a short stroke piston gas system as used on H amp K s G36 and HK416 assault rifles in place of a blowback system traditionally seen on submachine guns 16 The MP7 is able to use 20 30 and 40 round magazines and fires 4 6 30mm ammunition which can penetrate soft body armor Due to the heavy use of polymers in its construction the MP7 is much lighter than older SMG designs weighing only 1 2 kg 2 65 lb with an empty 20 round magazine Applications Edit Three civilian 5 7 28mm cartridges as used in the P90 The left cartridge has a plain hollow tip the center cartridge has a red plastic V max tip intended to ensure bullet expansion and the right cartridge has a blue plastic V max tip PP 2000 SMG can be used as a PDW by firing high pressure armor piercing ammunition The PDW concept has not been widely successful partly because existing PDWs are not significantly cheaper to manufacture than carbines or full size military rifles Most PDWs also use a proprietary cartridge such as the 5 7 28mm cartridge for the FN P90 or the 4 6 30mm for the H amp K MP7 neither of which were originally compatible with any existing pistols or rifles carbines Although both manufacturers planned handguns that used the same proprietary rounds only FN went forward with production of the Five SeveN pistol which was the only handgun option available for the 5 7 28mm cartridge for over two decades until the introduction of Ruger 57 in 2019 In turn this made the PDW cartridges expensive to consumers due to the lack of mass production A different take on the PDW concept is the Russian made PP 2000 which can fire common 9 19mm Parabellum ammunition or a special high pressure armor piercing variant to give it similar capabilities as other PDWs Though personal defense weapons have not been very popular for their intended application they have been acquired by many special forces and law enforcement groups as direct upgrade for submachine guns The FN P90 and Five seven pistol are used by military and police forces in over 40 countries throughout the world including Canada Cyprus France Greece India Peru Poland Spain and the United States 17 The Heckler amp Koch MP7 is also used in a number of countries including Austria France Germany Ireland Norway Malaysia and the United Kingdom 18 19 Modern PDW cartridge EditFN 5 7 28mm HK 4 6 30mm 5 8 21mm DAP 4 38 30mm Libra 6 5 25mm CBJ 5 56 30mm MINSAS 7 5 FKPersonal defense weapons EditAAC Honey Badger PDW 300 AAC Blackout 7 62 35mm AKS 74U 5 45 39mm Amogh carbine 5 56 30mm MINSAS AR 57 5 7 28mm M16 lower receiver with a redesigned upper receiver fed by FN P90 magazines Barrett REC7 PDW 6 8mm Remington SPC 6 8 43mm Brugger amp Thomet MP9 6 5 25mm CBJ amp 9 19mm Luger Colt MARS 5 56 30mm MARS CZW 438 4 38 30mm Libra FN P90 5 7 28mm FN SCAR PDW 5 56 45mm NATO FN SCAR SC 5 56 45mm NATO amp 300 AAC Blackout 7 62 35mm A new variant of the FN SCAR with a 300 Blackout chambering kit released in late 2018 20 GA Personal Defense Weapon 7 62 37mm Musang Gepard SMG 9 30mm Grom Heckler amp Koch MP5K PDW 9 19mm Heckler amp Koch MP7 4 6 30mm Knight s Armament Company PDW 6 35mm KAC Magpul PDR 5 56 45mm NATO Modern Sub Machine Carbine 5 56 30mm MINSAS PP 2000 9 19mm 7N21 P 9 19mm 7N31 P QCW 05 5 8 21mm Saab Bofors Dynamics CBJ MS 6 5 25mm ST Kinetics CPW 4 6 30mm 5 7 28mm 9 19mm 21 VBR Belgium PDW 7 92 24mm CMMG FourSix 4 6 30mmPDW caliber pistols EditFK BRNO 7 5FK FN Five seven 5 7 28mm Kel Tec P50 5 7 28mm MPA57 5 7 28mm 22 QSZ 92 QSW 06 5 8 21mm Ruger 57 5 7 28mm VBR Belgium CQBW 4 6 30mm 5 7 28mm 7 92 24mmSee also EditAssault rifle Assault weapon Automatic shotgun Close quarters combat Pistol caliber carbine Semi automatic firearm Short barreled rifleReferences Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Personal defense weapons RUAG Ammotec 2 0 g German Army 4 6 30mm Penetrator DM11 cartridge factsheet Wall Sandy April 2003 Spring 2003 Experiences with the FN P90 Hendon Publishing Co Archived from the original on July 11 2011 Retrieved October 19 2009 Fortier David 2008 Military Ammo Today Handguns Magazine Archived from the original on January 22 2010 Retrieved October 19 2009 a b c d https www guns com news 2013 06 22 perishings super weapon the pedersen device The Pedersen Device The World War I superweapon that almost won the war 6 22 13 by Chris Eger a b c d e Military Small Arms of the 20th Century 7th Edition by Ian V Hogg amp John S Weeks Krause Publications 2000 pages 284 amp 285 a b c Julian S Hatcher Hatcher s Notebook Military Service Publishing Co 1947 Ch 15 The Pedersen Device pp 361 372 Canfield Bruce N 2003 Never in Anger the Pedersen Device American Rifleman National Rifle Association of America 151 June 58 61 amp 71 a b c Military Small Arms of the 20th Century 7th Edition by Ian V Hogg amp John S Weeks Krause Publications 2000 pages 289 290 George John Shots Fired In Anger NRA Press 1981 p 394 Weeks John World War II Small Arms London Orbis Publishing Ltd and New York Galahad Books ISBN 0 88365 403 2 ISBN 978 0 88365 403 3 1979 p 130 Larry Ruth M1 Carbine Design Development amp Production The Gun Room Press 1979 ISBN 0 88227 020 6 contains many Ordnance documents related to the Light Rifle specification that led to the M1 carbine Thompson Leroy 2011 The M1 Carbine Osprey Publishing pp 4 68 a b Miller David 2001 The Illustrated Directory of 20th Century Guns London Salamander Books Ltd ISBN 9781840652451 a b Oliver David 2007 In the Line of Fire Global Defence Review Archived from the original on October 16 2006 Retrieved October 19 2009 a b Kevin Dockery 2007 Future Weapons New York Berkley Trade ISBN 9780425217504 Cutshaw Charles Q 2003 Heckler amp Koch s cutting edge compacts G36C and MP7 PDW when less really is more Guns Magazine Francotte Auguste Claude Gaier Robert Karlshausen eds January 2008 Ars Mechanica The Ultimate FN Book Vottem Herstal Group ISBN 978 2 87415 877 3 BMI PDF www bmi gv at Retrieved 23 March 2018 Gourley S Kemp I November 26 2003 The Duellists Jane s Defence Weekly ISSN 0265 3818 Volume 40 Issue 21 pp 26 28 New FN SCAR SC Subcompact Carbine FN HERSTAL www fnherstal com 15 November 2017 Retrieved 2017 11 24 STKinetics CPW submachine gun Compact Personal Weapon Singapore 27 October 2010 Retrieved 22 May 2015 D K Pridgen November 12 2014 Masterpiece Arms MPA57 SST 5 7 28mm Retrieved April 24 2017 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Personal defense weapon amp oldid 1135505180, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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