Austria's Take on the Uzi: Steyr MPi-69
Forgotten Weapons
•
9m 25s
Designed in the 1960s by Steyr and adopted by the Austrian Army in 1969 to replace it aging MP40s, the MPi-69 is an economical and simple 9x19mm SMG. It uses many features seen in the Uzi, including the dual sear lugs, similar barrel nut, magazine in the grip, and telescoping bolt (first used by the Czechoslovakian guns). It has a very simple square tube receiver combined with a molded polymer grip frame. The most unusual element of the design is the charging handle, which is actually operated by pulling back on the front sling attachment point.
The MPi-69 was replaced by the MPi-81 in 1981, which was essentially the same gun with a conventional charging handle. This was in turn replaced by the 9mm version of the Steyr AUG. This one is a very scarce C&R transferrable example of an MPi-69.
Up Next in Forgotten Weapons
-
Poland's Problematic First SMG: The w...
Designed by Piotr Wilniewczyca and Jan Skrzypinski starting in 1936, the Mors was Poland's first domestic SMG. Polish police forces had purchased Thompsons and Suomi in the 1920s and 1930s, but the military still had no such guns by the 1930s. One of the main inspirations for the More was the Erm...
-
Walther Prototype MP - A Missing Link...
During the late 1920 and early 1930s, the Walther company worked on developing a military pistol in 9x19mm. They began from the basis of the PP/PPK design, and produced three separate designs, the first two designed “MP” (Military Pistol) and the third being the Armee Pistole (which was followed ...
-
Vigneron M2: Belgium's Little-Known P...
After World War Two, the Belgian military wanted to replace its many Sten guns with a better standard SMG. The solution was designed by Colonel Georges Vigneron in 1953, and adopted by all branches of the Belgian military (as well as the Force Publique in the Belgian Congo) in 1954. This is a ver...
