Firearm identity question please?

[Petel]

Good evening from the UK.
Could anyone out there please advise if they can help me to identify a Firearm?

Over 20 years ago, I found a gun illustrated from I think, the 1960's. I can no longer identify the arm and would welcome assistance in my search.
I thought I had seen it in Clinton Ezell's book.

The gun was a submachine/machine pistol type piece ( though may have been semi auto only ) with a short skelleton stock, no woodwork, square section receiver and a pistol barrel which could have been taken from a PO8 Luger. There may have been some sort of raised foresight. Though the action and grip were all at the front of the assembly, this was not a Forearm gun.

It fired 9x19 Parabellum ( 30 perhaps 50 rounds ) from a transparent plastic stick magazine, which lay along the top of the receiver ( FN P90 principle ) the rounds being turned through 90 degrees, by a turntable mechanism and then canted downwards to be fed to the breech. Having fired, the empty case was extracted and dropped down through the hollow, AR15 type, pistol grip.

If anyone remembers this gun or can offer a name on which I could search, it would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.
Pete.

[Scootertrash]

Welcome to the site Pete!! I can't help you, but hopefully someone who can will be along shortly

[jojo]

Sounds like a Calico M100 or a Calico/Mac. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi43v...layer_embedded

[Richard Simmons]

Sounds like a Calico M100 or a Calico/Mac. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi43v...layer_embedded

That was my first thought but the Calico is a helical feed, nor is the mag transparent and it doesn't eject through the pistol grip.

http://world.guns.ru/smg/usa/calico-e.html

[old Grump]

Are you sure it was a pistol or a 9MM? First thought that came to my mind was the Owen gun but unless somebody played around with it it had a wooden shoulder stock. Could this have been a prototype somebody was trying to push or was it a production piece?

If it was European maybe one of the old guffers on http://www.armbritain.com/forum/ might know.

The plastic see through magazine makes me think either a toy or a 22 caliber gun that just didn't make it in the market place. Just a guess on my part.

[Petel]

Many thanks to Scooter for the welcome.

Many thanks for the reply Old Grump.
The arm was American, was 9mm Para and was as I described in the OP. I was a Firearm Certificate Holder at that time and had a Beretta 92 amongst others.

This arm was one of three that I had interest in at the time, that as you say " never got into production " the other two being Forearm Guns, one of which was the Sarvis.

I was just hoping that asking on US forums might jog someones memory as to the one I seek to identify.

A chap on one of the other US forums said that he had seen an arm such as I decribe pictured recently on that forum. Despite extensive " trawling " I have, so far, been unable to find any reference to it.

The Owen Gun is of great interest, it is a really individual arm with an interesting story behind it. The Austrailian troops loved it, so much so, that it remained in service until the 1950's, when the F1 was introduced. The F1 even retained the top mounted magazine and offset sights.

Many thanks for your reply
Pete.

[1 Patriot-of-many]

Sounds french cause just from the description sounds like it jams every round in multiple places!