More documented war service of the suppressed 22LR SMG with the huge mag
I’ve always been a fan of the American-180 and have in the past written about it a good bit. I’ve even had a chance to handle one several times–I can vouch that it will fire 275 rounds rather quietly in about 12 seconds with a SilencerCo Sparrow attached– and the aforementioned suppressor company regularly shows a tricked out suppressed one off at trade shows.
The Yugoslav rip-off MGV-176 (reflecting the magazine capacity) was used on all sides during the Balkan wars, often with fitted suppressors.
Well, as noted by The Firearms Blog and detailed in Douw Steyn ‘s excellent Iron Fist From The Sea: South Africa’s Seaborne Raiders 1978-1988, the AM180 saw a good bit of service by South African/Rhodesian SAS clandestine services/frogmen in Mozambique.
The attack team was armed with standard AK47 rifles as well as two American-180 submachine guns equipped with suppressors. These unique .22lr weapons were fitted with standard 177 round multilayered pan magazines. With a firing rate of between 1,200 and 1,500 rounds per minute (depending on the ammunition used),a magazine could be accurately emptied in seven seconds with devastating effect on a static target…
