Category Archives: weapons

CMP Production Inventory status on M1903, M-1 Garand, and M1911s

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From the latest CMP Director’s annual report on Production. Keep in mind that the NDAA also included the provision to transfer milsurp pump-action shotguns, which will probably start in 2027. 

Drill Receiver Reclamation Project: The Drill Receiver Reclamation Project is a landmark initiative designed to restore tens of thousands of previously deactivated M1 Garand and 1903A3 drill rifles into safe, functional firearms. With original receiver inventory nearly exhausted (note: CMP continues to work with the US Government to identify options for the return of US-provided M1s from foreign countries), CMP identified this project as a critical way to sustain future rifle production and preserve important historical assets. Extensive testing, engineering oversight, and transparent communication have positioned this program as a model for responsible firearm reclamation and safety assurance.

    • Scope and Inventory: Began with ~75,000 serialized drill rifles (M1 Garand and 1903A3)
      • 10,000 M1s classified as ‘good’ (Category A)
      • 26,000 M1s classified as ‘medium (Category B)
      • 15,000 M1903/A3s in a condition supporting reclamation
      • 24,000 as ‘scrap’ (Category C – deferred due to cost and condition)
    • Partnerships: CMP partnered with Heritage Arms (manufacturing) and Prospector Training of Florida (ballistic testing and validation).
    • Testing: A rigorous validation program included destructive testing and proof loads exceeding 80,000 psi—demonstrating exceptional strength and safety.
    • Production: CMP placed an initial purchase order for ~20,000 receivers across the recoverable categories.
    • Identification: All reclaimed rifles and receivers carry an “RC” item number prefix to clearly differentiate them from legacy products.
    • Customer Reception: Initial market skepticism was overcome through education, transparent documentation, and in-person demonstrations at the 2025 National Matches.
    • Sales Strategy: CMP introduced stripped and barreled receiver sales at low margins to build customer trust and demonstrate quality firsthand.
    • Sustainability: Sales velocity has stabilized, providing a multi-year supply of reclaimed receivers for production and sales.
    • The project inventory will support nearly 2-3 years of sales.
       

CMP 1903A3 Expert Rifle Program: A key component of the Drill Receiver Reclamation initiative is the development of the CMP 1903A3 Expert Rifle, CMP’s first bolt-action rifle to carry the Expert Grade designation. The project utilizes reclaimed 1903A3 receivers from the drill inventory, each carefully inspected and refurbished to CMP’s Expert standards. This launch expands CMP’s product line and appeals to collectors and shooters seeking historically accurate bolt-action rifles.

      • All supply chain inventory has been acquired, and the Armory is staged to begin assembly.
      • Production Start: Scheduled to begin in November 2025, with initial inventory and public release expected in January 2026.
      • Configuration: Each rifle features a new Criterion barrel, new Minelli walnut stock, refinished metal parts, and authentic GI-style hardware.
      • Grading and Finish: Rifles will meet the same cosmetic and performance criteria as CMP’s M1 Expert Grade rifles.
      • Variants: Plans include a scoped 1903A4 model using Hi-Lux M82 optics and potential chambering in .308 Winchester and .30-06 Springfield.
      • Strategic Impact: This expansion diversifies CMP’s product offerings and ensures efficient use of reclaimed assets while appealing to both historical and modern shooters.
         

New CMP M1 Rifle Project: The New CMP M1 Rifle Project represents a return to U.S.-based production of forged, USGI-spec M1 Garand receivers. This is CMP’s first move into commercial firearms manufacturing.  

We have partnered to manufacture parts and components for several years, but never receivers. This program ensures the long-term viability of M1 rifle sales after the depletion of legacy and reclaimed receiver inventories while offering a quality product for those who do not wish to purchase a reclaimed offering.  

For those more interested in performance over collectability, the newly manufactured CMP M1 is the clear choice. It delivers a product that is both faithful to the original design and built to modern manufacturing tolerances and materials standards.

    • Purpose: Ensure long-term rifle production continuity through a newly manufactured, USGI-spec forged receiver
    • Partnership: Multi-year R&D collaboration with Heritage Arms covering 3D scanning, CAD modeling, prototype machining, and validation
    • Prototypes cleared for test batch “T Lot” production in early 2025
    • Testing: Over 100 serialized T-prefix test rifles produced, fired through 16,000+ rounds during developmental validation
    • Numerous iterations and improvements between small lots within the “T” series
    • T Lot proving conclude mid-summer, and preorders were opened for eager customers
    • Founder Series: We received 607 preorders placed in 2025 under the FNDR prefix (231 in .308 and 376 in .30-06), representing the first commercial batch
    • Production Status: Full production underway. Initial Founder Series shipments began in early November 2025.  Standard production units will begin shipping early in 2026.
    • Specifications: Forged USGI Spec receiver, Criterion or Faxon barrel, forged reproduction stainless steel gas cylinder, and new walnut stock. MSRP: $1,950 for either caliber (.30-06 or .308 Win)
    • Future Models: Planned expansion to include M1D, and “Tanker” variants, as well as alternative calibers. Development is also underway on several other exciting variants that will be announced as we roll into the new year.
    • Strategic Value: Ensures a sustainable, U.S.-based manufacturing capability that preserves authenticity while meeting modern expectations for quality and precision

M1911 Pistols: Our inventory and sales of M1911 pistols remain strong. The limit of four pistols per person per lifetime remains in effect for 2026. We do intend to bring in-person sales to the Talladega Marksmanship Park store in the March/April timeframe and to the Camp Perry store in the June timeframe, and before the National Matches. More information on this will be forthcoming after the new year.

Lucid’s Labor of Love

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The U.S. Navy ocean minesweeper USS Lucid (MSO-458) underway in the Pacific Ocean, February 1970. Official U.S. Navy photo USN 1143191 from the U.S. Navy Naval History and Heritage Command

The Stockton Maritime Museum is currently restoring the USS Lucid (AM-458/MSO-458), the last of 53 Cold War-era Agile/Aggressive-class, ocean-going minesweepers in the U.S, and is “dedicated to honoring local sailors, shipbuilding companies & laborers, and maritime culture in Stockton, California.”

Built at the famous (for WWII LCVPs and PT boats) Higgins Yard in New Orleans, Lucid was commissioned on 4 May 1955 and only served 15 years in the fleet before she was mothballed and later disposed of in 1976. Used as a California houseboat and scrapyard headquarters hulk for over thirty years, the Stockton MM has been slowly restoring her since 2011.

They’ve come a long way and are trying to take it the extra mile.

Lucid circa 2011

Lucid today

Members of the museum last year visited Taiwan, where the Republic of China Navy allowed them to strip the recently decommissioned ROCS Yung Yang (MSO-1306)— the former Aggressive-class minesweeper USS Implicit (AM-455/MSO-455), to improve the Lucid.

They filled two 40-foot shipping containers with specialized equipment and MCM gear.

Bravo Zulu!

First Look at the New 2K11 Comp Double-stack 1911 9mm

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Featuring a built-in forward barrel port and matching compensated slide, the newKimber 2K11 Comp series offers a significant reduction in felt recoil while keeping the same popular features as the rest of the series.

Alabama-based Kimber went double-stack 1911 in 2024 after at least a 30-year run in the field of making single stacks. We have reviewed a couple of these excellent pistols since then, and are past the 3K round mark on our original test gun with no hiccups to report, leaving us more than happy to report on the new Comp series.

The guns, launching just in time for the upcoming SHOT Show, will all be chambered in 9mm and available in both 5-inch full-sized (Government) and 4.25-inch Pro (Commander) sizes, shipping with flush-fit 20 and 19-round magazines, respectively.

Each will also be offered in either a black DLC or matte stainless variant, giving Kimber four new 2K11 Comp models for 2026: 5-inch black (669278350783) and stainless (669278350806) and 4.25-inch black (669278350738) and stainless (669278350752) with an MSRP running between $2,345 and $2,499, with the DLC guns hitting the higher end, because of DLC.

The new Kimber 2K11 Comp series 
A sampling, showing that big ol’ comp. (Photo: Kimber)

“The 2K11 Comp is the culmination of years of preparation and hundreds of thousands of rounds of testing to deliver the most fully featured comprehensive handgun we have ever produced,” said Pedi Gega, Director of product development, assembly, and finishing. “The new 2K11 family of compensated models creates the highest class of firearms for the discerning enthusiast and competitive shooter.”

Kimber sent us an SST (stainless) 2K11 Pro Comp model for testing.

The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm. 
The pistol looks great, which is no surprise as the 2K11 series is crafted with superb attention to detail, one at a time, by skilled technicians, not just slapped together. Being a Pro model, its 4.25-inch barrel gives an overall length of 7.79 inches. (All photos unless noted: Chris Eger/Guns.com)
The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm. 
Note the external extractor, ambidextrous thumb safety, and bumped grip safety, which are standard across the line.
The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm. 
Weight is 33.4 ounces, even with a full-length rail on the dustcover of the frame. Note the lightening cuts to the slide, seen previously on Kimber’s top-shelf Rapide series, which provide faster lock-up. 

The most noticeable enhancement to these guns over the standard 2K11 series is the massive 0.16 square inch integrated compensator forward of the front sight. This feature noticeably reduces muzzle rise and felt recoil, plus it creates an incredibly fun and controllable shooting experience.

The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm. 
The integral comp is big enough to double as an ashtray if needed. 
The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm. 
The four new compensated models also feature Kimber’s brand-new carbon fiber grip infused grip module that is compatible with corresponding Stan Chen Magwells. We found the grip to be aggressive but not overly. 

The Comp guns also share the current 2K11 features, such as Kimber’s in-house toolless guide rod, an external extractor, a bushing-less, crowned, and fluted barrel, a GT trigger, and more.

The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm, compared
The Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST 4.25 compared to the standard full-sized Black DLC 2K11. 
The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm, compared
And compared with the non-comped Kimber 2K11 Pro SST, which sports a Kimpro Granite finish and Kevlar carbon fiber grips. Released last August, this gun hinted at what the Pro Comp would become. 
The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm, compared
Note the top ends of the Kimber 2K11 Pro SST and Pro Comp SST
The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm. 
The Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp features a cover plate with an adjustable rear sight. A TAG Precision FiberLok 2 front sight with additional red and black fiber-optic inserts is included. All models ship with a TAG Precision RMR adapter plate that takes the place of the rear sight. 
The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm. 
Our test gun shipped with two 19+1-round Checkmate Double Stack Ultra-Hi Capacity 126mm mags. Full-length models ship with a flush 17+1, and two extended 20+1 round mags. The mags, reverse 2011-compatible, are all metal, including an aluminum base pad and steel retainer for maximum made-in-the-USA durability and longevity. Word of caution: they are a beast to fully load. 
The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm. 
The Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp has an easy takedown without tools due to its toolless guide rod system, a feature it shares with the rest of the series.
The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm. 
The aluminum match-grade skeletonized GT trigger has an advertised 3-to-4-pound pull. We found it broke at 3.6, with a short take-up to the wall and a crisp break. Reset is similarly short and is both audible and tactile. Kimber advises that the shoe length has been reduced by 3/32 of an inch, making for a more comfortable overall length. IMHO, the GT is the best production factory 1911 trigger on the market. 

Check out the trigger pull and reset here:

How’s it shoot?

Well, we’ve only had the gun for a couple of weeks and have about 200 rounds through it thus far, so it is a little early to say, but we have experienced no jams and smooth shooting, with less recoil.

Stay tuned for more feedback as we up the round count.

The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm. 
The new Kimber 2K11 Pro Comp SST in 9mm.

Silent Protectors

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Some 60 years ago this month

“Navy moves a Gurkha Patrol in the Jungle, Malaysia, January 1966. A Naval Wessex Mk V (Sikorsky S-58) helicopter of 848 RN Air Squadron from the Centaur-class Commando Ship HMS Albion (R07), ascends from its pad after returning a Gurkha patrol to their jungle base.”

Image: IWM A 35005

The simmering Borneo “Konfrontasi” conflict between Indonesia and Malaysia, with the Soviet Union backing the Indonesians and the Commonwealth/West backing Malaysia, was one of the myriad proxy undeclared wars during the Cold War. Running some 42 months across 1963-66, the Commonwealth lost some 140 killed– about a third of those Gurkhas– against about four times as high a loss as felt by Jakarta.

No fewer than 44 Gurkha were killed and 83 wounded during the Konfrontasi.

Westland Belvedere HC.1 XG453 of No 66 Squadron Krokong, Sarawak Ghurkhas during the Indonesian Confrontation, 1964 IWM (RAF-T 5262)

Gurkha troops using a step ladder to climb aboard a Bristol Belvedere twin rotor helicopter of No. 66 Squadron RAF at Kuching, British Borneo, during operations in Indonesia. IWM (RAF-T 5257)

The Gurkas still stand watch in the region today with a battalion of the 2RGR stationed in Brunei.

The Royal Brunei Gurkha Reserve Unit, established in 1974, is composed of former and retired military Gurkhas residing in the sultanate. They stand some 500 strong, and you can bet they stand ready to defend their now-homeland to their last breath.

The Singapore Police, meanwhile, maintain a 2,000-strong (not a misprint) Gurkha Contingent wholly separate from the British Army’s Brigade of Gurkhas “to provide a ‘strong-arm’ within the Police Force capable of quelling civil disturbance and carrying out specialist security tasks.”

The Carter Special, Spotted in the Wild

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So I saw this DW piece on how the “ELN plays key role in Colombia’s cocaine economy,” and the cover thumbnail image caught my eye.

Without the titles, you get a better look at the very interesting gatt, complete with Israeli Thermold magazine and paracord sling with brass swivel snaps.

This is not a frankengun; this thing left the factory like this.

Meet the Olympic Arms K23B “Stubby” carbine:

Only manufactured between 2007 and 2020, it was a Mil/LE-only factory SBR offered by Washington-based Olympic Arms. Chambered in 5.56 NATO, it ran a 6.5-inch chrome moly steel button rifled barrel with A2 flash suppressor, forged A2 upper with fully adjustable rear sight, an A2 style post front sight, had no bayonet lug, and used a distinctive free-folding aluminum tube handguard with knurling.

It ran a carbon recoil buffer in the back of the frame and, just 22.5 inches overall, weighed 5.12 pounds. It was offered in two variants, with (K23P-FT) or without (K23P) a flat-top receiver.

It caught some LE/Mil contacts, including at least some (apparently) in Colombia and in Taiwan as seen in this image:

Its last MSRP was $876, although they typically only run $550ish today, plus stamps.

It is, however, sought after by Stargate superfans as it is the basis for the “Carter Special.”

Since you came this far, enjoy this deep dive into fake Colts interdicted in Colombia, which were destined for FARC Guerrillas.

The ‘For’ in IFOR

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And you think it is cold outside where you are!

How about the below, some 30 years ago.

Queen’s Royal Hussars, Petrovac, Bosnia, early 1996, an FV4030 Challenger 1 of 3rd Troop, A Squadron, and a FV107 Scimitar of RECCE Troop, with an AAC Lynx AH.7 overhead. In January 1996, the QRH was the first unit deployed in Challengers to Bosnia with NATO’s British-led Implementation Force.

Cold War veterans who served in the Falklands and Op Granby against Saddam, among other places, Lynx and Scimitar have long since been retired, while Challenger 1 has been superseded by Challenger 2 since 2001.

As for the QRH, today they are the senior-most armored regiment in the British Army, equipped with C2s, and are based at Assaye Barracks, Tidworth, since moving from Germany home (for technically the first time) in 2019.

Formed in 1993 from an amalgam of the Queen’s Own Hussars and the Queen’s Royal Irish Hussars (both of which were formed from amalgamations of other historic cavalry regiments in 1958), the QRH and its myriad antecedents have been awarded 172 Battle Honours going back to 1685, and remember eight Victoria Cross holders, while observing Regimental days for Dettingen, Balaclava, and El Alamein.

Climb to Glory: Air Scouts out, UAS Company(s) Real In

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Transformation is the buzzword.

The 10th Mountain Division (LI) made a quiet move last week to case the colors of the 164-year old (constituted 4 May 1861) 6th Squadron, 6th Cavalry Regiment (“Fighting Six-Six”) and disband the heavy attack reconnaissance squadron (HARS), sending its 24 AH-64D Longbow Apaches and six RQ-7Bv2 Shadows to other units.

In its place, Fox Company, 1st Battalion, 10th Aviation Regiment (F, 1-10 Attack Battalion), a new company dedicated to achieving “drone dominance” on the modern battlefield, was activated.

The other three companies in 1-10 Attack will be Apache units, fielding 24 of the birds, at least for now. In the meantime, the Army is retiring older AH-64D models (starting FY2026) to focus on modernizing smaller numbers of AH-64E, which notably have counter-drone capabilities and allow for more UAV integration. Further, with the long-planned Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program canceled last year, you can bet Apaches in general will likely be replaced by unmanned assets sometime in the 2030s.

“As the 10th Mountain Division’s first dedicated Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (TUAS) and Launch Effects (LE) company, these Soldiers are now at the forefront of the Army Aviation Transformation Initiative,” said the Army of Fox 1-10 Attack.

Meanwhile, new Multifunctional Reconnaissance Companies (MFRC), focused on Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS) employment, are standing up in the 10th Mountain as well as the rest of the Army at the brigade level.

At Camp Beauregard, LA, Soldiers from Sioux Company (Multi-Purpose Company), 3rd Brigade, 10th Mountain Division, prepared to launch a Medium-Range Reconnaissance (MRR) Ghost-X drone while utilizing the Soldier Borne Mission Command Surrogate (SBMC-S) system during a training exercise. The SBMC-S empowers Soldiers to task and hand off Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS) assets, simultaneously providing access to high-resolution, full-motion video (FMV) streamed directly from the drone. (U.S. Army photo by Zach Montanaro, PEO Soldier Public Affairs)

Getting Some Sun with the Boys

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Some 85 years ago today. 6th Australian Division, Cyrenaica, Libya. 29 December 1940. Official wartime caption: “Near Bardia, one of the BREN gun posts is placed to protect the artillery batteries from dive bombers. Left to Right: Gunners N.H. McLeod and Whalen, Bombardier Greenwood.” Note the Boys .55 caliber anti-tank/anti-material gun and its distinctive “donut” style muzzle break.

Negative by James Francis (Frank) Hurley, Australian War Memorial No. 004944

Formed in September 1939 from the 16th (New South Wales), 17th (Victoria), and 18th Australian Infantry Brigades, the 6th Australian Infantry Division Brigade sailed for the I Australian Corps in the Middle East via brigade-sized lifts between 20 January and 8 May 1940 with the last (the 18th Bde) diverted to England at the time of Dunkirk. The carved-out brigade was replaced by the newly formed 19th Bde, raised in Palestine from the 2/4th, 2/8th, and 2/11th Battalions, in November 1940. (The 18th, having spent six months on defensive duties in England, finally reached North Africa in January 1941, where it was attached to the Australian 7th Division).
 
The 6th Australian Division entered combat at Fort Maddalena and Garn el Grein on 11 and 12 December 1940 and would see lots of action during Operation Compass in and around Tobruk, where the division lost 214 men killed, 790 injured and 21 captured– traded for a part in capturing 65,000 Italians by 5 February 1941. 
 

Members of C Company (mostly from 14 Platoon), Australian 2/11th Infantry Battalion, part of the 6th Division’s 19th Bde, having penetrated the outer defenses of Tobruk, assemble again on the escarpment on the south side of the harbor after attacking anti-aircraft gun positions, on 22 January 1941. San Giorgio is one of the plumes in the background. Burning fuel oil tanks at the port are the second. AWM

Rushed to Greece in March 1941, the 6th Division suffered more than 2,800 casualties– most of those taken prisoner– in the withdrawal from Greece. Used to capture Syria from the Vichy French, post-Pearl Harbor/Darwin, the 6th was pulled from Syrian garrison duty and rushed home where they soon were allowed to bask in the “joy” of the Kokoda trail and the New Guinea campaign. 
 
Disbanded in early 1946, during its six-year war, over 40,000 Australians served in the division’s ranks, fighting across three continents from Libya to Greece to Syria and New Guinea. Of these, 1,763 were killed in action or died, a further 3,978 were wounded and a total of 5,153 men became prisoners of war. 

M948 Bayonet Alert!

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I am a bayonet freak.

Perhaps even a bayonet superfreak with probably 150-200 in my collection dating back to the 1700s and often opining on them.

So, when I saw that Centerfire Systems has Portuguese FBP m/948 bayonets on sale in three grades from $39 to $59, I was all in. I mean, who has too many Portuguese bayonets on hand?

My “good condition” FBP m/968 bayonet. At some 11.75 inches long overall, it has a dagger-style point and double edged 7-inch blade with a steel scabbard. It is probably the most “fighting knife” oriented bayonet I have ever encountered.

Note the lack of a muzzle ring and a very Mauser-style (though it will not fit a Mauser) locking mechanism on the rear. I also love the fact that it has wood grip panels rather than plastic, a rarity in a Cold War-era bayonet.

Notice the similarities between the m/948 bayonet and the German-made Portuguese Mauser M937A Rifle bayonet

These were all made between 1948 and 1988, with the bulk in the 1960s. As such, they popped up in several African hot spots in any number of hands and are still sometimes encountered on the continent.

What was the m/948?

Portugal, which suffered over 30,000 casualties serving with its British allies in the Great War, rearmed in the 1930s with what eventually turned into 150,000 German-made (and Swazi-marked) Mauser-Werke AG Oberndorf 98K bolt-action rifles (adopted as the Espingarda Mod.937). These were augmented by Steyr MP-34 sub guns dubbed the Pistola Metralhadora (machine pistol) m/938 (in 7.65 mm) and m/942 (in 9 mm).

While they largely sat out WWII but aligned with London and Washington (keeping Franco’s Spain neutral in the process), the Cold War soon came around, and Portugal was one of the original 12 NATO alliance members in 1949. This meant the country needed to modernize its forces should it be forced to fight the Soviets.

This need was kicked into overdrive when all of Portugal’s overseas territories slowly slid into revolt– with a little help from Moscow. What followed was the 13-year (February 1961 to April 1974) Guerra do Ultramar (The Overseas War), spent fighting Communist-backed insurgent guerrillas in the country’s African colonies of Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau, as well as in East Timor and Goa in the Indian Ocean.

In other words, the Portuguese needed new guns. Lots of them.

Some 800,000 Portuguese military and colonial paramilitary members fought in the Guerra do Ultramar during the Cold War, with an average of 100,000 deployed overseas at any given time. To arm these troops, Lisbon’s Fábrica Militar de Braço de Prata (FBP) factory began licensed production of HK G3 (Espingarda Automática m/961) rifles and HK21 (m/968) machine guns in 7.62 NATO, as well as a locally designed m/968 60mm patrol mortar, and the m/948 sub-machine gun.

The Portuguese also purchased small numbers of Belgian-made FN FALs (13,470, designated the m/962) and Dutch-made AR-10s (about 4,500, designated m/961) to help fill their needs until the home-built HKs came online. As you can see, all was well within the NATO extended family.

Designed in the late 1940s by Portuguese artillery Major Gonçalves Cardoso, the FBP m/948 was a simple blow-back action 9mm open bolt SMG that borrowed elements from the German MP40 (bolt and recoil assembly, barrel and nut design), British STEN (mags, mag release, ejector), and the American M3 Grease Gun (stock, sights, grip, etc). The imitation is so complete that m/948 bolts can apparently be used in MP40s as a drop-in replacement, and the gun readily accepts STEN mags.

The FBP m/948 was a simple spot-welded “tube gun” made from inexpensive stampings that borrowed from the MP40, STEN, and M3. This intact model in the IWM collection, IWM (FIR 10392)

Production was only about 20-30,000 guns, mostly in the 1960s, and they were issued primarily to NCOs, commandos, and guards– which meant they were also often captured and used against Portuguese units as well.

These production numbers from FBP are available:

“In 1963, 11,867 G-3s and 5,572 FBP submachine guns were manufactured; in 1964, there were 23,724 and 6,561; in 1969, the numbers were 45,660 and 694. In total, until 1988, the factory produced 442,197 G3 and 19,113 FBP submachine guns.” (Pinto, Renato. Portugal and Weapons – A History of Small Arms and Military Industries. Colibri, 2024.)

Guerrillas of the PAIGC on Como Island with a motley accumulation of weapons, including PPsh, PPS, and FBP SMGs. The PAIGC (African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde) was a communist organization formed in 1956 and openly backed by the Soviets.

A Portuguese air force T-6 Texan, and a Dornier Do 27, atCazombo field, Angola, guarded by a sentinel with an FBP. The Portuguese used an amazing 250 T-6s and 150 Do-27s in the African Bush Wars, being an ideal combo for COIN and transport/liaison work from small fields. 

Note the distinctive bayonet lug on the m/948 and its STEN mag. 

The gun was made in a semi-auto variant (m/963) as well as one with a cooling sleeve around the barrel (m/976).

The FBP factory later became part of the unified national defense industries system (INDEP) and closed its doors in the early 1990s, with its last product being the even simpler blowback action Lusa submachine gun, which, designed to replace the m/948, was never put into production; its technical data package was sold to U.S. investors and faded into history.

It seems Portugal has been finally disposing of the last m/948s on hand over the past 10-12 years, and, while I’ve seen the bayonets pop up as components of torched parts kits, seeing them by themselves in good condition for under $100 was a no-brainer.

I’d recommend grabbing one while you can.

CZ wins big German military pistol contract

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It would seem that the ghosts of 1938 have been exorcised, to a degree anyway.

Back in July, it looked like CZ was going to get a €25 million award for the Bundeswehr’s new P13 pistol. The award will be for 62,000 pistols first, with an option for as many as 186,000 guns, with an aim to replace the hard-serving polymer-framed hammer-fired 9mm P8A1 pistol, a variant of the HK USP, which has been in service since 1994.

The HK P8 compared to the CZP10. Eger

Well, it looks like the deal went through, with CZ releasing more details last week.

CZ was awarded this contract following an open international tender, prevailing over several global competitors. The pistols designated as P13 for the Bundeswehr are based on the CZ P-10 C OR (Optics-Ready) model, featuring a Flat Dark Earth (FDE) finish. It is a modern striker-fired service pistol designed for professional use, renowned for its reliability, durability, and intuitive handling. It features excellent ergonomics, high magazine capacity, and precise construction, making it a preferred choice among military and law enforcement customers in many countries.

CZ will work closely with its authorized partner in Germany, POL-TEC GmbH & Co., to fulfil the contract and provide comprehensive support to the Bundeswehr.

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