Submachine gun Halcón M/943 (Argentina)

Halcon M/943 submachine gun
Caliber .45ACP
Weight 4.05 kilos
Length 850mm
Barrel length 292 mm
Rate of fire 700 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity 17 or 30 ammunition

The Halcon M/943 submachine gun (Halcón machine gun, model 1943) was developed by the Argentine arms factory Fábrica de Armas Halcón. It was manufactured for the Argentine army and police; The lighter and more compact variant of the same weapon was manufactured as the Halcón M/946 of the Argentine Air Forces (Halcón Machine Gun Carbine, model Aeronáutica Argentina 1946). This weapon is rarely found outside of South America.

The ¨Heavy Halcon¨

After a series of designs, tests and prototypes, in 1943 the Argentine Model 1943 or P.A. began to be produced. (Machine Gun) Heavy Model 43, in 45 ACP caliber. This weapon was adopted by the National Gendarmerie and is also known as the MP-43 Halcón.
It came with a wooden stock and had a very thick flash hider.
These "Heavy" models were not made of prints nor did they have plastics and were influenced by two submachine guns: the Beretta M-1938 and the Thompson M1928.
From the first it took its tubular receiver with a screw cap and from the second, its strong structure, the barrel with turned fins, the flash hider and its expensive machining, in addition to its caliber of course.
The 45 ACP was the regulation in the Armed Forces. Argentines at that time and it was chosen for this weapon for logistical reasons.
Later, the MP-46 and 49 were produced.
The MP-46 “Aeronautical Model” was a derivative of the MP-43 produced in 1946, more compact and designed for parachute troops. The 45 caliber was maintained, but the barrel and receiver were shortened and in addition, unlike the MP-43, it had a rotating collapsible nock on the right side of the barrel.
These changes, designed for parachutists, gave it more agility in handling and a reduction in weight. Like its predecessor, it was fed with straight magazines for 17 or 30 rounds, but the magazines of the two models were interchangeable.
The MP-49 weighed 4,625 kg and with the 36-round magazine, its weight rose to 5,311 kg.
It had a folding nock and seems to be designed to have a very long useful life. It is perhaps the most robust of the series.
The next model was the MP-43 but this time for the EA. The basic MP-43 was equipped with a folding nock and a compensating muzzle with a smaller diameter than that of the Gendarmerie, more similar to that of Aeronautics.
However, the most important change was in caliber, when the 9mm Parabellum replaced the 45 ACP in 1949.
All these models were built with the best raw materials available, but the quality was felt in the cost and it is then that, for economic reasons, the series of these submachine guns was rationalized in order to be lighter and easier to manufacture.

In Malvinas

How it Works

The Halcón M/943 submachine gun is a simple blowback weapon that fires from an open bolt. The weapon can fire single shots and fully automatic, thanks to the fire mode selector, which is located on the left side, above the trigger. The charging handle is also located on the left side and does not move when the gun is fired. The Halcon M/943 submachine gun is equipped with a strong finned barrel and a massive muzzle compensator, and has a peculiarly shaped wooden pistol grip/stock. The Halcon M/946 submachine gun was a similar design except that it had a shorter barrel and a bottom-deploying stock of the MP40 type.