Vintage MK 760 SMG, a copy of the Smith and Wesson 76

[buffalowinter]

This is my MK Arms 760, which is a licensed copy of the Smith and Wesson 76, which was an un-licensed copy of the Swedish K, aka the Kulsprutepistol m/45 (Kpist m/45), aka the Carl Gustaf M/45. The 76 came about when Sweden refused to sell the M/45 to us during the Vietnam war so we just stole the design. Used by SEALS and MACV/SOG

Navy seal in Vietnam with the M76

my MK 760


from Wikipedia
The Smith & Wesson M76 submachine gun (SMG) was produced by Smith & Wesson from 1967 to 1974.

History​

The history of the Model 76 submachine gun started in April of 1966 with a call from Smith & Wesson's Washington, D.C. sales representative; he had been contacted by the US Navy Department to see if Smith & Wesson would be interested in designing and producing a 9mm submachine gun.[1]

The US Navy had the need for a submachine gun for their SEAL special operations team in Vietnam. The SEALs' weapon of choice was the Swedish Carl Gustaf m/45―a well-made and reliable submachine gun.

Because Sweden was a neutral country, a problem arose; they objected to their product being used in a war zone. Therefore, the supply of the Carl Gustaf m/45 to the US Navy was cut off, which meant they had to find another submachine gun to take its place.

Although they appear similar, the M76 was designed from scratch from a list of requirements, which the US Navy SEALs provided, they are:

• Urgent need;
• Reliability;
• Rugged;
• Selective Fire: safe—semi-automatic—full automatic;
• Cost effective;
• Ease of maintenance: disassembly—cleaning―reassembly
• Magazine capacity of 36 rounds; and
• Cyclic rate between 600 and 800 rounds per minute preferred.

It was from this list that the M76 was created. According to the Director of Research and Development and head of the Model 76 project at the time, Dwayne W. Charron, was quoted as saying, "[He] had never seen, held or fired a Swedish K before starting design work on the M76...". The M76 fires 9mm rounds; the Carl Gustaf m/45 has an open bolt design and also fires 9×19mm Parabellum ammunition.

The SEALs also requested a limited number of suppressors for the M76. These suppressors were to be used under certain situations to reduce the gun's sound and hide the flash so there would be no point of reference for return fire. Being an open bolt system, some sound would always be emitted, but the muzzle flash could be eliminated.

Due to the ongoing war and a critical need to fill, Smith & Wesson designated the M76 a top priority project. The total time to take the concept of the M76 from the drawing board to production was just nine months. Many people comment that the gun is ugly or rough. Due to the urgency at the time, the M76 skipped the finishing department where welds and rough edges would normally be smoothed.

Due to lack of market demand, Smith & Wesson ceased production of the M76 in 1974.

Variants​

MK760​

In 1983, Mike Ruplinger and Kenneth Dominick started a company called MK Arms and acquired the rights to the Smith & Wesson M76. They began producing copies of it with the designation MK Arms MK760, and the US Navy, which still had some original M76s in its inventory, began purchasing replacement parts from MK Arms. MK Arms also produced carbine and pistol configurations of the MK760. In 1986, due to the Hughes Amendment to the Firearm Owners Protection Act, which banned any newly manufactured automatic weapons from being registered for civilian ownership, MK Arms went out of business.

 

[Stevo86]

That looks like a good time, suppressed version would be a damn good time!

 

[Frank Green]

That's a awesome subgun! Shot one several times and almost bought a MK760 or a S&W76.

I did buy and used for several years a Swedish Model K.

Both are underrated subguns in my opinion!

Later, Frank
Bartlein Barrels