Spectre M4

Infobox Weapon
name= Spectre M4


origin=flagcountry|Italy (later flagcountry|Switzerland)
type= Submachine gun
is_ranged=yes
service=
used_by=
wars=
designer= Roberto Teppa & Claudio Gritti
design_date= 1980s
manufacturer= SITES - Società Italiana Tecnologie Speciali S.p.A. (later GRECO SPORT, S.A.)
production_date= Around 1985 thru 2001
number=
variants= SITES "Falcon" (a.k.a. the "Spectre-HC") semi-automatic pistol (civilian); SITES "Ranger" semi-automatic carbine (civilian).
weight= 2.9 kg (6.393 lb)
length=

• 350 mm (13.78 in), folded
• 580 mm (22.835 in), unfolded

part_length= 130 mm (5.12 in)
crew=
cartridge=9x19mm Parabellum 9x21mm IMI .40 S&W .45 ACP .45-HP [ [http://www.thegunzone.com/glock/45hp.html .45-HP Hinterberger Patronenfabrik cartridge] ]
caliber=
action=Blowback, closed bolt
rate=850 rounds/min
velocity=
range=50 m (54.68 yd)
max_range=
feed=30 or 50-round detachable box magazine; magazines for civilian-grade versions were factory-modified for 15-rounds, 10-rounds or even 5-rounds capacity.
sights=

The Spectre is an Italian submachine gun that was produced by the SITES factory in Turin. It was designed by Roberto Teppa and Claudio Gritti in the mid-1980s. Production in Italy ceased in the year 1997, with the closure of SITES, but proceeded in very small numbers in Switzerland through Greco Sport S.A., a company founded by one of the designers of the Spectre, Claudio Gritti, until 2001. The Spectre is used by the Swiss armed forces and by Italian special forces, and has been exported elsewhere.

The Spectre is a compact and light weapon, designed for instant firepower in close combat at short ranges. The four models have top-folding buttstocks, and were available with or without a forward handgrip ahead of the magazine housing. The largely polymer Spectre has a stamped-steel receiver.

The Spectre is a standard blowback firearm operating from a closed bolt; however it has some unusual features. The barrel shroud completely hides the barrel. The bolt is designed to pump air through the barrel shroud to provide additional cooling. The Spectre is hammer-fired and the trigger group is double action with a decocker. This allows the shooter to safely carry a round in the chamber and fire immediately. As this eliminates the need for cocking prior to shooting no manual safety is provided. Unconventional 50-round capacity, four-column magazines are provided with the Spectre, but it can also use conventional magazines.

Civilian variants

Versions of the SITES "Spectre" M4 sub-machinegun specifically made for the civilian market have been around since the middle 1980s and up to the late 1990s, their production suffering a major backlash when the US Assault Weapons Ban prohibited the import and sale of them on the American market, the biggest and most lucrative for this kind of items.The civilian-grade variants of the SITES "Spectre" M4 have namely been a semi-automatic pistol called the SITES "Falcon" (marketed in the USA as the "Spectre-HC") and a semi-automatic sub-carbine called the SITES "Ranger". These weapons retain the main layout of the original "Spectre" sub-machinegun, are incapable of fully-automatic fire, and the original magazine capacity is reduced for marketing in countries where the law requires it (such as Italy). The SITES "Falcon" (or "Spectre-HC") pistol may and may not be encountered with the original upfolding stock and foregrip (the samples sold in the USA as the "Spectre-HC" generally feature none of these; the "Falcon" sold in Italy feature both, with the foregrip being removable). The SITES "Ranger" sub-carbine, which was a distinctly Italian market gun, features the foregrip (which is removable), a longer barrel, and the upfolding stock is permanently locked into open position to comply with the requirements of the Italian laws about the minimum allowed length for civilian-legal long arms. The upfolding stock on the SITES "Ranger" subcarbine was however engineered to be easily removable for storage. In the version of this carbine sold in Italy, the removal of the stock was made harder, requiring the use of tools, and proceeding to effectively shorten the weapon by this way could be persecuted as a criminal offense. In other countries (where legal), the removal of the stock in this and other versions was easier.

References

ee also

*Italian submachine guns
*List of submachine guns

External links

* [http://www.kitsune.addr.com/Firearms/Subs/Sites_Spectre.htm Short webpage on Spectre]
* [http://www.securityarms.com/20010315/galleryfiles/1600/1618.htm SecurityArms.com]
* [http://world.guns.ru/smg/smg21-e.htm Modern Firearms]