Lercker

Infobox Weapon
name=Lercker


caption=
origin=flag|Italy
type=Machine pistol
is_ranged=yes
service=
used_by=
wars=
designer=
design_date=1950
manufacturer=
production_date=
number=Approx. 150
variants=
weight=kg to lb|0.93|sp=us|abbr=on|precision=2|wiki=yes
length=mm to in|184|abbr=on|precision=1|wiki=yes
part_length=convert|104|mm|abbr=on|1
crew=
cartridge=6.35 mm Auto
caliber=
action=Recoil, blowback, open bolt
rate=1200 rpm
velocity=
range=
max_range=
feed=20-round detachable box magazine
sights=

The Lercker was a selective-fire machine pistol developed in Bologna, Italy after the Second World War.

Designed to appear and operate as a handgun, while firing as a fully-automatic weapon, the Lercker was chambered for the 6.35 mm Browning Auto cartridge, a small cartridge by post-war standards. The small size of the round helped to facilitate the large magazine capacity; a Lercker could carry 20 rounds in a clip magazine in the pistol butt. The small cartridge also produced much less recoil than larger cartridges like the 9mm Parabellum, making the weapon easier to control in the selective-fire mode. With a 102 mm (4 in) barrel and an overall length of just 184 mm (7.2 in), the Lercker was a compact design. Unusually for any pistol-type weapon, the Lercker fired from an open bolt for every shot, such that the slide stayed in the retracted position before firing commenced. It was capable of firing at a rate of 1200 rounds per minute, a high figure for the time. [Hogg, Ian V. "Pistols of the World, 3rd Edition." Northbrook, IL: DBI Books, 1992, p. 194.]

The Lercker was introduced in 1950, but only about 150 of the guns were produced before production ended. [Hogg, Ian V. "op. cit.", p. 194.] The weapon was banned by the Italian government, as it was the functional equivalent of a submachine gun, but small enough to conceal easily. [Zhuk, A.B. "The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Handguns." London: Greenhill Books, 1995, p. 239.]

References