Orita M1941

Oriṭa
Type	Submachine gun
Place of origin	Kingdom of Romania
Service history
In service	1943[1]–1970s[2]
Used by	Kingdom of Romania  Romania
Production history
Designed	1941
Manufacturer	Uzinele Metalurgice Copșa Mică și Cugir
Variants	Oriţa M1941, Oriţa M1948
Specifications
Weight	3.45 kg (7.6 lb) without magazine 4 kg (8.8 lb) with magazine
Length	894 mm (35.2 in)
Barrel length	278 mm (10.9 in)
Cartridge	9x19mm Parabellum[3]
Rate of fire	600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	400m/s
Effective range	200 m (656.2 ft)
Feed system	32-round detachable box magazine
Sights	graded from 100 m (328.1 ft) to 500 m (1,640.4 ft)

Orita (correct, Orița) was a 9mm submachine gun manufactured in Romania during World War II and for several years afterwards. It was named for Captain Marin Orița (Military Technical Corps, Romanian Army), who is credited in Romania with its design^[4]. (Other sources describe the Orița as a joint Czech-Romanian project^[1]; the Czech Leopold Jašek and the Romanian Nicolae Sterca are also considered to have contributed to its design^[2][5].) The manufacturer was CMC (Uzinele Metallurgice Copșa Mică și Cugir), and the first version, Model 1941, entered operational service with the Romanian Army in 1943^[1]. An improved version (Model 1948, with either fixed wooden stock or folding metal stock)^[6] remained in service with the Romanian Army until it was replaced by the Romanian version of the AK-47 assault rifle. The Orița was also in service with the Romanian paramilitaries ("Gărzile Patriotice") until the 1970s^[2].

Other specifications

• Rifling: 6 right-hand grooves

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c} Axworthy & al (1995), p. 75
2. ^ ^{a b c} Plăvcan, L. & Plăvcan, D., Romanian Firepower…
3. ^ Specifications for Orița, Model 1941, are from Plăvcan, L. & Plăvcan, D., Romanian Firepower…
4. ^ König (1977), p. 229
5. ^ Anonymous, Román kézifegyverek…
6. ^ König (1977), p. 231

Sources

• Anonymous, Román kézifegyverek: Md. 1941 Orita géppisztoly, http://www.kalasnyikov.hu/index.php?page=cikkek&story=43, retrieved 2008-01-08 . (In Hungarian.)
• Axworthy, Mark, Cornel I. Scafeș, and Cristian Crăciunoiu. (1995) Third Axis, Fourth Ally: Romanian Armed Forces in the European War, 1941–1945. London: Arms and Armour ISBN 1-85409-267-7.
• König, Carol. Căpitanul Marin Orița—Inventator român de prestigiu din al doilea sfert al secolului al XX‑lea. Muzeul Militar Central, Studii și materiale de muzeografie și istorie militară, 10 (1977): 229–33. (In Romanian.)
• Plăvcan, Liviu; Plăvcan, Dora, Romanian Firepower: 9mm Orita Model 1941 Submachine Gun, http://www.worldwar2.ro/arme/static/orita.htm, retrieved 2008-01-08 .

External links

• Orița Model 1941^{[dead link]} Photograph from the Romanian Ministry of Defence.
• Orița Model 1941^{[dead link]} Technical drawing.
• Orița submachine guns Photograph from the National Military Museum of Romania.