Akaba
Factory 54 (Maadi Company for Engineering Industries) · Submachine Gun · Out Of Production · 1960
Also known as: Aqaba, Akaba SMG
Overview
The Akaba is a simplified, cost-reduced Egyptian submachine gun derived from the Carl Gustaf m/45 'Swedish K', produced by the Maadi Company (Factory 54) alongside the more faithful Port Said copy. A 9x19mm Parabellum, open-bolt, simple-blowback weapon, the Akaba discards the m/45's barrel jacket, replaces the side-folding tubular butt with a telescoping steel-wire stock, and uses a fixed non-adjustable aperture rear sight. It feeds from the same 36-round double-column box magazine and fires full-automatic only.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3350 g (118.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 808 mm (31.81") |
| Barrel Length | 212 mm (8.35") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Hammer Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 36 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 425 m/s (1394 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 481 J (355 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 250 m (273 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 600 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Slide Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Steel |
| Finish | Phosphate |
Calibers
- 9x19mm Parabellum · primary · 9mm NATO — also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, 9x19mm
Features
- Firing modes: Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Bolt Handle Safety Slot
- Features: Open Bolt, No Barrel Jacket, Telescoping Wire Stock, Fixed Aperture Sight, Double Column Double Feed Magazine, Tubular Receiver
Variants
- Port Said (Egyptian Carl Gustaf m/45 copy) - Parent Design
- Carl Gustaf m/45 (Swedish original) - Original Design
Base model
Service history
Operators
- Egyptian Armed Forces · adopted 1960
- Egyptian Police
Conflicts
- Six-Day War (1967)
- Yom Kippur War (1973)
Production
Production years: 1960-1980
Manufactured by the Maadi Company (Factory 54) as the simplified counterpart to the Port Said; exact totals unknown.
Origin
Country of origin: Egypt
Discontinued: 1980
Notes
The Akaba is the austere version of Egypt's Swedish K family: where the Port Said reproduces the m/45 faithfully, the Akaba is roughly finished and stripped of the barrel jacket and adjustable sights to lower cost. Both served the Egyptian military through the Arab-Israeli wars before being supplanted by AK-pattern weapons.
Background
Where the Port Said was Egypt's faithful clone of the Swedish K, the Akaba was the no-frills field gun: same internals and magazine, but with the barrel jacket and adjustable sights thrown out and a bent steel-wire stock in place of the original folding butt.