Bechowiec-2
Bataliony Chlopskie (Peasants' Battalions) clandestine workshops · Submachine Gun · Discontinued · 1944
Also known as: Pistolet maszynowy Bechowiec-2
Overview
The Bechowiec-2 is a 9x19mm simple-blowback, open-bolt submachine gun designed and hand-built by the Polish resistance during the German occupation in World War II. Despite sharing the Bechowiec name - taken from the Bataliony Chlopskie (Peasants' Battalions), whose members were nicknamed 'bechowcy' - it was an entirely separate design from Henryk Strapoc's Bechowiec-1, being closely modeled on the British STEN gun with a side-mounted box magazine. It was the work of Jan Swat (codename 'Orzel'), who completed just two prototypes in June 1944 shortly before his death.
Specifications
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Open Bolt |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
Calibers
- 9x19mm Parabellum · primary · 9mm NATO — also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, 9x19mm
Features
- Firing modes: Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Features: Sten Derived Design, Side Mounted Magazine, Simple Blowback Open Bolt
Service history
Operators
- Bataliony Chlopskie (Peasants' Battalions) · adopted 1944
Conflicts
- World War II (1939-1945)
Production
Estimated total produced: 2 · Production years: 1944
Two prototypes assembled by Jan Swat in June 1944; one was surrendered to the security authorities in 1945 and did not survive
Origin
Country of origin: Poland
Designer: Jan Swat
Discontinued: 1944
Notes
Extremely rare clandestine weapon; only two examples were assembled and neither survives. Most physical specifications (weight, length, barrel length, magazine capacity, rate of fire) are undocumented. Unlike the pistol-derived Bechowiec-1, the Bechowiec-2 was a STEN-pattern open-bolt design and was not built by the same designer.
Background
Named like its unrelated predecessor for the 'bechowcy' peasant partisans, the STEN-inspired Bechowiec-2 was finished by resistance gunsmith Jan Swat mere weeks before his death in June 1944; both of the only two ever made were lost, and no example survives today.