KIS
Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) underground workshops · Submachine Gun · Discontinued · 1943
Overview
The KIS is a 9x19mm blowback, open-bolt submachine gun clandestinely designed and built by the Polish resistance during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. Patterned after the British Sten and retaining its side-mounted left-hand magazine, it was developed in 1943 within Jan Piwnik's "Ponury" ("Grim") partisan detachment operating in the Holy Cross Mountains. The weapon differed from the Sten in having a longer barrel with a conical rear section and, in its principal form, no shoulder stock. It was described as one of the few modern firearms that could be manufactured deep in the forest without sophisticated tooling.
Specifications
| Overall Length | 600 mm (23.62") |
| Barrel Length | 220 mm (8.66") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Open Bolt |
| Magazine Capacity | 32 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Effective Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
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: Left Side Magazine, Stenless Stockless Configuration, Conical Rear Barrel Section, Tube Receiver Construction, Fixed Sights
Variants
- Likwidator - Modified Series
Service history
Operators
- Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) - "Ponury" partisan group · adopted 1943
Conflicts
- World War II (1943-1945)
Production
Production years: 1943-1944
Built in very small numbers in clandestine partisan workshops; exact total unknown. A distinct modified batch of eight 'Likwidator' units was made in 1944.
Origin
Country of origin: Poland
Designer: Polikarp Rybicki, Witold Szafranski and Stanislaw Skorupka
Discontinued: 1944
Notes
The designation KIS is an acronym formed from the underground pseudonyms of its three designers: Polikarp Rybicki ("Konar"), Witold Szafranski ("Igo") and Stanislaw Skorupka ("Smrek"). A small modified series of eight examples known as the "Likwidator" was produced between April and July 1944 by Zdzislaw Dyda in a Home Army gunsmith workshop in the Opatow area.
Background
The gun's name is a hidden signature: KIS spells out the conspiratorial codenames Konar, Igo and Smrek, the three engineers who drew it up, so that even the weapon's designation concealed the identities of the men who forged it in the occupied forest.