Editing CIA A Study Of Assassination (1953) (section)

=====(c) The Submachine Gun. =====

This weapon, known as the "machine-pistol" by the Russians and Germans 
and "machine-carbine" by the British, is occasionally useful in assassination. 
Unlike the rifle and machine gun, this is a short range weapon and since it 
fires pistol ammunition, much less powerful. 

To be reliable, it should deliver at least 5 rounds into the subject's chest, 
though the .45 caliber U.S. weapons have a much larger margin of killing 
efficiency than the 9 mm European arms. 

The assassination range of the sub-machine gun is point blank. While 
accurate single rounds can be delivered by sub-machine gunners at 50 yards 
or more, this is not certain enough for assassination. Under ordinary 
circumstances, the SMG should be used as a fully automatic weapon. In the 
hands of a capable gunner, a high cyclic rate is a distinct advantage, as 
speed of execution is most desirable, particularly in the case of multiple 
subjects. 

The sub-machine gun is especially adapted to indoor work when more than 
one subject is to be assassinated. An effective technique has been devised 
for the use of a pair of sub-machine gunners, by which a room containing as 
many as a dozen subjects can be "purified" in about twenty seconds with little 
or no risk to the gunners. It is illustrated below. 

While the U.S. sub-machine guns fire the most lethal cartridges, the higher 
cyclic rate of some foreign weapons enable the gunner to cover a target 
quicker with acceptable pattern density. The Bergmann Model 1934 is 
particularly good in this way. The Danish Madsen SMG has a moderately 
good cyclic rate and is admirably compact and concealable. The Russian 
SHGs have a good cyclic rate, but are handicapped by a small, light projectile 
which requires more hits for equivalent killing effect.