CODE – 02-059-945

NAME – TZ-45

NAME (NATIVE) – Pistola Mitragliatrice TZ-45

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN – Italy

DATE OF MANUFACTURE – 1944-1945

CALIBER – 9x19mm

OVERALL LENGTH – 55.9 cm (22 in) (with stock retracted), 86.4 cm (34 in) (with stock extended)

BARREL LENGTH – 22.9 cm (9 in)

RIFLING (TYPE & TWIST) – 6 groove, Right hand twist

BULLET DIAMETER – 9.02 mm (0.355 in)

BULLET WEIGHT – 7.45 g (115 gr)

MUZZLE VELOCITY – 420 m/s (1378 fps)

MUZZLE ENERGY – 658 j (485 ft/lbs)

WEIGHT (EMPTY) – 3.20 kg (7 lb 1 oz)

WEIGHT (LOADED) – 3.94 kg (8 lbs 11.2 oz) with 40 round magazine

SIGHTS – Front sight – post, Rear sight, Single none-adjustable aperture mounted on top center of the receiver.

EFFECTIVE RANGE – 200 m (220 yds)

OPERATION – Blowback, fires from open bolt

TYPE OF FIRE – Selective fire, Semi and Full automatic

RATE OF FIRE – 40 rpm (Semi), 120 rpm (Full)

CYCLIC ROF – 550 rpm

FEED DEVICE – 20 and 40 round box magazines, Double column, double feed (All standard Beretta 38 magazines)

FEED DEVICE WEIGHT (EMPTY) – 20 rd 0.14 kg (5 oz), 40 rd 0.26 kg (9 oz)

FEED DEVICE WEIGHT (LOADED) – 20 rd 0.38 kg (13.4 oz), 40 rd 0.74 kg (1 lb 10.2 oz)

BASIC AMMUNITION LOAD – 6 – 40 round magazines (240 rounds)

LOAD WEIGHT – 4.44 kg (9 lbs 13.2 oz)

MANUFACTURER – Fabbrica Fratelli Giandoso, Italy

STATUS – Obsolete

SERVICE – Very limited use by the Italian military at the end of WWII. Licensed production (as the BA-52_ in Burma during the early 1950s

 This weapon was designed by Toni and Zorzoli Giandoso in 1944. It was put into very limited production in 1945 with only about 6,000 weapons being produced before the end of the war. Due to the rough finish and some functioning difficulties, the weapon was not well received and declared “obsolescent) by the US and British military forces who examined the weapon after the war. Burma bought the rights to produce the weapon as it could be constructed with simple machinery.

     One aspect of the TZ-45 design made it stand out. At the rear of the front magazine well is a grip safety lever. If this lever is not held by the shooters non-firing hand, the bolt cannot move from either the closed or open position. This simple mechanism was not found on any previous submachinegun design, though it would have prevented a number of accidental discharges.

 

The TZ-45 submachinegun, produced in Italy the last year of WWII. This design is fairly straightforward, though the weapon was roughly made and finished. On the rear of the magazine well can be seen one of the innovations of this weapon, a grip safety. The TZ-45 was possibly the first weapon to actively included this feature. The operator holds the magazine well with his non-firing hand and squeezes in the short leg of the “L” shaped safety. That squeezing causes the rear, long leg, of the safety to disengage the bolt, allowing it to travel forward and the weapon to fire. There is also a mechanical safety switch located just above the front of the trigger guard. The long sliding stock’s legs are able to enter the two holes in the lug found under the middle of the barrel jacket. PHOTO CREDIT: US Army
The TZ-45 submachinegun, produced in Italy the last year of WWII. This design is fairly straightforward, though the weapon was roughly made and finished. On the rear of the magazine well can be seen one of the innovations of this weapon, a grip safety. The TZ-45 was possibly the first weapon to actively included this feature. The operator holds the magazine well with his non-firing hand and squeezes in the short leg of the “L” shaped safety. That squeezing causes the rear, long leg, of the safety to disengage the bolt, allowing it to travel forward and the weapon to fire. There is also a mechanical safety switch located just above the front of the trigger guard. The long sliding stock’s legs are able to enter the two holes in the lug found under the middle of the barrel jacket. PHOTO CREDIT: US Army
A left side view of the TZ-45. The magazine well grip safety stands out plainly with its long leg entering the center of the receiver. There is a two-slot compensator on the muzzle of the weapon. The skeletal barrel jacket is just sufficient to cover a hot barrel and protect the operator from it. PHOTO CREDIT: US Army
A left side view of the TZ-45. The magazine well grip safety stands out plainly with its long leg entering the center of the receiver. There is a two-slot compensator on the muzzle of the weapon. The skeletal barrel jacket is just sufficient to cover a hot barrel and protect the operator from it. PHOTO CREDIT: US Army