Destroyer carbine

Place of origin| Spain[1]
Service history
In service| 1935—1969
Used by| See users
Wars|

* Spanish Civil War
* Vietnam War (limited)

Production history
Manufacturer|

* Gaztanaga y Compania
* Ayra Duria S.A.

Variants| See variants
Specifications
Cartridge|

* 9×23mm Largo
* 9×19mm Parabellum (Civilian/export variants)[2]
* .38 Super (Civilian/export variants)[2]

Action| Bolt-action[1]
Feed system| 6-shot single stack magazine[1]
Sights| Rear left sight, front post

The Destroyer Carbine is a small bolt-action carbine usually chambered for the 9×23mm Largo cartridge.[1] It was used by Spanish police and prison services, including the Guardia Civil from the mid-1930s until the late 1960s, replacing the El Tigre Rifle.[3] It continued the tradition, started in the 1890s, of issuing police units with a short, handy, repeating carbine in pistol ammunition calibre.[3]

## Contents

* 1 Design
* 2 Variants
* 3 Users
* 4 See also
* 5 References

## Design

Markings on a Destroyer carbine A loaded Destroyer carbine magazine

While all rimless 9 mm caliber pistol cartridges will chamber in a Destroyer Carbine, and consequently will fire, it is extremely unsafe to use ammunition other than 9mm Largo due to the dangers of excessive pressure. Some carbines were produced in other calibers such as the .38 Super and 9×19mm Parabellum and offered for export.[2]

## Variants

MAC Destroyer Carbine − Designed by former Office of Strategic Services (OSS) officer Mitchell WerBell III as a considerably more robust version of the silenced De Lisle carbine for special and clandestine operations in Indochina and chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was produced by the Military Armament Corporation for the United States Army.[4]

WerBell designed at least five different versions:[4]

* The first version had a shortened barrel and was fitted with an early version of the silencer used on the MAC-10 submachine gun;
* The second version used the MAC M14SS-1 silencer used on the M14 rifle and a Tasco telescopic sight with a 4× power magnification;
* The third variant used a two-piece silencer with a diameter of 38 mm (1.5 in) and a total length of 298 mm (11.75 in) that extended back to the Destroyer receiver;
* The fourth was identical to the third, but the wooden buttstock was replaced with a collapsible wire stock, fitted with a pistol grip and a Mossberg 4× scope. This version was demonstrated at the ARVN Infantry School in South Vietnam in the late 1960s, and in 1969, the US Army ordered a small batch (4 to 10) for evaluation;
* The last variant featured a simple silencer 280 mm (11 in) long that came back to 6.4 mm (1⁄4 in) of the receiver. This variant was delivered delivered in quantity to the US Army. By the time a second order was placed, the supply of Spanish carbines in the United States market dried up, and as result, most of the MAC Destroyers delivered to the US Army were Remington Model 788 rifles converted to fire 9×19mm rounds, fitted with a Tasco 4× power scope, and modified to accept modified Walther P38 pistol magazines.

The magazines for the Destroyer Carbine are of six-round capacity. In Vietnam war, Destroyer carbines were modified to accept the magazine of the Walther P38 by Vietcong.[5]

## Users

* Spain − Used by the Civil Guard[3]
* Template:United States − MAC Destroyer Carbine used during the Vietnam War[4]

## See also

* Ruger 77/44

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Eger, Chris (August 9, 2012). "The Destroyer Carbine and the Rise of Pistol Caliber Long Guns". Guns.com. https://www.guns.com/news/2012/08/09/spanish-destroyer-carbine-pistol-long-gun. Retrieved 13 December 2024.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 United States Congress House Committee on Post Office and Civil Service (1968) (in en). Mail Order Gun Control − Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Postal Operations of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service House of Representatives Ninetieth Congress Second Session on H.R. 17949 A Bill to Extend the Scope of Nonmailable Matter to All Firearms. Washington, D.C.: United States Government Printing Office. p. 59. https://books.google.com/books?id=GE_VAAAAMAAJ&dq=spain+destroyer+carbine&pg=RA8-PA59. Retrieved 14 January 2025.
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Clifford, Alexander (2020). The People's Army in the Spanish Civil War. Pen & Sword Books. pp. 259. ISBN 9781526760951.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Paulson, Al (1 March 2002). "Mitch WerBell's Silenced Destroyer Carbine". https://smallarmsreview.com/mitch-werbells-silenced-destroyer-carbine-2/.
5. ↑ "Early VC Small Arms". 2019-02-07. http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2231.

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