Destroyer carbine

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]

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]

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]

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

• Ruger 77/44

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