Click here to download the catalog as a PDF file. To view this site you need Adobe Flash Player and your browser must allow javaScripts. Go here to get the latest Flash Player. IRA-5 The IRA-5 goes head-to-head with the AR-15. Who’s the winner? VS. AR-15 T 42 he concept of a submachine gun came about as a result of the pitched battles fought between large numbers of soldiers during WWI. It didn’t take long for someone to figure out an effective way to kill hundreds of enemy troops at close range, packed into narrow, deep trenches was to fire lots of bullets in a very short period of time. In the confined trenches, where fighting was mostly at conversational distances, it made sense to use weapons that were short, light, and handy, firing lots of low-recoil ammunition very quickly. And so, in a primitive and somewhat limited way, the submachine gun was born. Only one, however — the German MP18 — was produced in quantity near the end of the war. Between the two world wars, submachine gun development took off in a big way in most of the European nations. They were relatively easy to mass-produce, and gave conscripted civilians serious personal firepower and a big boost to their confidence. By the time WWII was in full swing Germany had its MP40 (9mm), Britain had the Sten (9mm), America was producing Al Capone’s Thompson and the M3 Grease Gun (both in .45 ACP), and the Soviet union had it’s PPSh-41 (7.62 x 25mm). By the 1950s, the fledgling nation of Israel was under attack from its neighbors and fielded the legendary uzi (9mm). By the mid 1960s, Germany’s Heckler and Koch was producing their MP5 (9mm), arguably one of the finest submachine guns ever produced. The MP5 became a favorite of police SWAT teams in many countries, and elite counter-terrorist teams such as Germany’s GSG9, and Britain’s Special Air Service (SAS). GSG9 soldiers were successful in storming a hijacked airliner at the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia in 1977. The SAS used their MP5s to great effect when they assaulted the Iranian Embassy in London in 1980, killing five of the six middle-eastern terrorists who were holding hostages inside. Both examples highlight the effectiveness of the submachine gun in close quarters. Enter The AR Clearly, the MP5 has had a stellar career as a short range, dynamic gun-fighting weapon, where a single, precision shot to the brain box or a short, controlled burst to the center of mass is required to shut down a bad guy. And let’s not overlook the advantages of stealth offered by the attachment of a suppressor. But in recent years the pistol-caliber MP5 has fallen out of favor with many SWAT teams, to be replaced WWW.AMERICANCOPMAGAZINE.COM • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010