Ingram MAC-10 (M10)

History of the Ingram MAC-10 (M10)

The Ingram MAC-10 (M10) was a short-lived compact submachine gun program that was produced in limited worldwide production and was equally limited in use. While she introduced some impressive and interesting concepts, the weapon system failed to establish itself as a serious competitor in the mature robotic machine market, and was soon overtaken by other factors beyond its control. The US military's decision to pass on the full production order does not support the weapon system, whose future ultimately depends on the collapse of its host country's Military Equipment Corporation (MAC - hence the name "MAC-10").

Despite the widely accepted designation "MAC-10", the submachine gun was officially designated "M10" and the former designation was never used in an official capacity. However, since then, it has been commonly referred to as "MAC-10" and nothing more.

MAC-10 Origins

The design of the MAC-10 was started by Gordon B. Ingram as early as 1964. Before leaving the company to develop the MAC-10, Ingram was a former employee of the Police Ordnance Company. He has worked with Mitchell Werbell III, a former OSS and CIA agent and founder of SIONICS (Counter-Insurgency and Counter-Subversion Operations Research), a company specializing in the development and sale of gun-grade silencers and silencers and their collaborations Production is centralized by the Military Equipment Corporation (MAC).

Their joint venture and flagship product will be the MAC-10, which eventually hopes to be rationed to the U.S. military during the ongoing Vietnam War.

To the casual observer, the design of the MAC-10 is no different from the Israeli-made UZI series (and other submachine guns that mimic this general design layout). The submachine gun features a rectangular receiver with a simple straight pistol grip that doubles as a magazine feed. In front of the pistol grip and under the front of the receiver is a rounded rectangular trigger ring.

The fuse is placed on the right side of the trigger guard. The construction is steel stamping and the bolt is a wraparound or telescoping design that essentially "wraps" the barrel and allows the MAC-10 to achieve such a short receiver length that it remains a compact weapon system.

These design elements provide a stable weapon platform that focuses the balance of the shooting action above the pistol grip. The pull handle is located at the butt of the receiver and can be operated with both hands. Interestingly, the grip has notches to provide unobstructed sight lines between the operator, weapon and target.

The pull handle also acts as a safety, as it can be rotated 90 degrees to lock the bolt, and serves as a visual indicator that the gun is safe and not ready to fire. Fire action is achieved through an open bolt blowback design. A sizable ejection port is mounted on the right side of the receiver to match the magazine placement below.

A short sling can be attached to the hook on the front of the receiver.

The chamber of the base MAC-10 model can fire a powerful Man-Stop. 45 ACP cartridges and is available from a 30-round detachable box magazine. The muzzle velocity is estimated at 919 feet per second, the bullet is heavy, and the rate of fire is as high as 1,145 rounds per minute. Detachable wires are fully foldable for increasingly compact designs. The overall length is 1 foot 9.6 inches with the stock extended, but when the stock is fully removed, the system is able to maintain an incredible length of just 10.7 inches.

The length has been increased to 2 feet 7.4 inches by adding a muffler (see below for details). The curb weight without the muffler is 2.84kg.

It's all in the bucket

Perhaps the most unique feature of the MAC-10 is its threaded barrel. The thread - similar to the cap of a bottle - is clearly visible because it just passes through the front of the receiver, before and after the short protruding barrel. This is to support Werbell designed mufflers (devices other than mufflers). The silencer can simply be screwed onto the threads for a tight fit, allowing the operator to fire the weapon without losing bullet velocity, an inherent disadvantage of the silencer.

While not a true "silenced" weapon, the silenced MAC-10 fires like a slight "crack" sound, which helps operators still maintain a certain element of surprise or camouflage against a vigilant enemy.

The suppressor used in the MAC-10 has a two-stage design, which can be clearly seen in the available photos. The first stage provides a large cylinder that can be evacuated into a longer, thinner cylinder. The resulting design has proven to be a very quiet silencer in practice and can be used effectively as a foregrip, giving the submachine gun additional two-handed stability at close range.

The 11.44-inch silencer system, which weighs only 1.20 pounds, doesn't add significantly to the MAC-10's weight, and the entire system is fairly manageable even when firing the weapon with one hand.

MAC-11

The MAC-11 exists in almost the same version as the basic MAC-10, except for its smaller overall dimensions and the chamber for the 9mm "short" cartridge. This design is intended to be marketed to interested police and security forces who already use the 9mm Parabellum cartridge but need the firepower inherent in the compact submachine gun frame.

The MAC-11 fires small-caliber cartridges from a 32-round detachable magazine. Muzzle velocity is listed as 1,201 feet per second, while the rate of fire is about 1,090 rounds per minute.

Success is elusive

The success of the MAC-10 as a series proved to be rather elusive during their tenure. During the Vietnam War from 1970 to 1976, a handful of special groups, including the U.S. Navy SEALs, issued this submachine gun around the world. The armament company proved that the company was underfunded and soon went bankrupt.

In addition, restrictions have recently been imposed on the export of mufflers to foreign markets. With the MAC-10's suppressive power being one of its main selling points, potential customers on the global stage were quick to abandon potential purchases, with some pending orders being cancelled immediately after the export restrictions were announced.

The armament company collapsed in 1976. However, the design of the MAC-10 persisted as it passed between companies, each trying to take advantage of a unique submachine gun. No one could save the MAC-10, and production of the system ended in 1986.

Despite being an innovative weapon in its own right, and the unrecognized star of several Hollywood productions (including several TV shows), the real MAC-10, despite its popularity in premiere circles, is not No expected commercial impact.

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