POTD: The SIG MKMO – A Beautiful, but Commercially Unsuccessful Submachine Gun
Sam.S 09.20.24
Welcome to today’s Photo of the Day! The SIG MKMO was a submachine gun produced by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft (SIG) from 1933 to 1937. Designed by Gotthard End, it featured an innovative hesitation-locked operating system adapted from John Pedersen’s design. Only 1,228 units were produced due to high production costs. The MKMO was notable for its folding magazine well, which allowed the magazine to be stored within the wooden fore-stock. It used a unique trigger system for single and automatic fire selection. Variants included the shortened MKPO for police use and the simplified MKMS and MKPS models introduced in 1937, which used a straight blowback system. The weapon saw limited adoption by Swiss police, the Swiss Guard at the Vatican, and Finnish forces during the Continuation War. Despite its innovative features, the MKMO and its variants failed to achieve commercial success, leading to the cessation of production in 1941.
Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons
