PM-63 RAK

PM-63 RAK
The RAK submachine gun with stock and foregrip collapsed
Type	Submachine gun, Personal defense weapon
Place of origin	Poland
Service history
In service	1965–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia Vietnam War Sino-Vietnamese wars Israeli-Arab wars Iran-Iraq war Gulf War Iraq War War in Donbass
Production history
Designer	Piotr Wilniewczyc
Designed	1950s
Manufacturer	FB Radom
Produced	1967–1977
No. built	Approx. 80,000
Variants	PM-70, PM-73, Type 82
Specifications
Weight	1.6 kg (3.53 lb)
Length	583 mm (23.0 in) stock extended / 333 mm (13.1 in) stock collapsed
Barrel length	152 mm (6.0 in)
Height	145 mm (5.7 in) (short magazine) 213 mm (8.4 in) (long magazine)
Cartridge	9×18mm Makarov (PM-63) 9×19mm Parabellum (PM-70) .380 ACP (9×17mm Short) (PM-73) 7.62×25mm Tokarev and 9×18mm Makarov (Type 82)
Action	Straight blowback
Rate of fire	650 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	320 m/s (1,050 ft/s)
Effective firing range	75 and 150 m sight adjustment (9×19mm Parabellum)
Feed system	15 or 25-round box magazine
Sights	Flip rear sight, front blade 153 mm (6.0 in) sight radius

The PM-63 RAK (short for Ręczny Automat Komandosów — "commandos' hand-held automatic"; the abbreviation itself means crayfish in Polish) is a Polish 9×18mm submachine gun, designed by Piotr Wilniewczyc in cooperation with Tadeusz Bednarski, Grzegorz Czubak and Marian Wakalski. The RAK combines the characteristics of a self-loading pistol and a fully automatic submachine gun. It is in effect an early personal defense weapon.

Development of the RAK dates back to the late 1950s when the concept was first proposed at the Warsaw University of Technology in response to a requirement for a light hand-held defensive weapon for rear-echelon soldiers such as gun crews and vehicle drivers. After the death of the chief designer Piotr Wilniewczyc in 1960, the submachine gun’s development was eventually resumed and completed by the state-operated Łucznik Arms Factory in the city of Radom, where it was produced until 1977. After close examination, the PM-63 was accepted into service with the People's Army of Poland and police in 1965 as the 9 mm pistolet maszynowy wz. 1963 ("9 mm submachine gun model 1963"). Small numbers of the weapon were exported to several Arab countries, Vietnam and the former East Germany. A slightly modified, unlicensed version of the PM-63 was produced by the People’s Republic of China as the Type 82, who sold the weapon to politically allied nations in Asia.

The RAK is a selective-fire straight blowback-operated weapon that fires from the open bolt position. Unlike most submachine guns firing from an open bolt, the PM-63 has a reciprocating external breech bolt, also known as a slide.