Smith & Wesson 76

Smith & Wesson M76 - 9x19mm‎

Smith & Wesson M76 with stock extended - 9x19mm‎

The Smith & Wesson 76 submachine gun was originally developed by S&W for the U.S. Navy SEALS after Sweden imposed an arms embargo thereby depriving the SEALs of the Carl Gustaf M/45 (Swedish K) SMG. The Model 76 saw limited combat service in Vietnam and eventually S&W ceased production of the original weapon in 1974. Although the Model 76's military service was brief, it saw some popularity among Law Enforcement and civilian markets. Until the early 1980s, Smith & Wesson made a 16" barreled semiautomatic only carbine version of the same weapon for over the counter sales.

Specifications

(1967 - 1974)

• Type: Submachine Gun

• Caliber(s): 9x19mm

• Weight: 7.25 lbs (3.29 kg)

• Length: 30.5 in (77.5 cm) with stock extended

• Barrel length: 8 in (20.3 cm)

• Capacity: 14, 25, 36

• Fire Modes: Semi-Auto/Full-Auto

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The Smith & Wesson M76 can be seen in the following:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
The Omega Man	Charlton Heston	Robert Neville		1971
Hickey & Boggs	Tom Signorelli	Nick		1972
The Getaway		A Cowboy		1972
Prime Cut	Lee Marvin	Nick Devlin		1972
Across 110th Street	Paul Benjamin	Jim Harris		1972
Shaft's Big Score!		A Gangster		1972
The Laughing Policeman	Albert Paulsen	Henry Camerero		1973
Magnum Force		A "Death Squad" officer		1973
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	Robert Shaw	Mr. Blue		1974
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	Martin Balsam	Mr. Green		1974
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	Hector Elizondo	Mr. Grey		1974
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three	Earl Hindman	Mr. Brown		1974
Mr. Majestyk		Mobsters		1974
Dog Day Afternoon	John Cazale	"Sal"	With chopped barrel	1975
The Gauntlet		Hitmen		1977
Black Sunday	Robert Shaw	Major David Kabakov		1977
Invasion USA		Various terrorists	Some with shortened barrels	1985
Hollow Point		Chinese Mafia		1996
We Own the Night		NYPD ESU officers		2007
Street Kings	Cle Shaheed Sloan	Fremont		2008
The Dark Knight	Heath Ledger	The Joker		2008

Television

Show Title / Episode	Actor	Character	Note	Air Date
Miami Vice				1984-1989
Tour of Duty	Ramon Franco	Pvt. Ruiz		1987-1990

Background history

The M76, much like the M3 "Grease Gun", was designed (Or rather the weapon that it is a clone of the C.Gustav M/45) to be an inexpensive wartime submachine gun. As a result, it was made of primarily rolled and stamped metal parts. Despite being inexpensive to mass produce the M76 can be a very effective weapon, even when compared with today's much more advanced and expensive submachine guns. The M76's 9mm round is still the most common round used in submachine guns, however the biggest difference in the performance of the M76 and more modern options is accuracy. Due to construction materials and design today's submachine gun offer much more pinpoint accuracy with single shots, however with submachine guns controllability is the name of the game-as they were created for, and are most commonly deployed in, fully automatic/burst fire. Controllability is one of the strengths of the M76, as it's 9mm round and cyclic rate of 600/rpm combine for a quite controllable weapon. Another advantage is the 20% increase in magazine capacity over most weapons of the type and caliber-which feed from 30 round double column box magazines, while the M76 feeds from a 36 round double column box magazine. While still a very effective weapon, there have been huge advance in weapons of the same type. In the 1980's two firms, MK Arms and Global Arms made variants of the M76 (called the Mk760) with minimal commercial success.