What we are discussing here today is a rare military and police firearm that dates back to a time when Poland was behind the Iron Curtain. As a result, it was rarely seen in the United States during the Cold War, yet it still managed to earn a level of infamy as it was a sidearm of choice of East Germany’s Volkspolizei and Stasi.
Development of the select-fire pistol began in the late 1950’s when the concept was first proposed at the Warsaw University of Technology in response to calls for a light hand-held defensive weapon for rear-echelon soldiers, including gun crews and vehicle drivers. In essence, a personal defense weapon (PDW).
Design work was initiated by Polish firearms engineer Piotr Wilniewczyc in 1960, but after his passing just two years later, the compact machine pistol’s development resumed and it was completed by the state-operated Łucznik Arms Factory in the city of Radom, where it was first produced in 1963 — while it issued to the Polish armed forces two years later.
RAK It Up
Designated the PM-63 RAK — Pistolet Maszynowy wzor 1963 — it was a 9x18mm blowback-operated sidearm that employed an open-bolt mechanism. However, instead of a selector switch, for single shots, the weapon was cocked by pulling back the slide until it locked. After the firing action, the slide returned to the cocked position, ready for the next round to be fired. Light pressure on the trigger would result in a single shot fired. More firm pressure on the trigger would enable automatic fire.
Compact in size, it could be fired single-handedly, like a semi-automatic pistol, while a folding shoulder stock and foregrip enabled greater control and accuracy. The pistol was fitted with a firing rate reduction mechanism, which slowed the rate of fire from 1,000 rpm to more controllable 600-650 rpm.
It was noted for being one of the first automatic weapons to feature the magazine housed inside the pistol grip, which reduced its overall dimensions.
The PM-63 was chambered the 9x18mm Makarov pistol round, which was the standard devised by the Soviet Union following the Second World War. In addition, it also offered an extension that protruded in front of the barrel and may have been meant to ensure that operators didn’t accidentally shoot their finger off while employing the folding foregrip.
Confusion Over the Name
There is a dispute over the designation RAK, with some sources suggesting it was the acronym for Ręczny Automat Komandosów — which roughly translates to “Handheld Automatic Commando,” or Commando’s hand-held automatic. Other sources stated that “RAK” was actually the polish word for “cancer” or “crayfish.” Perhaps because of its compact size, and the fact that it was intended for close-quarters combat gave rise to the conclusion that it was a weapon used by Special Forces.
However, it is important to note that “Pistolet Maszynowy wzor” translates to “Machine gun pattern,” which would serve to indicate that RAK may simply be a moniker rather than part of its formal designation. Its use certainly wasn’t limited to commandos.
Instead, the PM-63 was issued to reconnaissance units, platoon leaders, staff officers, vehicle and artillery crews, anti-tank missile crews and some non-frontline units as well as elite anti-terrorist teams. Over the course of roughly a decade, approximately 80,000 were manufactured, and production ceased in 1977.
What is also noteworthy is that, along with the Czechoslovak vz.61 Skorpion — a compact weapon that has earned far more fame — the PM-63 was among the only Eastern Bloc submachine guns produced in significant numbers.
Innovative, But Hardly a Success
The PM-63 RAK could be described as a firearm that perhaps tried to do too much. It was innovative and loaded with features, including the aforementioned shoulder stock and foregrip. But generally, it wasn’t a well-liked weapon.
It was too large, and at more than three and a half pounds was too heavy to be employed as a sidearm. It was also originally issued with a 25-round magazine, but those made it hard to be carried in a holster. Soldiers and police had to carry it with the magazine removed, which made it impossible to fire immediately. The original magazines also tended to fall out, and the magazine catch was twice redesigned to eliminate the problem. A smaller, shorter 15-round magazine was introduced, but it could be emptied far too quickly on automatic fire.
The machine pistol had an effective range of just 150 meters, but the simple front iron sight was mounted on the top of the slide, which reciprocated during firing. As a result, only the first shot was more or less aimed — as the shooter could not possibly aim the weapon accurately while firing.
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As noted, its 9x18mm Makarov round was weak when compared to NATO’s 9×19 mm Parabellum ammunition.
It is not hard to see why Polish soldiers didn’t particularly care for the PM-63. In 1984 the Polish military and law enforcement forces adopted the newer PM-84 Glauberyt submachine gun, which proved to be a much more successful design.
Export Models
A number of PM-63 RAK submachine guns were exported to Cuba, East Germany, Iraq, North Korea and Vietnam during the Cold War. It was provided to various insurgents and revolutionaries — including the Provisional Irish Republican Army.
It first saw use with Polish and East German forces during the Warsaw Pact Invasion of Czechoslovakia following the “Prague Spring” in August 1968. It was later was employed in such conflicts as the Vietnam War, the Yom Kippur War, the Sino-Vietnamese War and the Gulf War. Some Russian units, notably tank crews, have reportedly been issued with Cold War stocks of the weapons in the ongoing war in Ukraine.
Despite its numerous shortcomings, the Polish Łucznik Arms Factory produced a version designated the PM-70 chambered in 9x19mm for export — but only about 20 were reportedly ever produced. An even small number of the PM-73 chambered in 9x17mm (.380 ACP) was also produced.
However, China manufactured an unlicensed version as the Type 82 pistol, with some also produced to fire the more powerful 7.62x25mm Tokarev round. Both versions were supplied to the Vietnamese forces during the Second Indochina War, and in a twist of fate used against the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the 1979 Sino-Vietnamese War.
Pistolet Maszynowy wz.63 in Pop Culture
The PM-63 has been seen in only a handful of films, and due to a ban on Warsaw Pact weapons from entering the United States during the Cold War, its first appearance in a movie didn’t occur until it appeared in the 1986 Chuck Norris film “The Delta Force”. It was seen two years later in “Rambo 3”.
In both of those cases, the weapon was likely supplied by Israeli armorers and most likely among the weapons captured by the Israeli Defense Forces in the Yom Kippur War or other Arab-Israeli conflicts.
The Polish automatic pistol was most recently seen in the 2017 film “6 Days”, about the 1980 Iranian Embassy siege. It has been reported that the actual hostage takers did in fact carry at least one PM-63, which they used alongside the Czechoslovak Sa vz. 61 Skorpion.
It had been suggested for years that the PM-63 appeared in the original “Red Dawn” from 1984 — carried by Colonel Strelnikov (William Smith). In actuality, he is seen with the Finnish-made Jatimatic submachine gun as a stand-in given that the Combloc weapon wasn’t available. Given the option, and based on how soldiers of the era felt, perhaps the Jatimatic was a better choice!
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