Bechowiec-1
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Barrel
- 240 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.43 kg
- Introduced
- 1943
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Bechowiec-1 is a 9x19mm blowback, closed-bolt submachine gun clandestinely designed and built by the Polish resistance during the German occupation in World War II. Conceived in 1943 by Henryk Strapoc for the Bataliony Chlopskie (Peasants' Battalions) - from which its name derives - it borrowed heavily from semi-automatic pistol design, using a reciprocating slide, an internal hammer, and a three-position external safety with an integral fire-mode selector giving both semi-automatic and fully automatic fire. Only around a dozen examples were completed in the Ostrowiec Swietokrzyski metalworks and Strapoc's own blacksmith shop, some using barrels recycled from First World War rifles.
Named for the Bataliony Chlopskie ('Bechowcy') peasant partisans who commissioned it, the Bechowiec-1 was the work of a self-taught blacksmith with no submachine-gun experience, so he simply scaled up pistol mechanics - the result fired from a closed bolt with an internal hammer, unusual among the crude open-bolt guns of the wartime underground.
Extremely rare: roughly 11-13 units were made, and a single surviving example is held by the Polish Army Museum in Warsaw. A handful were reportedly chambered for 7.62x25mm Tokarev.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Bataliony Chlopskie (Peasants' Battalions) clandestine workshops
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Country
- Poland
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1943 to 1945
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 240 mm
- Overall length
- 445 mm
- Weight, empty
- 2.43 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 2.82 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Blowback
- Firing mechanism
- Closed bolt
- Capacity
- 32
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Slide
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 365 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 496 J
- Effective range
- 100 m
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Closed bolt firing
Internal hammer- Pistol like slide mechanism
Select fire selector
Recycled rifle barrel
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 201 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 2.43 kg | 3.18 kg | Lighter than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 200 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 445 mm | 723 mm | Shorter than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 202 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 240 mm | 213 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 204 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 32 | 32 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Bechowiec-1
How much does the Bechowiec-1 weigh?
The Bechowiec-1 weighs 2.43 kg (5.36 lb) empty and 2.82 kg (6.22 lb) loaded.
What caliber is the Bechowiec-1?
The Bechowiec-1 is chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum and 7.62x25mm Tokarev.
How many rounds does the Bechowiec-1 hold?
The Bechowiec-1 holds 32 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Bechowiec-1?
The Bechowiec-1 is 445 mm (17.5 in) long overall, with a 240 mm (9.45 in) barrel.
Who makes the Bechowiec-1?
The Bechowiec-1 is made by Bataliony Chlopskie (Peasants' Battalions) clandestine workshops (Poland). It was designed by Henryk Strapoc.
When was the Bechowiec-1 introduced?
The Bechowiec-1 was introduced in 1943 and discontinued in 1945.
How does the Bechowiec-1 operate?
The Bechowiec-1 uses a blowback action, and its firing mechanism is closed bolt.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Bataliony Chlopskie (Peasants' Battalions)
- 1943
Provenance
Confidence in this record
72%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/bechowiec-1' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "bechowiec-1", "name": "Bechowiec-1", "manufacturer": { "id": "bataliony-chlopskie", "name": "Bataliony Chlopskie (Peasants' Battalions) clandestine workshops", "countryCode": "PL", "foundedYear": null, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-07-19 22:59:14", "updatedAt": "2026-07-19 22:59:14", "version": "3eb56aa818b6f2364fbc669fdec564af596d4b9d0f14255b049a19110004a453" }, "category": { "id": "submachine-gun", "name": "Submachine Gun", "description": "Automatic firearms chambered in pistol calibers" }, "country_of_origin": "PL", "year_introduced": 1943, "barrel_length_mm": 240, "weight_empty_g": 2430, "action_type": "blowback"}