39M Danuvia
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Barrel
- 500 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.70 kg
- Introduced
- 1939
About
What it is, and why it matters
The 39M Danuvia is a Hungarian submachine gun designed by Pal Kiraly and manufactured by Danuvia, chambered for the powerful 9x25mm Mauser Export cartridge. Adopted in 1939, it uses Kiraly's two-stage lever-delayed blowback action with a two-part bolt and pivoting lever. The 39M is built like a rifle, with a full-length wooden stock and a long 500 mm barrel; its detachable 40-round magazine pivots forward to fold flush into the stock for carry. The folding-stock 43M was its compact derivative.
Pal Kiraly had worked as an engineer at SIG in Switzerland in the 1920s-30s, which is why the 39M strongly resembles Swiss SMG designs. Hungarian troops found it reliable in the cold and mud of the Russian front; their main complaint was the scarcity of the unusual 9x25mm Mauser ammunition rather than the gun itself.
Empty weight consensus is ~3.7 kg (one source conflates the 3.7 kg figure with the 4.15 kg loaded weight). Soviet capture testing measured a real muzzle velocity nearer 414 m/s versus the ~450 m/s nominal figure.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Danuvia Fegyvergyar
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Country
- Hungary
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1939 to 1945
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 500 mm
- Overall length
- 1048 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.70 kg
- Weight, loaded
- 4.15 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Lever delayed blowback
- Firing mechanism
- Open bolt
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 40
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 450 m/s
- Effective range
- 200 m
- Rate of fire
- 750 rpm
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.
No load solved for this record yetThe flight path is computed from a cartridge and a bullet. This record has no ammunition filed against its chambering, so there is nothing to solve.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
- Two stage lever delay
Fixed wood stock
Forward folding magazine- Magazine stows in stock
Adjustable rear sight
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 282 submachine guns | 3.70 kg | 3.15 kg | Heavier than about 80% |
| Overall lengthAmong 281 submachine guns | 1048 mm | 737 mm | Among the longest tenth |
| Barrel lengthAmong 282 submachine guns | 500 mm | 213 mm | Among the longest tenth |
| Magazine capacityAmong 287 submachine guns | 40 | 32 | Holds more rounds than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the 39M Danuvia
How much does the 39M Danuvia weigh?
The 39M Danuvia weighs 3.70 kg (8.16 lb) empty and 4.15 kg (9.15 lb) loaded.
What caliber is the 39M Danuvia?
The 39M Danuvia is chambered in 9x25mm Mauser.
How many rounds does the 39M Danuvia hold?
The 39M Danuvia holds 40 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the 39M Danuvia?
The 39M Danuvia is 1048 mm (41.3 in) long overall, with a 500 mm (19.7 in) barrel.
Who makes the 39M Danuvia?
The 39M Danuvia is made by Danuvia Fegyvergyar (Hungary). It was designed by Pal Kiraly.
When was the 39M Danuvia introduced?
The 39M Danuvia was introduced in 1939 and discontinued in 1945.
How does the 39M Danuvia operate?
The 39M Danuvia uses a lever delayed blowback action, and its firing mechanism is open 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
- Royal Hungarian Army
- 1939
Provenance
Confidence in this record
70%
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/danuvia-39m' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "danuvia-39m", "name": "39M Danuvia", "manufacturer": { "id": "danuvia", "name": "Danuvia Fegyvergyar", "countryCode": "HU", "foundedYear": 1920, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "44fe39dbdfed39f82692e9358746a5b82cdeff87656cf3e978357235cbfa38ca" }, "category": { "id": "submachine-gun", "name": "Submachine Gun", "description": "Automatic firearms chambered in pistol calibers" }, "country_of_origin": "HU", "year_introduced": 1939, "barrel_length_mm": 500, "weight_empty_g": 3700, "action_type": "lever_delayed_blowback"}