KIS
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Barrel
- 220 mm
- Weight, empty
- Not recorded
- Introduced
- 1943
About
What it is, and why it matters
The KIS is a 9x19mm blowback, open-bolt submachine gun clandestinely designed and built by the Polish resistance during the German occupation of Poland in World War II. Patterned after the British Sten and retaining its side-mounted left-hand magazine, it was developed in 1943 within Jan Piwnik's "Ponury" ("Grim") partisan detachment operating in the Holy Cross Mountains. The weapon differed from the Sten in having a longer barrel with a conical rear section and, in its principal form, no shoulder stock. It was described as one of the few modern firearms that could be manufactured deep in the forest without sophisticated tooling.
The gun's name is a hidden signature: KIS spells out the conspiratorial codenames Konar, Igo and Smrek, the three engineers who drew it up, so that even the weapon's designation concealed the identities of the men who forged it in the occupied forest.
The designation KIS is an acronym formed from the underground pseudonyms of its three designers: Polikarp Rybicki ("Konar"), Witold Szafranski ("Igo") and Stanislaw Skorupka ("Smrek"). A small modified series of eight examples known as the "Likwidator" was produced between April and July 1944 by Zdzislaw Dyda in a Home Army gunsmith workshop in the Opatow area.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) underground workshops
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Country
- Poland
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1943 to 1944
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 220 mm
- Overall length
- 600 mm
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Blowback
- Firing mechanism
- Open bolt
- Capacity
- 32
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- 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.
Left side magazine- Stenless stockless configuration
- Conical rear barrel section
Tube receiver construction
Fixed sights
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall lengthAmong 200 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 600 mm | 723 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 202 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 220 mm | 213 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 204 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 32 | 32 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the KIS
What caliber is the KIS?
The KIS is chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum.
How many rounds does the KIS hold?
The KIS holds 32 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the KIS?
The KIS is 600 mm (23.6 in) long overall, with a 220 mm (8.66 in) barrel.
Who makes the KIS?
The KIS is made by Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) underground workshops (Poland). It was designed by Polikarp Rybicki, Witold Szafranski and Stanislaw Skorupka.
When was the KIS introduced?
The KIS was introduced in 1943 and discontinued in 1944.
How does the KIS operate?
The KIS uses a 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
- Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) - "Ponury" partisan group
- 1943
Provenance
Confidence in this record
68%
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/kis' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "kis", "name": "KIS", "manufacturer": { "id": "polish-home-army", "name": "Polish Home Army (Armia Krajowa) underground workshops", "countryCode": "PL", "foundedYear": null, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "updatedAt": "2026-06-21 23:00:46", "version": "0cf69c0f8df7d4d78d6b19c4de8c3669fa9d63995cbffcabb4c39f4d05ca0819" }, "category": { "id": "submachine-gun", "name": "Submachine Gun", "description": "Automatic firearms chambered in pistol calibers" }, "country_of_origin": "PL", "year_introduced": 1943, "barrel_length_mm": 220, "weight_empty_g": null, "action_type": "blowback"}