The Dux was a West German submachine gun produced by J.G. Anschütz GmbH and Oviedo Arsenal.
History[]
The Dux 51 submachine gun was designed by a Mauser engineer, Ludwig Vorgrimmler, in the early 1950s. The weapon was financed by Willi Daugs, the former manager of the Tikkakoski Arsenal in Finland, which had produced a copy of the Russian PPS-43 known as the KP M/44; Daugs provided M/44s to Vorgrimmler to use as the basis for the Dux design. Vorgrimmler and Daugs then went to Spain to promote the weapon, and managed to get it produced by the Oviedo Arsenal in 1951.
A trial Dux 53 with wooden furniture.
In 1953 Oviedo produced the Dux 53, which was little more than a detail improvement over the last model. 100 units were sold to the West German border guard in 1954, and shortly afterward the Bundeswehr expressed an interest in the design. Three German manufacturers were contracted to produce versions of the Dux 53: Mauser, Sauer, and Anschütz. The Anschütz model was considered the best after testing at Meppen and they were selected to produce the weapon for the military. It was further developed during the 1950s and the final model was known as the Dux 59. The Bundeswehr began arrangements to adopt the Dux but production fell through after a dispute between Daugs and Anschütz, ultimately resulting in the company losing the rights to produce the weapon.
Design[]
The Dux 51 and 53 were basic blowback-operated submachine guns based on the Finnish KP m/44, which itself was little more than a 9×19mm copy of the PPS-43. It was constructed primarily from stamped sheet steel, with right-side cocking and a folding wireframe stock. The perforated barrel jacket featured a large integral muzzle brake. Much like the m/44, it could feed from 36-round Carl Gustav magazines or 50-round Suomi drum magazines.
The Dux 59 was a slightly sleeker design that incorporated its own original elements. The body and barrel housing were changed from a rectangular design to a tubular one, and the rudimentary muzzle brake was removed. The sights were improved and a safety switch was added. The cocking slot was switched to the left side. The Dux 59 did not use Carl Gustav or Suomi magazines, but instead fitted its own curved 32-round magazines.
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