Personal Defense Weapon - Origins

Origins

Many soldiers would benefit from lighter, more compact arms than the line infantry arm. In the 1800s and early 1900s, shorter versions of the infantry rifle were issued as 'carbines' for cavalry troops and gun crews, then dropped as infantry rifle designs were shortened such as in the Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle. Pistols generally were considered too limited in effectiveness for the role. In the First World War, the Mauser C96 and artillery versions of the Luger pistol were issued with attachable shoulder stock holsters and could partially meet this requirement.

During the interwar period, the Argentine firm Hispano Argentina de Automotives SA (HAFDASA) introduced the S-8 machine pistol issued to armoured vehicle personnel. This weapon was basically a short variant of the C-4 submachine gun, fed from a 40/50 round casket box magazine depending on which calibre the weapon is chambered. Although the C-2 was an effective weapon, it did not see much service outside Argentina but predates designs such as the Škorpion vz. 61 and Ingram MAC-10.

The World War II era M1 carbine can be considered a forerunner of modern personal defense weapons. It filled a similar role; it was not primarily intended for front line troops, but for support personnel such as drivers, engineers and medics to defend themselves in an emergency. An attempt was the 5 barrel Neal submachine gun, capable of firing 3000rpm, but the idea was dropped as existing Pistol-caliber submachine guns could fill the role, but were historically considered automatic weapons for front-line uses.

In 1986, United States Army Infantry School based at Fort Benning issued the reference document Smalls Arms Strategy 2000, which defines the APDW (Advanced Personal Defense Weapon). The earliest weapons marketed as PDWs were the Heckler & Koch MP5K-PDW and the GG-95 PDW.

PDWs were developed during the late 1980s for non-combatant troops as compact automatic weapons that could defeat enemy body armor. Standard pistols and submachine guns chambered for pistol rounds had proven ineffective against armored soldiers and compact lightweight weapons capable of penetrating body armor were needed. In this role, they were supposed to be a more convenient alternative to the standard assault rifle, as their smaller size and lighter weight would be less of an encumbrance to a person whose primary function on the battlefield was not frontline fighting.