View source for Kucher Model K1

{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Kucher Light Machine Pistol Model K1
| image              = 
| image_size         = 300
| alt                = 
| caption            = 
| type               = [[Submachine gun]]
| origin             = [[People's Republic of Hungary]]  <!-- [[WP:INFOBOXFLAG]] -->
<!-- Type selection -->
| is_ranged          = yes 
<!-- Service history -->
| service            = 1953
| used_by            = Hungary
| wars               = 
<!-- Production history -->
| designer           = József Kucher
| design_date        = 1951
| manufacturer       = 
| unit_cost          = 
| production_date    = 
| number             = ~800
| variants           = 
<!-- General specifications -->
| spec_label         = 
| mass               = {{cvt|3.1|kg|lb}} empty, {{cvt|3.7|kg|lb}} fully loaded
| length             = {{cvt|844|mm|in}}, {{cvt|532|mm|in}} stock folded
| part_length        = {{cvt|280|mm|in}}
| width              = 
| height             = 
| diameter           =  
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications --> 
| cartridge          = [[7.62×25mm Tokarev]]
| cartridge_weight   = 
| caliber            = 
| barrels            = 
| action             = [[Blowback (firearms)|Blowback]]
| rate               = 700 rounds/min
| velocity           = {{cvt|480|m/s|ft/s}}
| range              = {{cvt|100|-|200|m|yd}}<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.hungariae.com/KuchK1.htm |title=7.62mm Kucher Light Machine Pistol Model K1, 1951 |website=Hungarian Weapons & History}}</ref>
| max_range          = 
| feed               = detachable box magazine 35 round
| sights             = Front: windage and elevation adjustable post<br />Back: Two-position notch
<!-- For all -->
| ref                = 
}}

The '''Kucher K1''', also known as the '''Danuvia M53 K1''', was a [[Hungary|Hungarian]] magazine-fed [[submachine gun]] designed by [[József Kucher]] in 1951, based on the Danuvia 44.M prototype submachine gun.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://medium.com/war-is-boring/this-rare-cold-war-hungarian-submachine-gun-reappeared-in-2016-b96de9150913 | title=This Rare, Cold War Hungarian Submachine Gun Reappeared in 2016 | date=6 February 2017 }}</ref> It was produced by the titular [[Danuvia]] company.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/30029996 | title=Hungarian K1 submachine-gun }}</ref> The submachine gun was known in Hungarian service as the ''Gepisztoly 53 Minta'' or as the "Spigon submachine gun".<ref name="SmallArmsToday88hung"/>

After passing tests in military trials at [[Táborfalva]] on 11 November 1951, it was adopted by the [[Minister of Defence (Hungary)|Hungarian Ministry of Defense]], and often referred to as the 'Pénzügyőr Géppisztoly' (Financier/Treasury Machine Gun). Some sources claim it was adopted in 1953 and received the designation 53.M. The K1 was produced in limited numbers (exact count unknown) before being replaced by a Hungarian copy of the [[PPSh-41]] for army use, and was mostly issued to border guards and treasury officers, remaining in service until the 1960s.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hungariae.com/KuchK1.htm | title=Hungarian Weapons Kiraly Kucher K1 Danuvia Submachine Guns Machine Pistols }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.historicalfirearms.info/post/156102193494/kucher-k1-submachine-gun-during-the-late-1930s | title=Historical Firearms - Kucher K1 Submachine Gun During the late 1930s }}</ref>

The K1 used an open-bolt, blowback action, fed by a 35-round, curved, double-stack magazine. It weighed around 6.8 lbs and was 33.2 inches long with the stock extended. Due to being milled rather than using stamped metal it required more time to manufacture and cost more than many of its contemporaries.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://medium.com/war-is-boring/this-rare-cold-war-hungarian-submachine-gun-reappeared-in-2016-b96de9150913 | title=This Rare, Cold War Hungarian Submachine Gun Reappeared in 2016 | date=6 February 2017 }}</ref>

==Users==
* {{flag|Hungarian People's Republic}}<ref name="SmallArmsToday88hung">{{cite book| last = Ezell| first = Edward| author-link = Edward C. Ezell| title = Small Arms Today| publisher = Stackpole Books| volume = 2nd| edition = | date = 1988
| pages = 199| language = English | isbn = 0811722805| jfm =}}</ref>

===Non-state users===
* {{flag|PLO}}<ref name="SmallArmsToday88hung"/>

==See also==
* [[PPSh-41]]
* [[Type 85 submachine gun]] - identical Chinese weapon

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{cite web |url=http://world.guns.ru/smg/hu/53m-e.html |title=53M |website=Modern Firearms|date=27 October 2010 }}

{{Weapons of Hungary}}

[[Category:7.62×25mm Tokarev submachine guns]]
[[Category:Infantry weapons of the Cold War]]
[[Category:Simple blowback firearms]]
[[Category:Submachine guns of Hungary]]
[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1953]]


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