This Old Gun: SOLA Super SMG

by
posted on June 10, 2020
** When you buy products through the links on our site, we may earn a commission that supports NRA's mission to protect, preserve and defend the Second Amendment. **
If you’ve never heard of the SOLA Super submachine gun (SMG), you’re not alone. Not many of these SMGs were produced during the mid-1950s. Following the liberation of Luxembourg from its Nazi stranglehold in 1944, the country faced a time of economic rebuilding. Luxembourg wanted to create an export economy, so it turned to firearms. It was then, in 1953, that designers went to work to come up with a new submachine gun. After a failed attempt at improving the British Sten submachine gun, Société Luxembourgeoise d'Armes S.A. came up with the SOLA Super, a copy of the Belgian Vigneron SMG.

Blueprint drawing of SOLA SMG.

The SOLA Super SMG, chambered in 9 mm, is built from sheet metal stampings and plastic that produces a compact and lightweight platform. The SOLA Super features a blowback-operated design that fires from the open-bolt position and is capable of select fire, meaning the gun’s safety selector provides three options: Safe, semi- and full-automatic modes. Staggered-column, 32-round MP40 magazines feed the SOLA Super SMG, and the barrel features a built-in compensator for recoil mitigation.

SOLA Super SMG disassembled on table.

A second iteration was introduced, the SOLA Leger, and marketed to airborne troops for its increased compactness and ease of use as compared to the previous design. It featured a telescoping wire stock and was built of steel stampings and plastic. Like the SOLA Super, a shortened barrel was included, but without a compensator. The flip-up, aperture-rear sight found on the SOLA Super was replaced for a fixed unit on the SOLA Leger. The simplified SOLA Leger came in at nearly a half pound lighter than the Super model.

Left-side view of SOLA Leger SMG on white background.

To this day, the SOLA Super and SOLA Leger are the only firearms to have been produced in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The Luxembourgeois military employed the SMGs, which were in use until the 1960s, but couldn’t compete with post-war surplus of British Sten submachine guns available on the market. As for Luxembourg’s small-arms export business, the venture lead to contract with several African countries, but was short-lived.

Right-side view of SOLA Super on diamond plate background.

Watch the American Rifleman Television "I Have This Old Gun" video segment linked above to learn more about the SOLA Super SMG.

Latest

Hammerli Arms Force B1 Rifleman Review 1
Hammerli Arms Force B1 Rifleman Review 1

Rifleman Review: Hammerli Arms Force B1

The Hammerli Arms Force B1 is one of the most versatile rimfire rifles on the market, providing room for accessories, allowing for a personal stock fit and even offering caliber-interchangeability.

New For 2025: CZ Scorpion 3+ Magpul Edition

CZ-USA has enhanced its Scorpion 3+ pistol-caliber carbine yet again with a slate of factory-installed Magpul components and accessories.

Summer Suppressor Deals On Now

Whether it is a BOGO deal from SIG or free tax stamps from Guns.com and Silencer Central, there's plenty of hearing-safe savings to be had this summer.

Rifleman Report: Defending Freedom For 250 Years

"Anyone who claims not to understand the plain and simple intent of the Second Amendment—especially if that person happens to be a constitutional law professor, Supreme Court justice, congressman, senator or president—is likely hiding nefarious intent: to strip individual liberty from American citizens for the express purpose of making them susceptible to a tyrannical government."

Book Review: 2025 Traveler’s Guide To The Firearms Laws Of The Fifty States

Newly updated for 2025, the 29th edition of the Traveler’s Guide To The Firearm Laws Of The Fifty States is packed with all the need-to-know information for cross-country trekkers seeking to bring their arms along with them and remain legal in all localities.

Springfield Kuna: A PDW For The Masses

Small, yet fierce, the namesake of Springfield Armory’s latest large-format pistol is a revered forest dweller in the land of its Croatian manufacturing partner, HS Produkt. The new Kuna is poised to be just as welcome in America.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.