I Have This Old Gun: Madsen M1950 Submachine Gun

by
posted on July 7, 2021

After World War II, a variety of new firearms designs hit the market with some interesting and unusual features. While most think of the Uzi or Swedish K, a lesser known example came from Denmark, the Madsen M1950. The M1950 was based off an earlier design, the M1946, which was a very simplistic open-bolt submachine gun design. The M1946 design was tweaked, mostly with the simplification of the charging handle, resulting in the later M1950. The submachine guns were designed and made at Dansk Industri Syndikat, also known as Madsen after its founder.

The Madsen M1946 submachine gun.

During the war, new production methods like stamped parts were pioneered and perfected, and many post-war designs like the Madsen M1950 utilized these practices in its construction. The receiver of the M1950 is made out of stamped sheet metal, similar to the M3 "Grease Gun." However, unlike other machine guns of similar construction, the Madsen M1950 did not have its two receiver halves welded together.

A design schematic of the Madsen M1950 submachine gun.

Rather, the two receiver halves could open like a clam shell to allow access to and the removal of all the internal components, including the barrel. Two hinges at the rear of the receiver allowed the halves to open, and a knurled bushing at the front kept the two halves and barrel together when assembled. This layout was, and still is, very unusual for a submachine gun, and is probably the most noteworthy thing about the M1950 overall.

A photo of a completely disassembled Madsen M1950, with the receiver halves opened.

Other design features of the Madsen M1950 include a folding stock with leather cover, and the inclusion of a grip safety over the magazine release on the back of the magazine well. Due to the nature of the international arms market after World War II, with troves of surplus arms from the war in stockpiles across the world, new designs struggled to find customers. The Madsen M1950 shared such a fate, and wasn't used in any large scale conflicts in any notable numbers.

Shooting the Madsen M1950 on the range.

Popularity for the design did grow in the United States NFA market, where the imported submachine guns went for less than other desirable transferable submachine guns on the market, like the Thompson or M3. The Madsen M1950 was also used by Hollywood studios as a stand-in for foreign submachine guns used by villains. Today, the Madsen M1950 can still be found, and is easy to handle and feed due to the 9 mm chambering.

To watch complete segments of past episodes of American Rifleman TV, go to americanrifleman.org/artv. For all-new episodes of ARTV, tune in Wednesday nights to Outdoor Channel 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. EST.

Latest

New OSCF Research Identifies Millions Of Aspiring Target Shooters
New OSCF Research Identifies Millions Of Aspiring Target Shooters

Report Finds 73 Million People Eager To Try Shooting

Research released on March 31 by the Outdoor Stewards of Conservation Foundation (OSCF) found there are 73 million people outside the traditional white male demographic who—despite having never tried target shooting before—have a strong interest in doing so.

Handloads: 100 Years Of The .270 Win.

The .270 Winchester isn’t a military cartridge, and nobody ever claimed it was a target cartridge; it is a straightforward hunting cartridge. During the past 50 years, I’ve hunted quite a bit carrying a .270 Win. rifle, and, to tell the truth, no cartridges have come along that significantly better it for hunting.

The Rifleman Report: Maintaining Continuity

It’s rather incredible to realize how rapidly the American firearm industry brings to market significant new products. So, in this issue, we recap coverage of some of the most noteworthy from past months, and we present a few others that have only recently become available.

2025 Pioneer Award: Robert L. “Bob” Scott

For each of the past 23 years, the editors of American Rifleman have convened to select our top picks for the past year’s best and most innovative products. Here are the most recent winners.

The Armed Citizen® May 26, 2025

Read today's "The Armed Citizen" entry for real stories of law-abiding citizens, past and present, who used their firearms to save lives.

Top 10 Gunmakers—Anderson Manufacturing Returns To The List

Here are the top 10 gun manufacturers, by volume in descending order, based on the recently released 2023 Annual Firearms Manufacturing and Exportation report from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

Interests



Get the best of American Rifleman delivered to your inbox.