BFW M.26

The BFW M.26 was a German submachine gun developed and produced during the interwar period and early World War II. "BFW" stands for Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (Bavarian Aircraft Works), the company that would later become BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke). The M.26 was designed by Heinrich Vollmer, who later developed the more famous MP 38 and MP 40 submachine guns.

The BFW M.26 operated on a blowback principle and fired from an open bolt. It was chambered in 7.63x25mm Mauser, a common pistol cartridge in Europe at the time. The weapon typically featured a wooden stock and a perforated barrel jacket for cooling. It was primarily intended for police and security forces rather than military use, and production numbers were relatively limited.

The M.26 is considered a precursor to the more advanced German submachine guns of World War II, demonstrating some of the design concepts that would later be refined in the MP 38 and MP 40. While not as widely adopted or well-known as its successors, the BFW M.26 represents an important step in the development of submachine gun technology in Germany. The gun was relatively expensive to produce, which contributed to its limited production run and adoption.