Kucher Model K1

The Kucher K1, also called the Danuvia M53 K1, was a Hungarian magazine-fed submachine gun designed by Jozsef Kucher in 1951 and based on the earlier Danuvia 44.M prototype. Danuvia produced it. After military trials at Taborfalva in November 1951 the Hungarian Ministry of Defense adopted it, and some sources give 1953 and the designation 53.M. It used an open-bolt blowback action and a curved 35-round double-stack magazine. Because the receiver was milled rather than stamped it cost more and took longer to make than many contemporaries, so it was built only in limited numbers. It was issued mostly to border guards and treasury officers, was replaced for army use by a Hungarian copy of the PPSh-41, and stayed in service until the 1960s.