Orita MP

Hello guys,
I'm new to your forum and want to say hello

I'm collecting deactivated MPs of WW2 and I own two Oritas. One is model 1941 and the other is model 1948. Unfortunately it's hard to find information about these guns and during my research I found your forum. Very interesting

Someone told me that gun was named after "Capitan Marin Orita". Does anyone of you have more information about the man? I wasn't able to find him in the internet. Is it true that the gun was named after him?

I have attached a picture of my two Oritas.




With best wishes from Germany
Michael

This post has been edited by GGG on October 06, 2007 08:06 am

On the model 1948 there is a marking AA in triangle and a number 61 in circle on the underside in front of the trigger guard.

What does the AA and the number mean? Any ideas?
Does it stand for the factory at Cugir?



Thanks
Michael

And a next question

I have found this picture in the internet. Does anyone know what kind of gun the woman shoots? It looks like a Orita with shortened wooden side-panels. But I'm not sure.



Thanks
Michael

Welcome to the forum and very nice MP's.

Your Mp's are post war they have post war stocks and receivers, no fire selector and safety (except the one on the stock).
The one with the darker stock is the Md 1948 with the coking knob at an angle, some of the Orita MP made after 1948 had a folding stock and pistol grip very similar to the ones on the MP40.

I'm no expert in the Orita MP but this is a good link, with a lot of info: http://www.worldwar2.ro/arme/static/orita.htm

The Orita with the light colored stock has no bolt?

The AA stamp might mean "Arsenalul Armatei" (loosely translated: Army Arsenal).

The Orita's have been imported in Germany recently? As they are post war manufacture.
Can you by them from a shop, as I would be interested in one, I don't know of any Orita in privet collections in Romania.

The picture setup is nice but the ammo pouch is not really authentic (I think it's British?) a German ammo pouch would look a lot better.

It's probably an air gun but not an Orita.

Hello,
many thanks for your reply.

I have thought that one Orita is WW2 and the other one postwar? Are you sure that BOTH are postwar?
The MP with the bright stock is marked "1941" and the one with the dark stock is !1948". I will have a look again and post the full text of the markings later.

I found both guns for sale in Germany some years ago. The one MP in the back is missing the bolt. And the magazine pouch came with one of the guns (but it's a British pouch I think).

I have never seen any other Oritas for sale or even a magazine.
Thanks for the link to the article, but I have already found it some time ago. I have tried to get in contact with the author, but no reply yet.

I have also tried to contact the manufacturers at Cugir, the army and the army school, but noone wrote back to me .

Have you ever seen a picture of an Orita with folding stock?

Please see attached a picture of an ammo-box. I found the photo in the internet sometime ago.



With best wishes
Michael

Hello again,
here are the markings:

1. gun:
UZINELE CMC CUGIR
P.U.A. "ORITA" Md.1941 Cal.9mm. SERIA 001993

2. gun:
AUTOMATUL UMC 49" SERIA 04719

What do these markings mean? What's "P.U.A."?



Thanks again
Michael

It is the "Pionier" air gun cal.4,5mm made by Cugir factory.
Regarding the MP, many early models without the trigger guard safety, were later improved with this safety device. That means you can find 1941 stamped on a later model.
There are Orita MPs in private collections in Romania (fortunatelly)!

Hello Cristian,
thanks for the information.

So did I understand it right, that the grip safety was not used before the end of the war? That's interesting to know. Do you have contact to other owners of Oritas?
I just wonder how long the gun was in use after the war. Too bad that there are not more informations can be found in the internet.

Best wishes
Michael

BTW: Does anyone knows a good contact to the Cugir factory? I have tried the email-addresse, but no reply. Also a letter brought no success.

Hallo GGG,

my wifes family live in Cugir, I am in Deva about 52km away, my brother-in-law worked in the factory, since 2000, it has been reduced in size and many of the workers let go.

He did tell me about 10 years ago they cut up and destroyed hundreds of Maxim Machine guns WW1 vintage and WW2 vintage, that were stored there or sent there from military units for deactivation and many other types of weapons, the factory did not even to hold a few examples as museum pieces.

Some of the older engineer still live in the town so if you PM your questions I will try to see can any answers be got.

Kevin in Deva.

What idiots they were to destroy weapons with historical value!!!

The first Orita’s had the a rifle type rear sight, but few were made with it and it was replaced with a 2 position sight.

The safety was in front of the trigger guard.

The fire selector was placed on the right side of the receiver at about the center.

The stock was one piece with no strengthening at the neck.

Because the MP had a bad habit to fire if the rifle was dropped the safety was replaced with a sfety placed on the right side of the receiver under the rear sight.

This new safety was not good enough and towards the end of the war another safety was placed under the grip; but the grip/neck of the stock was not yet reinforced.

After the war the stock was strengthened with a piece of metal at the neck if it broke. And the new MP's had the stock made from three pieces (like yours) and the safety from under the rear sight was dropt.

In 1948 apparently they changed the designation from Orita Md1941 to Md 1948. In the same year the old MP's had the fire selector and the safety, from under the rear sight, removed.
The folding stock versions of the MP were made in the same year for paratroopers.

Oh, that's interesting! I didn't know it before.
It's helpful to know that the designation didn't change until 1948.

So this gun on the photo seems to be a late-war Orita with the first grip-safety:


Thanks again!
You Romanians should write more books about your guns

Michael

@GGG I have sent you an PM with pictures.