Notes: After Germany’s defeat in World War 2, some of Mauser Firearms’ technicians moved to Spain. One of the things they took with them was the plans for a rifle they had designed for the Nazis, the StG-45, a weapon that never got past the prototype stage in Germany. They went to work for CETME, developed the weapon further, until they had the CETME.

The CETME’s operation is by delayed blowback, along with the roller-locking mechanism which Heckler & Koch later made famous. The original CETME prototypes, appearing in 1952, were chambered for a special intermediate 7.92mm round designed specifically by CETME for its new rifle. Production began tentatively in 1954, with the CETME chambered for the 7.92mm intermediate cartridge; however, in 1955, a very few examples were also built in another experimental CETME cartridge which was essentially a short-cased version of the US-designed .30 T65 cartridge (which later became the 7.62mm NATO cartridge). However, like many such rounds designed by NATO members at the time, these two experimental rounds were effectively stamped out by US political pressure. This led to the CETME-A, chambered for a version of the 7.62mm NATO round packed with less propellant, late in 1955.

The CETME-A was very similar to the prototypes, except for its chambering. It was designed to be easy and inexpensive to manufacture, with a great deal of the parts comprised of steel stampings. The stock used a straight-line profile and was built of wood; the pistol grip was also wooden. The barrel jacket was a ventilated steel stamping; just forward of the barrel jacket was mounted a folding bipod, which doubled as a rather uncomfortable handguard (the bipod legs were thick and did not fold flush). The CETME-A had a folding carrying handle atop the receiver. The 17.7-inch barrel was tipped with a multi-port muzzle brake, which could be unscrewed and replaced with a rifle grenade launching attachment. The CETME-A fired from a closed bolt in semiautomatic and from an open bolt when set on automatic. In 1958, the CETME-A was further modified and simplified into the CETME-B (also called the CETME-58); the CETME-B had a new sheet-metal handguard, a flush-folding bipod, a new flash suppressor which doubled as a rifle grenade launcher, and fired from a closed bolt in both semiautomatic and automatic fire.

The CETME-C entered service in 1965; this version primarily resulted from CETME and Spain’s decision to switch to the standard 7.62mm NATO round instead of the reduced-charge round they had been using. It became the most common version of the CETME battle rifle. The primary change was that the receiver, chamber, and other operating parts were strengthened to take the greater power of the full-charge 7.62mm NATO round. The sheet metal handguards were replaced with wood, the sights redesigned to match the new chambering, and the flash suppressor was modified to allow the CETME-C to use standard NATO-pattern rifle grenades. The CETME-C, in addition to Spanish use, was exported to many countries for service use and for trials.

The CETME-D gave the CETME-C a few minor improvements, but it mostly served as a development pattern for the CETME-E. The CETME-E was to be a modernized CETME-C and was to have entered service and the export market in 1982, but Spain decided to wait a couple of years for the new CETME-L, chambered for the 5.56mm NATO cartridge. The CETME-E had a greatly-improved extractor and ejector, improved sights, and a synthetic stock, pistol grip, and handguard. Some were also built with 3-round burst capabilities in addition to the standard selector settings. Production of the CETME-E was extremely limited.

There were also a couple of special variants of the CETME. The CETME-C Sniper was a version of the CETME-C with a match-grade barrel, special iron sights calibrated for longer ranges, a mount for a telescopic sight (with the scope included in the cost below), and no automatic fire capability. It was meant to be the standard Spanish sniper rifle, but Spanish military and police snipers both preferred imported sniper rifles, and later the Santa Barbara-built C-75. This meant that only a few CETME-C Sniper rifles were ever built.

The CETME-R was designed to be a firing port version for use from armored vehicles equipped with ball/swivel-type firing ports. The barrel was greatly-shortened to 12 inches and the flash suppressor enlarged, and the handguard/barrel jacket assembly was replaced with a cylindrical collar. The stock is deleted, replaced with a short end cap (making it pretty much impossible to shoulder). Since the charging handle would be impossible to use in a firing port mount in its normal position, it has been moved back almost to the front of the receiver, and the standard CETME charging handle has been replaced with a modified version of the MG-42’s charging handle. The CETME-R has no sights of any kind (the magazines are filled with tracers for aiming purposes), nor does it have a semiautomatic fire setting. (The cyclic rate of only 550 rpm does allow a trained shooter to squeeze off short bursts and single shots if necessary.) The pistol grip is slightly shortened, and made of plastic.

A civilian model, the CETME Sport, was also designed based on the CETME-C, which differed only in being unable to fire on automatic and having a rubber recoil pad on the butt. It also was not equipped with a bipod or a bayonet lug, but was drilled and tapped for a scope mount. For whatever reason, it never sold well, and it is relatively rare today.

Twilight 2000 Notes: In the Twilight 2000 timeline, a most CETME-Cs (and even a few CETME-Bs) have been pulled back out of storage. In addition, a lot of CETME-Rs have been taken out of wrecked IFVs and put to use; some even have had jury-rigged stocks added of varying quality (most are simple fixed tubular metal stocks).

*The cost of the these versions include the additional rifle-grenade launcher muzzle device.

**If one uses the version of the CETME-E without a burst-firing setting, subtract $393 from the game price.

***Versions built during the US Assault Weapons ban and sold in the US will not have flash suppressors. Subtract $11 from the game price for the "Assault Weapons Ban" version and 0.06 kg from the weight; in addition, reduce the Bulk rating to 6.

Notes: The Destroyer, also known as the Destroyer Carbine, is a Model 93 Spanish Mauser variant produced for Spanish police forces, both local and national, as well as the Guardia Civil. They are believed to have first been built in the early-to-mid-1920s, but information is sparse about the Destroyer’s origins. These first Destroyers, however, are believed to have been produced by one of the firearms companies in Eibar called Gaztanaga. Gaztanaga went out of business in the 1930s, but the Destroyer was again made just prior to World War 2, also in Eibar, by the firm Ayra Duria S.A. This company produced the Destroyer until at least 1961, and possibly later. The Destroyer is rather common to this day on the military surplus market. The Destroyer may be identified from other short Mausers by the larger bore, long magazine below the receiver, and the action, which more like that of a bolt-action shotgun than a rifle. The triggers tend to be creepy, but light. In some cases, Star pistol magazines (from their older models) can be modified to fit a Destroyer (Difficult: Gunsmith or Formidable: Small Arms (Rifle)). The sights are way out of line for a pistol-caliber rifle, being of an adjustable ladder type and graduated from 100-700 meters, but when flipped down, there is a fixed battle sight zeroed for 50 meters.

It should be noted that while 9mm Winchester ammunition will fit into a Destroyer chambered for 9mm Largo, this is not recommended due to the higher chamber pressures generated by the 9mm Winchester round. 9mm Largo is the most common chambering for the Destroyer.