MP40

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Maschinenpistole 40 (MP40)

MP40
Type submachine gun
Place of origin Flag of Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Service history
In service 1939 – 1945
Used by Nazi Germany, Israel
Wars Second World War
Production history
Designer Heinrich Vollmer
Designed 1938
Manufacturer Erma Werke
Produced 1940-1945
Number built Over 1 million
Variants MP36, MP38, MP40, MP40/1, MP41
Specifications
Weight 3.97 kg (8.7 lb)
Length Stock folded: 630 mm (24.7 in)
Stock extended: 833 mm (32.8 in)
Barrel length 251 mm (9.9 in)
Cartridge 9mm Parabellum/Luger
Action Open bolt blowback
Rate of fire 500 round/min
Muzzle velocity ~380 m/s (~1247 ft/s)
Feed system 32 round detachable box magazine
Sights Hooded blade front, fixed and flip-up U-notch rear
MP41.
MP41.

The MP40 (Maschinenpistole 40, literally "machine pistol 40") was a submachine gun developed in Germany and used extensively by paratroopers and platoon and squad leaders, and other troops during World War II. The MP40 had a relatively low rate of fire and low recoil, which made it more manageable than other contemporary submachine guns. The MP40, and its predecessor the MP38, were sometimes referred to by the Allies as "burp guns".

Contents

[edit] History

The MP40 is descended from the MP36, a select-fire prototype made of machined steel, of which only two examples remain. The MP36 prototype was developed independently by Erma prior to the 1938 request from the German government for a new submachinegun which led to the MP38. The MP38 was a simplification of the MP36, as the MP40 was later a simplification of the MP38, the differences being in cost-saving alterations, especially the use of more pressed rather than machined parts and an improved safety.

The changes resulted from experiences with the several thousand MP38s (in service since 1939) used during the invasion of Poland. The changes were incorporated into an intermediate version (MP38/40), and then used in the initial MP40 production version. Just over 1 million would be made of all versions in the course of the war. The designer of the MP38/40 was Heinrich Vollmer.

The MP40 was often called the Schmeisser by the Allies, after weapons designer Hugo Schmeisser. Although the name was evocative, Hugo Schmeisser himself did not design the MP40, but helped with the design of the MP41 which was effectively a MP40 with an old-fashioned wooden rifle stock. The earlier MP18 submachine gun had been designed by Schmeisser and did carry that name.

[edit] Design

Both MP38 and MP40 submachine guns are open bolt blowback operated automatic arms. Full-automatic fire was the only setting, but the relatively low rate of fire allowed for single shots with controlled trigger pulls. The bolt features a telescoped return spring guide which serves as a pneumatic recoil buffer. The cocking handle was permanently attached to the bolt on early MP38s but on late production MP38s and MP40s bolt handle was made as a separate part. It also served as a safety by pushing the head of handle into a separate notches above the main opening which locked the bolt either in the cocked or forward position. The absence of this feature on early MP38s resulted in field expedients such as leather harnesses with a small loop, used to hold the bolt in forward position.[1]

The receiver was originally machined steel but this was a time consuming and expensive process. This prompted the development of a simpler version which used pressed steel and electro-spot welding as much as possible. The MP38 also features longitudinal grooving on the receiver and bolt, as well as a circular opening was on the magazine housing. These features are deleted on the M38/40 and MP40.

One idiosyncratic and visible feature on most MP38 and MP40 submachine guns was an aluminum or plastic rail under the barrel which was handy as a support when firing over the side of open top armored personnel carriers such as the Sdkfz 251 half-track. A handguard was located between magazine housing and pistol grip and was made from plastic. The barrel lacked any form of insulation such as a barrel jacket seen on the MAB38 or Sten, which often resulted in burns for the supporting hand if it strayed. It also had a folding stock, the first for a submachinegun[2], resulting in a more handy weapon when folded, but it was insufficiently durable for hard use and hand-to-hand combat.

Though the MP40 was generally reliable, a major weak point of the MP38 and MP40 was its 32-round magazine, a weakness inherited by the British Sten which copied the same design. Unlike the Thompson's double-column, dual-feed magazine, the MP38 and MP40 used a 'single-feed' design. With the single-feed design, a double column of cartridges narrowed to a single-cartridge width at the feed end of the magazine.[3][4] This meant that the 9 mm cartridges had to overcome increased friction in order to reach the chamber, as well as requiring a loading device to fill the magazine to capacity.

The design was also sensitive to dirt and debris. German soldiers soon learned to give the magazine a sharp slap to restore operation.[5] The magazine was also frequently misused as a handhold, which could also cause a failure to feed when hand pressure on the magazine body caused the feed lips to move out of position. German soldiers were trained to grasp either the intended handhold on the underside of the weapon or the magazine housing with the supporting hand (not the magazine itself) to avoid feeding malfunctions.[6][7]

Unlike the impression given by popular culture, MP40s were generally issued only to paratroopers and platoon and squad leaders; the majority of soldiers carried Karabiner 98k rifles. However, experience with Soviet Union tactics where entire units armed with submachine guns out-gunned their German counterparts in short range urban combat caused a shift in tactics and by the end of the war it was being issued to entire assault platoons on a limited basis.

[edit] Copies and post-war usage

The MP38 or MP40 was a pattern for diverse submachine guns such as:

  • As the design of the M3 Grease Gun started, the designers looked at Sten guns and captured MP40s.
  • The former Yugoslav military used some quantities of the MP40 in the various conflicts in Bosnia.

After the war the MP40 was still the standard submachine gun of the Israeli army and was often used in the Palestinian area. It remained the official submachine gun of the Israeli paratroopers until 1956. Some MP40s were in use by the Kosovo Liberation Army in the Kosovo War in 1999 [1].

Two MP40's were used by the LAPD SWAT team during the famous May 1974 shootout with members of the terrorist Symbionese Liberation Army. [2]

[edit] Variants and developments

The MP38 9 mm submachinegun stock extended
The MP38 9 mm submachinegun stock extended
  • MP40/I - main production version
  • MP40/II - experiment with a 64 round magazine. The MP40/II appeared in the latter stages of World War II. This version of the MP40 has a two-magazine sliding magazine receiver that slides horizontally to use the additional magazines as each becomes depleted. This design was intended to counter the superior firepower of the Russian PPSh-41, but made the weapon heavy and unbalanced in the field, and did not work well.[9]. However, by 1943 the Soviets shifted the production of PPSh-41 drums to 35 round magazines to combat weapon jams.[citation needed]
  • MP41: A variant designed by Louis Schmiesser for the Haenel Company, which featured the receiver, operating mechanism, and magazine housing of the MP40 and the stock, trigger and fire selector of the MP28.
  • Many countries involved in World War II developed submachine guns which had a similar features to the MP40 (with a folding shoulder stock, magazine as a front handgrip, and production techniques). The most famous examples are the Russian PPS-43 and the American M3 Grease Gun. Most derivative designs also copied the troublesome magazine design as well.
  • BD38 - a new semi-automatic reproduction of the MP38 submachinegun

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Popenker, Max. Modern Firearms - MP-38 and MP-40 submachine guns. Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
  2. ^ Hogg, Ian; John Weeks (1977). Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. Arms & Armour Press, page 90. ISBN 0-7869-1850-8. 
  3. ^ Weeks, John, WWII Small Arms, Galahad Press, 1980
  4. ^ Nelson, Thomas B., The World's Submachine Guns, TBN Enterprises, 1977
  5. ^ Weeks, John, WWII Small Arms, Galahad Press, 1980
  6. ^ Weeks, John, WWII Small Arms, Galahad Press, 1980
  7. ^ Nelson, Thomas B., The World's Submachine Guns, TBN Enterprises, 1977
  8. ^ "Hærn Etter Andre Verdenskrig 1945 - 1990" ISBN 82-90545-18-5
  9. ^ Nelson, Thomas B., The World's Submachine Guns, TBN Enterprises, 1977

[edit] Bibliography

  • The German Submachine Guns (downloadable) by Lyndon Haywood (H&L Publishing - HLebooks.com - 2001)

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
 v • d • e German-made firearms and light weapons of World War II
Side arms (Pistole)
Mauser C96 | Luger | Walther P38 | Walther PPK | Sauer 38H | Mauser HSc
Rifles & carbines (Gewehr & Karabiner)
Karabiner 98k | Gewehr 41 | Gewehr 43/Karabiner 43 | StG44/MP44 | FG42 | StG45(M) | Volkssturmgewehr 1-5
Submachine guns ( Maschinenpistole )
Bergmann MP18 | MP34 | MP38/MP40 "Schmeisser" | MP3008 "Volks MP"
Machine guns & other larger weapons
MG08 | MG34 | MG42 | Faustpatrone | Panzerfaust | Panzerschreck

Flammenwerfer 35 | Panzerbüchse 39 | Solothurn S-18/1000 | Granatwerfer 36 | Granatwerfer 42
Grenades
Model 24 Stielhandgranate | Model 43 Stielhandgranate | Model 39 Eihandgranate | Splittering | Panzerwurfmine
Notable foreign-made infantry weapons
P.640(b) | Vis.35 | Vz.24/G24(t) | MG26(t) | Panzerbüchse 35(p)
German-made cartridges used by the Wehrmacht
7.92 x 57 mm | 7.63 x 25 mm Mauser | 7.92 mm Kurz | 7.65 mm Luger | 9 mm Luger
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