| Maschinenpistole 40 | |
|---|---|
 AMaschinenpistole 40 made by Erma Werke in 1943 with the stock unfolded. | |
| Type | Submachine gun |
| Place of origin | Nazi Germany |
| Service history | |
| In service |
|
| Used by | SeeUsers |
| Wars |
|
| Production history | |
| Designer |
|
| Designed | 1938 |
| Manufacturer | |
| Unit cost |
|
| Produced | 1940–1945 (MP 40) |
| No. built | 1,100,000 (estimated) |
| Variants |
|
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 3.97 kg (8.75 lb)[4][5] |
| Length | 833 mm (32.8 in) stock extended/630 mm (24.8 in) stock folded[6] |
| Barrel length | 251 mm (9.9 in)[6] |
| Cartridge | 9×19mm Parabellum[6] |
| Action | Straight blowback,open bolt[5] |
| Rate of fire | 500–550 rounds/min[6] |
| Muzzle velocity | 400 m/s (1,312 ft/s)[6] |
| Effective firing range | 100–200 m (330–660 ft)[5] |
| Maximum firing range | 250 m (820 ft)[5] |
| Feed system | 32-round detachable boxmagazine, 64-round with dual magazines[5] |
| Sights | Hooded front blade |
TheMP 40 (Maschinenpistole 40) is asubmachine gun chambered for the9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. Developed inNazi Germany, it saw extensive service in the Axis forces duringWorld War II.
Designed in 1938 byHeinrich Vollmer with inspiration from its predecessor theMP 38 [de], it was heavily used byinfantrymen (particularly byplatoon- andsquad-leaders), and byparatroopers, on theEastern andWestern Fronts as well as by the crews ofarmoured fighting vehicles.[7][8] Its advanced and modern features made it a favorite among soldiers and popular in countries from various parts of the world after the war.
The Allies often referred to the MP 40 as the "Schmeisser", after the firearms-designerHugo Schmeisser (1884-1953). In 1917 Schmeisser had designed theMP 18, which was the first mass-produced submachine gun. He did not, however, have anything to do with the design or development of the MP 40, although he held a patent on the magazine.[9]
The MP 40's variants included the MP 40/I and the MP 41.Erma Werke produced an estimated 1.1 million MP 40s between 1940 and 1945.[citation needed]
TheMaschinenpistole 40 ("Machine pistol 40") descended from its predecessor theMP 38, which was in turn based on theMP 36, a prototype made ofmachinedsteel.[10] The MP 36 was developed independently byErma Werke's Berthold Geipel with funding from theGerman Army. It took design elements fromHeinrich Vollmer's VPM 1930 andEMP. Vollmer then worked on Berthold Geipel's MP 36 and in 1938 submitted a prototype to answer a request from theHeereswaffenamt (Army Weapons Office) for a new submachine gun, which was adopted as MP 38. The MP 38 was a simplification of the MP 36, and the MP 40 was a further simplification of the MP 38, with certain cost-saving alterations, most notably in the more extensive use ofstamped steel rather than machined parts.[10]
The MP 40 submachine guns areopen-bolt,blowback-operatedautomatic arms. The only mode of fire is automatic, but the relatively low rate of fire permits single shots with controlled trigger pulls.[11] The bolt features a telescoping return spring guide which serves as a pneumatic recoil buffer.[11] The cocking handle was permanently attached to the bolt on early MP 38s, but on late-production MP 38s and MP 40s, the bolt handle was made as a separate part.[12] It also serves as a safety by pushing the head of the handle into one of two separate notches above the main opening; this action locks the bolt in either the cocked (rear) or uncocked (forward) position.[12] The absence of this feature on early MP 38s resulted in field expedients such as leather harnesses with a small loop that were used to hold the bolt in the forward position.[13]
The MP 38 receiver was made of machined steel, but this was a time-consuming and expensive process.[14] To save time and materials, and thus increase production, construction of the MP 40 receiver was simplified by usingstamped steel and electro-spot welding as much as possible.[14] The MP 38 also features longitudinal grooving on the receiver and bolt, as well as a circular opening on the magazine housing. These features were eliminated on the MP 40.[14]
One feature found on most MP 38 and MP 40 submachine guns is an aluminum, steel, or Margolit (a variation ofBakelite) resting bar under the barrel. This was used to steady the weapon when firing over the side of open-toparmored personnel carriers such as theSd.Kfz. 251half-track. A handguard, also made of Margolit, is located between the magazine housing and the Margolit pistol grip.[15] The barrel lacked any form of insulation, which often resulted in burns on the supporting hand if it was incorrectly positioned.[15] The MP 40 also has a forward-folding metal stock, the first for a submachine gun, resulting in a shorter overall weapon when folded.[16] However, this stock design was at times insufficiently durable for hard combat use.[16]
Although the MP 40 was generally reliable, a major weakness was its 32-round magazine.[17] Unlike the double-column, staggered-feed magazine found on theThompson M1921/1928 variants, the MP 40 uses a double-column, single-feed version.[17] The single-feed insert resulted in increased friction against the remaining cartridges moving upwards towards the feed lips, occasionally resulting in feed failures; this problem was exacerbated by the presence of dirt or other debris.[17] Another problem was that the magazine was also sometimes misused as a handhold.[18] This could cause the weapon tomalfunction when hand pressure on the magazine body caused the magazine lips to move out of the line of feed, since the magazine well did not keep the magazine firmly locked.[18] German soldiers were trained to grasp either the handguard on the underside of the weapon or the magazine housing with the supporting hand to avoid feed malfunctions.[18]
At the outbreak of World War II, the majority of German soldiers carried eitherKarabiner 98k rifles or MP 40s, both of which were regarded as the standard weapons of choice for an infantryman.[19]
However, later confrontations with Soviet troops such as theBattle of Stalingrad, where entire enemy units were armed withPPSh-41 submachine guns, the Germans found themselves out-gunned in short range urban combat which caused a shift in their tactics, and by the end of the war the MP 40 and its derivatives were sometimes issued to entire assault platoons.[20] Starting in 1943, the German military moved to replace both the Karabiner 98k rifle and MP 40 with the new, revolutionaryStG 44.[20][19] By the end of World War II in 1945, an estimated 1.1 million MP 40s had been produced of all variants.[21]
During and after the end of World War II, many MP 40s were captured or surrendered (upwards of 200,000) to theAllies and were then redistributed to the paramilitary and irregular forces of some developing countries.[22] The Norwegian army withdrew the MP 38 from use in 1975 but used the MP 40 for some years more. In particular, the Territorials (Heimevernet) used it until about 1990, when it was replaced by theHeckler & Koch MP5.[13]
The MP 40/I (sometimes erroneously calledMP 40/II) was a modified version of the standard MP 40 with a dual side-by-side magazine holder (for a theoretical ammunition total of 64 rounds), designed for special operations troops on theEastern Front to compensate for the Soviet PPSh-41's larger magazine capacity. However, the design proved unsuccessful due to weight and reliability issues. Authentic versions, in addition to the dual mag magazine well, also have a smaller buttpad and shortened ejector.[23]
In 1941, Hugo Schmeisser designed the MP 41, which was, in reality, an MP 40 upper receiver with a lower receiver of anMP 28/II submachine gun. It saw limited service, however, and was issued only toSS and police units in 1944. The MP 41 was also supplied to Germany'sAxis ally Romania.[24]
Later in 1941, rival company Erma Werke suedHaenel, at which Schmeisser was Chief Designer, for patent infringement. Production subsequently ceased on the MP 41.[25][26]
The MP 38 and MP 40 also directly influenced the design of later weapons, including the SpanishStar Z45, the YugoslavianZastava M56, and the semi-automatic GermanSelbstladebüchse BD 38 replica.
Details of the MP 40 have also been adopted in other submachine guns, which otherwise differ significantly from a technical point of view:
During World War II, theresistance and the Allies sometimes captured MP 40s to replace or supplement their own weapons.[27][28][29] The MP 40 was used for several decades following World War II by many countries around the world in armed conflicts. Some found their way into guerrilla groups such as theViet Cong or African guerrillas.
Its operators have included:
Donetsk People's Republic[2][better source needed]
Syria: Used against Israel[30] and used duringSyrian Civil War.[31]
Ukraine[1][better source needed]
Algeria: TheNational Liberation Army used MP 40s supplied by Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia.[32]
Austria[33]
Bosnia[34]
Bulgaria[35][33]
Croatia[36]
Czechoslovakia[33]
Finland:[37] Around 160 were delivered together with German vehicles during theContinuation War; after the war they were used by prison administration before being retired in the 1970s.
France:[33] French resistance used captured guns during World War II. MP 40s were also carried by French Army inFrench Indochina[38] andFrench Algeria[39] especially by paratroopers.
Greece[33][40]
Guatemala: MP 38/40 supplied in 1954 from Czechoslovakia,[41] still in service with the police at the end of theGuatemalan Civil War.[42]
Hungary[43]
Indonesia[44]
Israel: Used during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and byUnit 101 before replaced by theUzi.[45]
Iran: Used in small numbers by the 55th Airborne Brigade and Iranian Imperial Guards.[46]
Italian Partisans: Used examples captured from German soldiers.[47]
Kosovo Liberation Army[48]
Nazi Germany:[49] Used by theWehrmacht, military police,Gestapo,Waffen-SS,Volkssturm, andHitler Youth at the end of war.
Netherlands: Post war, used by thePapuan Volunteer Corps duringWest New Guinea dispute.[50]
Norway[51]
Poland:[52] Captured MP 40s were used by Polish rebels during World War II.
Romania[53]
Soviet Union: Captured MP 40s were used bySoviet partisans and Worker-Peasant Red Army. After the war, the MP 40 with other weapons, were sold to others countries in theEastern Bloc.[27][28][54]
South Vietnam: Used by theSouth Vietnamese Popular Force.[55]
Spain: Copied as theStar Model Z-45.[34]
United States: Captured MP 40s used by United States during World War II and bySpecial Forces and theirCivilian Irregular Defense Group program at the beginning of theVietnam War.[56]
Vietnam: Captured from theFrench Far East Expeditionary Corps and used by theViet Minh, theViet Cong and thePeople's Army of Vietnam.[55]
Yugoslavia[33]
Zimbabwe: Used byZIPRA andZANLA.[57]During theAllied occupation of Germany starting in 1945, U.S. servicemen shipped home thousands of captured firearms aswar trophies,[58] including MP 40s. This practice required proper registration of automatic weapons in accordance with theNational Firearms Act before they could be imported, but this was curtailed later in the occupation, meaning a relatively small number of civilian-transferable original German MP 40s remain in circulation and are valued at around $20,000-37,500 as of 2021, with some selling for almost $50,000.[59]
After the commercial importation of complete machine guns was banned by theGun Control Act of 1968, MP 40parts kits (the disassembled parts of the gun excluding the receiver tube) were imported and reassembled onto receivers manufactured in the United States by Charles Erb, Wilson Arms, and others.[60] These remanufactured legally transferable machine guns, colloquially called "tube guns", are (depending on quality of construction and condition) generally valued at 50-75% of the price of original German MP 40s, as they do not have their historical background.[61] As such, they are commonly used for recreational range shooting and WW2historical reenactments, because the associated wear and tear (within reasonable limits) will not significantly diminish their value, as it would on original collectible examples. Manufacture of new tube guns ceased following the passage of theFirearm Owners Protection Act in 1986.
There are severalsemi-automatic variants and cosmetic replicas of the MP 40 available for civilian ownership in the U.S. Beginning in 2014, American Tactical Imports began importing an MP 40 replica manufactured byGerman Sporting Guns GmbH chambered in.22LR,[62] and since 2016 has also imported a pistol variant chambered in9mm.[63]
