Ī soldier of the Russian Liberation Army with an MP 38 in 1943 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. 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. 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. The bolt features a telescoping return spring guide which serves as a pneumatic recoil buffer. The only mode of fire is automatic, but the relatively low rate of fire permits single shots with controlled trigger pulls.
The MP 40 submachine guns are open-bolt, blowback-operated automatic arms. 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. Schmeisser had designed the MP 18, which was the first mass-produced submachine gun. The MP 40 was often called the "Schmeisser" by the Allies, after the weapon designer Hugo Schmeisser. 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 of stamped steel rather than machined parts. Vollmer then worked on Berthold Geipel's MP 36 and in 1938 submitted a prototype to answer a request from the Heereswaffenamt (Army Weapons Office) for a new submachine gun, which was adopted as MP 38. It took design elements from Heinrich Vollmer's VPM 1930 and EMP. The MP 36 was developed independently by Erma Werke's Berthold Geipel with funding from the German Army. The Maschinenpistole 40 ("Machine pistol 40") descended from its predecessor the MP 38, which was in turn based on the MP 36, a prototype made of machined steel. MP-40 on display for the Springfield Armory National Historic Site Archives From 1940 to 1945, an estimated 1.1 million were produced by Erma Werke. The weapon's other variants included the MP 40/I and the MP 41. It was often called "Schmeisser" by the Allies, after Hugo Schmeisser, who designed the MP 18, although he was not involved in the design or production of the MP40. Its advanced and modern features made it a favorite among soldiers and popular in countries from various parts of the world after the war.
It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War II.ĭesigned in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with inspiration from its predecessor the MP 38, it was heavily used by infantrymen (particularly platoon and squad leaders), and by paratroopers, on the Eastern and Western Fronts as well as armoured fighting vehicle crews. The MP 40 ( Maschinenpistole 40) is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. 833 mm (32.8 in) stock extended/630 mm (24.8 in) stock folded ģ2-round detachable box magazine, 64-round with dual magazines