MP18
| MP18 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| general information | |
| Military designation: | MP 18/1 |
| Country of operation: | German Empire |
| Manufacturer country: | German Empire |
| Production time: | 1918 to 1920 |
| Weapon Category: | Submachine gun |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 815 mm |
| Weight: (unloaded) | 4.2 kg |
| Barrel length : | 196 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 9 mm parabellum |
| Possible magazine fillings : | 32, later 20 cartridges |
| Ammunition supply : | Drum magazine, later bars |
| Cadence : | 400 to 450 rounds / min |
| Number of trains : | 6th |
| Twist : | right |
| Closure : | Mass closure |
| Charging principle: | Recoil loader |
| Lists on the subject | |
The Bergmann MP18 was the first submachine gun to be mass-produced. It was developed by Theodor Bergmann and Hugo Schmeisser in the German Reich during the First World War and delivered to the German front troops (mainly storm battalions ) in 1918 . By the end of the war, Theodor Bergmann Waffenbau produced around 35,000 copies of this weapon.
The MP18 was specially developed for trench warfare , as a light machine gun like the MG 08/15 was too heavy and a rifle did not have the necessary cadence . Unlike the light machine guns used by most of the Allied forces towards the end of the war ( Browning Automatic Rifle , Lewis Gun , Chauchat ), the MP18, like the Italian Beretta M1918, could be used by one man and fired while moving in targeted bursts of fire.
It was superior in every respect to the "Long Pistol 08 ", which was often used on the German side for trench warfare . A weak point of the MP18 were the drum magazines of the pistol 08, which were initially used; they were very unwieldy and could only be loaded with special tools.
The MP18, also known as the “Grabenfeger”, was one of the reasons why the German Reich was forbidden to manufacture automatic weapons in the Versailles Treaty .
The MP28 was a further development .
Theodor Bergmann, Suhl
German soldier with MP18 (1918)
MP18 after 1920
literature
- Hans Dieter Götz: German Military Rifles and Machine Pistols, 1871–1945 , Schiffer Publishing, Ltd. West Chester, Pennsylvania, 1990. OCLC 24416255
- G. de Vries, BJ Martens: The MP 38, 40, 40/1 and 41 Submachine gun, Propaganda Photos Series, Volume 2 , Special Interest Publicaties BV, Arnhem, The Netherlands.First Edition 2001
- WHB Smith: Small arms of the world: the basic manual of military small arms , Harrisburg, Pa .: Stackpole Books, 1955. OCLC 3773343
- Günter Wollert, Reiner Lidschun, Wilfried Copenhagen : Illustrated encyclopedia of rifle weapons from all over the world: Rifle weapons today (1945–1985) , Berlin: Military publishing house of the German Democratic Republic, 1988. OCLC 19630248
- Edward Clinton Ezell : Small arms of the world , Eleventh Edition, Arms & Armor Press, London, 1977
- Alejandro de Quesada: MP 38 and MP 40 Submachine Guns , Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014, ISBN 978-1-78096-390-7 . (82 pages online PDF)
Web links
- Page with detailed data and facts about the submachine gun 18 on the website of www.wehrmacht-lexikon.de