Submachine gun 40
| Submachine gun 40 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| general information | |
| Civil name: | MP 40; MPi 40 |
| Military designation: | Submachine gun 40 |
| Country of operation: | German Empire |
| Developer / Manufacturer: |
ERMA works C. G. Haenel Steyr works |
| Manufacturer country: | German Empire |
| Production time: | 1940 to 1944 |
| Weapon Category: | Submachine gun |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | MP 38: 856 mm, shoulder rest included: 630 mm MP 40: 832 mm, shoulder rest included: 629 mm |
| Weight: (unloaded) | MP 38: 4.2 kg, MP 40: 3.97 kg |
| Barrel length : | MP 38: 250, MP 40: 251 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 9 mm parabellum |
| Possible magazine fillings : | 32 in rod magazine, 64 in double magazine (very rare) cartridges |
| Ammunition supply : | Bar magazine |
| Cadence : | 500 rounds / min |
| Fire types: | Continuous fire |
| Number of trains : | 6th |
| Twist : | right |
| Closure : | Mass closure |
| Charging principle: | Recoil loader |
| Lists on the subject | |
The MP 40 , a further development of the MP 38 from 1938, had been in production since the beginning of 1940 and was the standard submachine gun of the German Wehrmacht in World War II . Because of Hugo Schmeisser's participation in the production company and the imprint of his name on the magazines, the MP40 became known as the "Schmeisser", especially among English-speaking opponents.
The MP 38 and MP 40 were developed by Heinrich Vollmer in the Erfurt machine works Geipel (ERMA). Both types were structurally based on the MP 36 developed and built by Schmeisser . They were manufactured by ERMA, CG Haenel in Suhl and in the Steyr works in Austria, which were the last to cease production in October 1944 and which also produced the largest number of MP 40s. The total production of all manufacturers was 1,047,100 pieces.
Development history and construction
The development story begins with the MP 36, of which only two specimen copies are known to date. These are marked with "ERMA ERFURT" and "EMP 36". Well-known technical differences to the MP 38 are the possibility of switching the MP 36 between single shot and continuous fire at the push of a button, and the MP 36 magazines that do not fit on the MP 38; In addition, the folding support has neither springs nor locking and is held in position by frictional forces, and the shoulder support is ribbed instead of smooth.
The development order for the MP 38 was issued by the Army Weapons Office in January 1938 . The order was completed in August of the same year and production of the MP 38 could begin. The MP 38 was developed specifically for the Wehrmacht after the advantages of submachine guns had clearly shown themselves in the Spanish Civil War .
The design of the MP 38 was designed for cost-effective mass production right from the start. Designer Vollmer did without a bulky and heavy wooden butt and instead equipped the MP 38 as the first weapon with a retractable metal buttstock.
However, production in the predominantly machining process required a high level of material and labor. This led to the revision of the actually successful construction. The use of sheet metal stamping technology and spot welding accelerated and simplified the production process enormously. However, the changeover without prior careful testing initially affected the functional reliability. Another problem for the troops to keep spare parts was that because of the different manufacturing methods, numerous parts were not interchangeable.
The design of the MP 38/40 was unconventional and innovative compared to the submachine guns constructed up to that point. The foldable shoulder rest made the weapon very handy. Instead of wood, bakelite was used for the shaft and the handle scales , which was cheap and quick to produce. In terms of design, the heavy spring-mass lock to reduce the rate of fire was advantageous for good handling. Since the weapon only had continuous fire , the low rate of fire was an important prerequisite for the fact that even inexperienced shooters could fire targeted single shots after only a short practice. Other special design features of the MP 38/40 were the "nose" and the plastic-made rail under the barrel. Originally the weapon was designed for tank crews. The nose could be hooked onto the support edges (e.g. loopholes), which prevented the firing weapon from recoiling into the vehicle due to the recoil, the rail protecting the barrel from damage.
A weak point in the weapon was the 32-round magazine. The cartridges were stored in two rows and fed to the breech in one row. In the transition from two rows to one row, the cartridges jammed more often than average due to dirt and incorrect handling (by grabbing the gun by the magazine) when firing, so that the load jammed. MP 38 and MP 40 (for right-handers) are gripped with the left hand on the bakelite fore-end for a targeted shot in the shoulder stop and on the magazine holder when shooting from the hip. In the course of the war there were various attempts to turn off the inhibitions. From 1941 onwards, beads were embossed into the magazine body , which was initially smooth , which on the one hand promoted the rigidity of the magazine and on the other hand reduced the contact surface of the cartridges inside the magazine. So dirt should have less influence on the feed. A special magazine cleaning brush has also been introduced. Furthermore, according to the instructions, the magazine was only ammunitioned with 28 rounds.
The relatively long bar magazine also meant that the submachine gun could only be used to a limited extent when lying down, as it was prevented from being placed on the floor.
At the beginning, a security gap was the non-lockable breech, which could be thrown back from its foremost position by a blow on the weapon and, when it was advanced again by the closing spring, could feed and ignite a cartridge. This shortcoming was remedied by a locking device that was introduced as standard from 1941. Old MP 38 and 40 were mostly converted to this device.
The experience gained during the Russian campaign with the enemy PPSch-41 and its 71-round drum magazine led to the development of the MP 40 / I , which had a double magazine holder. After the first magazine had been fired, the second could be pushed in front of the breech with a pushing movement. This made a total of 64 rounds available. However, because of the complicated construction, this model was not mass-produced. Nor did it bring any increase in combat value, as a safety lever first had to be opened, the magazine moved and the safety lever closed again.
Hugo Schmeisser also designed the MP 41 during the war , which was technically largely identical to the MP 40. Instead of the foldable shoulder rest, however, it had a wooden shaft. In addition, the nose was omitted below the barrel. It was set up for single and continuous fire.
equipment
There were six magazines with each weapon. For this purpose, magazine pouches to be carried on the left and right were made, each holding three magazines. For the magazine filler (a loading aid), a small side pocket was also attached to the left pocket.
The weapon was delivered with a leather shoulder strap. This differed from the strap of the 98 k carbine . Instead of the “frog”, a double-headed metal button was attached, which connected the strap to two openings and thus enclosed the strap eyelet.
To protect the muzzle, there was initially a metal muzzle protector that was draped over the muzzle and a latch on the front sight guard (on the MP 38 and early MP 40). It had a flap that had to be opened for cleaning and before firing. This construction did not catch on; Such schooners are therefore rare today. For this reason, the retaining lug on the front sight guard of the MP 40 was later omitted and a simpler rubber guard was used for the muzzle. This could simply be shot through in an emergency.
A charger was also included in the accessories for fully charging the magazine, which was placed on the magazine and thus allowed fast and complete charging. A maneuver cartridge device was also available as an accessory; this enabled blank cartridges to be fired.
Application area
The MP 38 was originally developed for the crews of armored vehicles. Due to its maneuverability, however, it was soon used in all branches of service; even submarine crews carried MP 38/40 with them. With this weapon, which was compact for the time, a small unit could develop a relatively large firepower. The effective shooting range was a maximum of 200 meters.
distribution
The MP 38/40 is considered the epitome of German infantry armament. Therefore, contrary to historical facts, German soldiers are disproportionately often equipped with this weapon in some Hollywood films . MP 38/40 were usually issued to platoon and group leaders, while the majority of the German soldiers fought with the 98k carbine . At the beginning of the attack on Poland in autumn 1939, the Wehrmacht had only issued 8,773 MP 38s. Up to the introduction of the MP 40, there were around 40,000 of the Model 38. By the end of the war, more than a million MP 40s had been produced.
It is known of Allied troops that they occasionally preferred the MP 38/40 to their weapons and carried them as booty weapons , as far as this was tolerated by their superiors. This is due to the manageability of the MP 38/40.
Replicas
The MP 38 or MP 40 also served as a design template for various other submachine guns and self-loaders. Including:
- the Yugoslav Zastava M56 (from 1956)
- the German self-loading rifle BD 38 (from 2005)
Details of the MP 40 have also been adopted for other submachine guns, which otherwise differ significantly from a technical point of view:
- For the construction of the American M3 "Grease Gun" (from 1942) captured MP 40 and surrendered Sten Gun submachine guns were examined for further usable construction details. The Allies sometimes chose their submachine gun armament based on the use of captured German ammunition (which is why, for example, the French Resistance preferred to use the British Sten Gun) or American submachine guns for delivery to European resistance groups were specially manufactured in 9 mm Para caliber (e.g. UD-42 ).
- The retractable shoulder rest became the model for many subsequent submachine guns. During the Second World War, the Soviet PPS-43 (from 1943) was developed, the folding shoulder rest of which is based on the shoulder rest of the MP 40. The AK-47 in version S also uses this construction element.
- Due to its almost identical design, the MP 40 magazine could also be used for the Belgian Vigneron submachine gun developed in 1952 .
post war period
After the Second World War, the MP 40 was used in Palestine , where large quantities of German captured weapons were stored as arsenal by the later Israeli army . Until 1956 the MP 40 was the official submachine gun of the Israeli paratroopers . In Austria, the MP 40 was in use alongside the PPSch-41 at least until the mid-1980s in the Austrian Armed Forces with certain troops.
In the Balkans , too , a surprising number of these antiquated weapons were used during the Yugoslavia conflict in the 1990s. The use of these weapons is based on captured weapons that Tito's partisans in the Kosovo region had taken from the 21st Waffen Mountain Division of the SS “Skanderbeg” (Albanian No. 1) and donated to the state of Albania when modern weapons systems were introduced .
swell
literature
- Chris McNab : Small Arms of the 20th and 21st Centuries. ISBN 978-3-7043-1440-6 .
- Reiner Lidschun, Günter Wollert: Illustrated encyclopedia of infantry weapons. ISBN 978-3-87748-668-9 .
- Jürgen Schönebeck: The German submachine guns MP 38 and MP 40 from 1938 to 1944. Part 1, published in Deutsches Waffen-Journal (DWJ) October 1992 edition.
- Jürgen Schönebeck: The German submachine guns MP 38 and MP 40 from 1938 to 1944. Part 2, published in Deutsches Waffen-Journal (DWJ) November 1992 edition.
- Heinz Denckler: The submachine gun MP 40, description and handling. Self-published
- OKW : Regulation D. (Luft) 5602 - Training with the submachine gun 38 and 40 (MP. 38 and 40). 1940.
- OKW: Merkblatt 40/4 - Maschinenpistole 38 and 40. 1944.
- The German Submachine Guns (downloadable ebook) by Lyndon Haywood (H&L Publishing - HLebooks.com - 2001)
- Alejandro de Quesada: MP 38 and MP 40 Submachine Guns , Bloomsbury Publishing, 2014, ISBN 978-1-78096-390-7 . (82 pages online PDF) ( Memento from May 15, 2018 in the Internet Archive )
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ The MP36 The Missing Link. Archived from the original on October 27, 2011 ; accessed on May 13, 2015 .