MP40

The MP40 (Maschinenpistole 40) was a very popular submachine gun among the troops of Nazi Germany during the Second World War. Designed by Heinrich Vollmer, with the aim to provide soldiers with an assault weapon, mainly mechanized infantry units and paratroopers, was manufactured until the end of the conflict. This submachine gun excelled in close-range combat but was less effective in the open field due to its short range. This was one of the reasons that motivated the design of the Stg-44, the predecessor of modern assault rifles.

History

After the arrival of Hitler and the Nazi party to power in 1933, one of their main policies was to develop a rearmament program, in this context, research began on a new generation of weapons. Research was carried out on the types of submachine guns existing in the world, including the American Thompson. The Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Armaments Office) saw the need for a submachine gun, suitable for use by armored vehicle crews and paratroopers. The German arms manufacturing firm Erfurter Maschinenfabrik G.m.b.h, better known under its trade name Erma, began the development of a new weapon under the HWA specifications. It should be noted that this new submachine gun was not designed from scratch; It was just an evolution of a little-known prototype weapon, provisionally designated as Erma MP-36., a compact version of the well-known Erma EMP 35 submachine gun, The Treaty of Versailles had banned submachine guns, but several thousand MP 18/I were hidden and preserved.

On July 17, 1936, the Spanish Civil War began and Hitler, who sympathized with the national side, sent the Condor Legion to their aid. His experience in this war was vitally important, as he gave them the opportunity to test and study a large number of weapons in real combat, including submachine guns. Also the pioneers of mechanized warfare (Guderian, Manstein and Rommel) requested the development of a submachine gun to equip Panzer Grenadier units (Panzergrenadier). Responding to these requirements, Heinrich Vollmer began to develop a weapon of this type in which the established concepts would be reflected. In 1938, Erma director Berthold Geipel was summoned to Berlin and asked to accelerate the development of the weapon, which would be intended for mechanized infantry and paratroopers. A few months later, the MP38 submachine gun would be approved by the German high command. This model, compared to other submachine guns of the time, was much easier to manufacture and cheaper due to the materials and methods used.

The war would begin on September 1, 1939 with the invasion of Poland. The experience with these weapons led to some changes, which were first presented in an intermediate version (MP38/40) and then incorporated into the initial version of the MP40. The MP40 was a redesign of the MP38, with the aim of facilitating its mass manufacturing and reducing the cost: the parts manufactured on a lathe and milling machine were reduced and replaced with parts made of stamped steel. The safety of this was also increased, since the MP38 lacked a safety system. The name derives from the initials of Maschinen pistole (machine gun) and the year 1940, the date of its introduction.

The MP40 was often called Schmeisser by the Allies, after weapons designer Hugo Schmeisser. Although the name is evocative, Hugo Schmeisser did not design the MP40, but he collaborated on the MP41, which is essentially an MP40 with a wooden stock.

By the end of the war approximately 1,047,000 MP40s had been built, thousands of which were captured by the Red Army. This weapon remained in service among Norwegian army tank crews until the 1980s. It was also involved in the Indochina conflict in the 1950s and in Algeria.

Design

In the MP40 initially produced, the magazine rim had smooth sides, while in the main contingent version it had grooves for strength and better grip. The MP40/I (sometimes mistakenly called MP40/II) was an experimental version with a 64-round magazine, designed in response to the Soviet PPSh-41 submachine gun. Introduced in late 1943, it was discontinued due to increased weight. There is some variation in modern sources regarding the names of the different versions.

Already at that time, the use of a similar number of parts made of stamped sheet metal was common in other weapons, for example, in the Sten, but the folding metal stock and the use of plastic instead of wood were an innovation on the grip and handguard. This weapon was very reliable and very cheap to manufacture. It had relatively weak recoil even when fired in bursts, due to its low rate of fire. This allowed the MP40 to be more accurate than other submachine guns of the time, such as the Thompson.

However, the magazine spring caused the ammunition to come out of it quite quickly, thus causing jams when it was filled with the 32 cartridges it allowed; For this reason, they usually only introduced 30 cartridges at most. In the MP40/I, a double magazine with a capacity of 64 rounds was tested; The magazines were side by side and when the first one ran out of ammunition, they slid horizontally to use the next one.

The MP40 had a total length of 833 mm, and with the stock folded it was shortened to 630 mm. The strange lug near the end of the barrel was designed to allow soldiers to secure the MP40 into the embrasures of TBPs (armored personnel carriers), such as the Sdkfz 251.

Variants

In the 1930s the precursor to the MP40, informally known as the EMP36, was developed. It was not for military use but rather a manufacturing prototype.

• MP40: version of the main production.
• MP40/I: experimental version with 64 cartridge charger.
• MP41: In essence, an MP40 with guards and wooden pole, for police units.

The MP40 was the inspiration for British designers to produce the Sten. In fact, to take advantage of German ammunition seizures, the Sten's magazine was a mere copy of the MP40, although this caused locking problems in service.

Specifications

• Manufacturer: Erfurter Werkzeug und Maschinenfabrik (Erma), Haenel and Steyr
• In production: 1940–1945
• Ammunition: 9 x 19
• Calibre: 9 mm
• Cannon length: 251 mm
• Striated: 6 stretches, dextrogy
• Charger capacity: 32 bullets
• Fire range: 500-550 shots per minute
• Initial speed: 381 m/s
• Pointing mechanisms: fixed and covered point of view and adjustable height to 100 and 200 m
• Weight:

4.03 kg (downloaded)

4.70 kg (loaded)

• Length:

Deployed cover: 833 mm

Folded canvas: 630 mm

• Effective range: 200 m