MP 40
The MP40 is descended from its predecessor, the MP38. The MP36, a prototype made of
machined steel, was developed independently by Erma's Berthold Geipel with funding from
the German army. It took design elements from Heinrich Vollmer's VPM 1930 and EMP.
Vollmer then worked on Berthold Geipel's MP36 and in 1938 submitted a prototype to
answer a request from the German Armament services for a new submachine gun, which was
adopted as MP38. The MP38 was a simplification of the MP36, as the MP40 was a further
simplification of the MP38, with certain cost-saving alterations, notably in the use of
more pressed rather than machined parts.
Other changes resulted from experiences with the several thousand MP38s in service since
1939, used during the invasion of Poland. The changes were incorporated into an
intermediate version, the MP38/40, and then used in the initial MP40 production version.
Just over 1 million would be made of all versions in the course of the war.
The MP40 was often called the 'Schmeisser' by the Allies, after weapons designer Hugo
Schmeisser. Hugo Schmeisser himself did not design the MP40 but held a patent on the
magazine. He designed the MP41, which was a MP40 with an old-fashioned wooden rifle
stock and a selector. The MP41 was not introduced as a service weapon in Germany.
Both MP38 and MP40 submachine guns are open-bolt, blowback-operated automatic arms.
Fully automatic fire was the only setting, but the relatively low rate of fire allowed
for single shots with controlled trigger pulls. The bolt features a telescoped return
spring guide which serves as a pneumatic recoil buffer. The cocking handle was
permanently attached to the bolt on early MP38s, but on late production MP38s and MP40s,
the bolt handle was made as a separate part. It also served as a safety by pushing the
head of handle into a separate notch above the main opening, which locked the bolt
either in the cocked or forward position. The absence of this feature on early MP38s
resulted in field expedients such as leather harnesses with a small loop, used to hold
the bolt in forward position.
The receiver was originally machined steel but this was a time-consuming and expensive
process. This prompted the development of a simpler version that used stamped steel and
electro-spot welding as much as possible. The MP38 also features longitudinal grooving
on the receiver and bolt, as well as a circular opening on the magazine housing. These
features were suppressed on the M38/40 and MP40.
One idiosyncratic and visible feature on most MP38 and MP40 submachine guns was an
aluminum or plastic rail under the barrel which was used as a support when firing over
the side of open top armored personnel carriers such as the Sdkfz 251 half-track. A
handguard was located between the magazine housing and pistol grip and was made of
synthetic material derived from bakelite. The barrel lacked any form of insulation,
which often resulted in burns for the supporting hand if it strayed. It also had a
folding stock, the first for a submachine gun, resulting in a shorter weapon when
folded, but it was insufficiently durable for hard use and hand-to-hand combat.
Although the MP40 was generally reliable, a major weak point was its 32-round magazine.
Unlike the Thompson's double-column, dual-feed magazine, the MP38 and MP40 used a
single-feed design. The main cause of malfunction is that the magazine was also
frequently misused as a handhold, which could also cause a failure to feed when hand
pressure on the magazine body caused the feed lips to move out of position, since the
magazine well did not keep the magazine firmly locked like on a Sten. German soldiers
were trained to grasp either the intended handhold on the underside of the weapon or the
magazine housing with the supporting hand to avoid feed malfunctions.
Unlike the impression given by popular culture, MP40s were generally issued only to
paratroopers and platoon and squad leaders; the majority of soldiers carried Karabiner
98k rifles. However, experience with Soviet tactics where entire units armed with
submachine guns outgunned their German counterparts in short range urban combat caused a
shift in tactics, and by the end of the war it was being issued to entire assault
platoons on a limited basis.
There were never enough MP40s because raw material and labor costs made it expensive to
produce alongside the Kar98 rifles. Due to this, starting in 1943, the German army moved
to replace both the Kar-98 rifle and MP-40 with the new MP-43/44 assault rifle, also
known in its production model as the StG44.
machined steel, was developed independently by Erma's Berthold Geipel with funding from
the German army. It took design elements from Heinrich Vollmer's VPM 1930 and EMP.
Vollmer then worked on Berthold Geipel's MP36 and in 1938 submitted a prototype to
answer a request from the German Armament services for a new submachine gun, which was
adopted as MP38. The MP38 was a simplification of the MP36, as the MP40 was a further
simplification of the MP38, with certain cost-saving alterations, notably in the use of
more pressed rather than machined parts.
Other changes resulted from experiences with the several thousand MP38s in service since
1939, used during the invasion of Poland. The changes were incorporated into an
intermediate version, the MP38/40, and then used in the initial MP40 production version.
Just over 1 million would be made of all versions in the course of the war.
The MP40 was often called the 'Schmeisser' by the Allies, after weapons designer Hugo
Schmeisser. Hugo Schmeisser himself did not design the MP40 but held a patent on the
magazine. He designed the MP41, which was a MP40 with an old-fashioned wooden rifle
stock and a selector. The MP41 was not introduced as a service weapon in Germany.
Both MP38 and MP40 submachine guns are open-bolt, blowback-operated automatic arms.
Fully automatic fire was the only setting, but the relatively low rate of fire allowed
for single shots with controlled trigger pulls. The bolt features a telescoped return
spring guide which serves as a pneumatic recoil buffer. The cocking handle was
permanently attached to the bolt on early MP38s, but on late production MP38s and MP40s,
the bolt handle was made as a separate part. It also served as a safety by pushing the
head of handle into a separate notch above the main opening, which locked the bolt
either in the cocked or forward position. The absence of this feature on early MP38s
resulted in field expedients such as leather harnesses with a small loop, used to hold
the bolt in forward position.
The receiver was originally machined steel but this was a time-consuming and expensive
process. This prompted the development of a simpler version that used stamped steel and
electro-spot welding as much as possible. The MP38 also features longitudinal grooving
on the receiver and bolt, as well as a circular opening on the magazine housing. These
features were suppressed on the M38/40 and MP40.
One idiosyncratic and visible feature on most MP38 and MP40 submachine guns was an
aluminum or plastic rail under the barrel which was used as a support when firing over
the side of open top armored personnel carriers such as the Sdkfz 251 half-track. A
handguard was located between the magazine housing and pistol grip and was made of
synthetic material derived from bakelite. The barrel lacked any form of insulation,
which often resulted in burns for the supporting hand if it strayed. It also had a
folding stock, the first for a submachine gun, resulting in a shorter weapon when
folded, but it was insufficiently durable for hard use and hand-to-hand combat.
Although the MP40 was generally reliable, a major weak point was its 32-round magazine.
Unlike the Thompson's double-column, dual-feed magazine, the MP38 and MP40 used a
single-feed design. The main cause of malfunction is that the magazine was also
frequently misused as a handhold, which could also cause a failure to feed when hand
pressure on the magazine body caused the feed lips to move out of position, since the
magazine well did not keep the magazine firmly locked like on a Sten. German soldiers
were trained to grasp either the intended handhold on the underside of the weapon or the
magazine housing with the supporting hand to avoid feed malfunctions.
Unlike the impression given by popular culture, MP40s were generally issued only to
paratroopers and platoon and squad leaders; the majority of soldiers carried Karabiner
98k rifles. However, experience with Soviet tactics where entire units armed with
submachine guns outgunned their German counterparts in short range urban combat caused a
shift in tactics, and by the end of the war it was being issued to entire assault
platoons on a limited basis.
There were never enough MP40s because raw material and labor costs made it expensive to
produce alongside the Kar98 rifles. Due to this, starting in 1943, the German army moved
to replace both the Kar-98 rifle and MP-40 with the new MP-43/44 assault rifle, also
known in its production model as the StG44.