Bergmann / Schmeisser MP-18/I submachine gun (Germany)

Bergmann / Schmeisser MP-18/I submachine gun (Germany)

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Bergmann / Schmeisser MP-18/I submachine gun, with 32-round snail drum magazine
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Modified Bergmann / Schmeisser MP-18/I submachine gun, with box-type 20-round magazine
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Top view on the original magazine housing and snail drum of MP-18/I

Caliber	9x19mm Luger / Parabellum
Weight	4,18 kg empty
Length (stock closed/open)	815 mm
Barrel length	200 mm
Rate of fire	450 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	32 or 20 rounds
Effective range	100-150 meters

The Maschinen Pistole Modell 1918, or M.P.18.I in short, was developed by Louis Schmeisser (father of another famous gun designer Hugo Schmeisser). The weapon was developed in 1917 on request from Imperial German Army, which required a compact, yet highly effective weapon for short-range fighting in trenches of World War One. Working at the factory of Theodor Bergmann, Schmeisser produced a simple and effective automatic weapon, which fired standard pistol cartridge, P.Patr.08, better known as 9x19 Luger. Early prototypes were tested with double-row box magazines which held 20 rounds, but Army insisted on adoption of a 32-round snail-drum magazine (TM08), originally produced for Luger's P08 "Parabellum" pistol. This awkward magazine was probably the main drawback of entire system, as it was awkward to carry, load and manipulate, and quite unreliable in combat. Nevertheless, at least 30 000 of M.P.18.I submachine guns were built before Armistice in 1918, and at least 10 000 of those reached German troops at the fronts. Soon after the end of WW1, Schmeisser converted his weapon back to more convenient and reliable box magazines, and this weapon saw limited use by police of Weimar republic.
It must be noted that M.P.18.I is considered as the world's first practical submachine gun, and it set the pattern for most weapons of its class.
M.P.18.I submachine gun is blowback operated, full automatic only weapon that fired from open bolt. Tubular receiver was attached to the front of the wooden stock, and could be pivoted barrel down for maintenance and disassembly. Magazine is inserted from the left side; early guns had magazine housing sloped back to accommodate TM08 drums; post-war models had straight magazine housings for box magazines. Post-war weapons also accommodated a manual safety, located on the left side of receiver, behind magazine housing. Standard sights consisted of blade front and flip-up rear sight, marked for 100 and 200 meters.

Schmeisser MP-28/II submachine gun (Germany)

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Schmeisser MP-28/II submachine gun, with box magazine shown separately

Caliber	9x19mm Luger / Parabellum (see text for more chambering options)
Weight	4 kg empty
Length	820 mm
Barrel length	200 mm
Rate of fire	550-600 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	20 or 32 rounds
Effective range	100-150 meters

The Schmeisser MP-28/II (another variant of markings is M.P.28.II) submachine gun is a post-WW1 evolution of the first practical submachine gun, developed by same designer, the MP-18/I. MP-28/II was produced in limited numbers in Germany by C.G.Haenel company in Suhl, for police use; it was also produced under license in significant numbers in Belgium, by Pieper, and sold to some South African and South American countries, and also to China, Japan and Spain. MP-28/II was basically the same weapon as MP-18/I, with minor improvements such as added fire mode selector and tangent sight. Another difference was availability of different calibers in export models, including 7,63x25 Mauser, 7,65x22 Luger, 9x19 Luger, 9x23 Bergmann / Largo, 9x25 Mauser export and even an .45 ACP (11,43x25). Belgian Army adopted M.P.28.II in 1934 as Mitrailette Modele 1934, in 9x19. The M.P.28.II saw significant use during Spanish Civil War of 1936-39.
M.P.28.II submachine gun is blowback operated, selective-fire weapon that fired from open bolt. Tubular receiver was attached to the front of the wooden stock, and could be pivoted barrel down for maintenance and disassembly. Magazines are inserted from the left side, ejection is to the right. Manual safety is made in the form of locking cut, made in the receiver, which engages the bolt handle to lock bolt in open (cocked) position. Fire mode selector was made in the form of cross-bolt button, located above the trigger. Standard sights consisted of blade front and tangent rear sight, marked from 100 and up to very optimistic 1000 meters.

Bergmann MP-35 submachine gun (Germany)

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Cover image of the original instruction manual for Bergmann MP-32 submachine gun
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Bergmann MP-35 submachine gun, right side view
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Bergmann MP-35 submachine gun, left side view

Caliber	9x19mm Luger / Parabellum
Weight	4,24 kg empty
Length	840 mm
Barrel length	200 mm
Rate of fire	540 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	20, 24 or 32 rounds
Effective range	150-200 meters

The Bergmann-Maschinen-Pistole or B.M.P. in short was a brainchild of the Emil Bergmann, who was the son of the Theodor Bergman, the owner of the gun factory under his own name. First Bergmann M.P. appeared in 1932. At the first glance, the BMP-32 looked much like the Schmeisser MP-28 with inverted position of magazine. On closer examination, however, there were to many differences in design. BMP-32 was more or less a prototype weapon, but Bergmann managed to sell a manufacturing license to Danish company Shulz & Larsen, which produced MP-32 for Danish army, chambered for 9x23 Bergmann ammunition. Over following years, design of the BMP-32 was revised in several ways, and in 1934 Bergmann developed an improved weapon, MP-34 submachine gun. Since manufacturing capabilities of the Bergmann company were limited, the production of Bergman MP-34 was contracted to another German company, Carl Walther, which produced about 2 000 of MP-34 for export and domestic sales. BMP-34 was available in several versions, with standard (200mm) or long (320mm) barrels. In mid-1935 Bergmann introduced a simplified and less expensive version of the basic weapon, which was designated as Bergmann MP.35/I. Initial production orders for MP-35 also were placed at Walther, which made about 5000 submachine guns between 1936 and 1940. These guns were ordered by Ethiopia and Sweden, which adopted Bergmann MP as m/39. With the outbreak of World war 2 Walther company concentrated on production of more important weapons, and Bergmann contracted another German company, Junker & Ruh, which produced equipment for German SS forces. During the war, about 40 000 Bergmann submachine guns were produced by Junker, and almost all were supplied to Waffen SS.
Bergmann submachine gun was blowback operated, selective-fired weapon which fired from open bolt. Unusual feature of Bergmann was the cocking handle, which was placed at the rear of the receiver, and was operated the same way as on Mauser bolt-action rifle - that is, shooter had to rotate the bolt handle to the left, pull it all the way back, then push it home and rotate back to horizontal position. When gun was fired, cocking handle remained stationary. On BMP-32 the safety was also made in same position as on the Mauser rifle, that is, at the rear of the bolt. On MP-34 and MP-35 the safety was relocated to the left side of the receiver. The choice of fire mode was made by the pull of the trigger - the short pull resulted in single shots, the long pull resulted in full automatic fire. Feed was from right side of the gun, with ejection to the left. early guns used proprietary magazines, the BMP-35 used Schmeisser MP-28-compatible magazines. Barrel was enclosed into tubular jacket with cooling slots and muzzle brake / compensator at the front.

Erma EMP 35 submachine gun (Germany)

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Erma EMP-35 submachine gun, left side view. Note flip-up rear sight and additional manual safety on the receiver.
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Erma EMP-35 submachine gun (variant with tangent sight), right side view; magazine removed

Caliber	9x19mm Luger / Parabellum
Weight	4,1 kg empty
Length	892 or 950 mm
Barrel length	250 or 308 mm
Rate of fire	450-500 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity	32 rounds
Effective range	150-200 meters

Heinrich Vollmer, an arms designer from Germany, designed his first submachine gun in 1925. His first weapon looked much like the Bergmann / Schmeisser MP-18/I, but with certain differences such as vertical foregrip and a small, drum-type magazine which was attached below the receiver and held 25 rounds of 9mm pistol ammunition. He gradually improved his weapon up until 1928 or 1929, when he made first commercial sales of the new submachine gun, which was offered in a variety of calibers, including 7,65x22 Luger, 7,63x25 Mauser, 9x19 Luger and 9x25 Mauser Export.
In 1930, Vollmer introduced an improved design, with side-feed using box magazines and patented telescoped return spring guide, later used in famous MP- 38 and MP-40 submachine guns. Since the Vollmer himself has not enough financial capabilities to produce this gun on commercial basis, in 1931 he sold the manufacturing rights to German Erfurter Maschinenfabrik company, usually known under its trade mark Erma.
Erma produced Vollmer design in a variety of models under one common name EMP (Erma Maschinen Pistole - Erma machine pistol). These weapons differed in length of the barrel, type of sights, safety arrangements and availability of accessories, but general layout and features were the same. EMP submachine guns were sold to France, Spain and several South American countries. Germans mostly issued Erma EMP submachine guns to police and Waffen SS troops.
Erma EMP submachine gun is blowback operated, selective-fired weapon which fires from open bolt. It uses characteristic bolt system with telescoped tubular guide for return spring. The standard safety consisted of a hook-shaped notch in the receiver, which was used to engage and lock the bolt in cocked position. Additionally, on some EMP weapons, a manual safety was installed on the left side of receiver, behind the magazine housing. The fire mode selector was located on the right side of the stock, above the trigger guard. The feed was from the left side, using double-row box magazines. The magazine housing was slightly canted forward to improve feeding. Ejection was to the right. The stock with semi-pistol grip was made from wood; standard versions had additional front grip under the stock, but Erma also produced version of EMP without this foregrip. Sights also varied - Erma produced EMP submachine guns with two-position flip-up or with tangent rear sights.
EMP also had one more unusual design feature - a disassembly catch that was located at the rear of the trigger guard. There was nothing wrong with it - until shooter hit it with his fingers during combat, which resulted in instant self-disassembly of the weapon - a very unwelcome event for any fighting soldier.

Erma MP-38 and MP-40 submachine gun (Germany)

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MP-38 submachine gun
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MP-40 submachine gun, with shoulder stock folded
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MP-40 submachine gun, with shoulder stock opened
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MP-40-II submachine gun, with sliding dual magazine housing (see insert)
Caliber: 9x19mm Luger/Para
Weight: 4,7 kg loaded, 4,03 kg empty
Length (stock closed/open): 630/833 mm
Barrel length: mm
Rate of fire: 500 rounds per minute
Magazine capacity: 32 rounds
Effective range: ca. 100 meters
The M.P. 38 submachine gun started its life under requirements from German Heereswaffenamt (HWA, Army Weapons Office), which saw the need for a compact submachine gun, suitable for use by armored vehicles crews and paratroopers. German arms-making company Erfurter Maschinenfabrik Gmbh, better known under its trade name Erma, began the development of a new weapon under HWA specifications. It must be noted that a new submachine gun was not built from the scratch; instead, it was just an evolution of a rarely known prototype weapon, provisionally known as Erma MP-36. MP-36 was a compact version of the better known Erma EMP submachine gun, but fitted with now-familiar underfolding metallic shoulder stock and bottom-feed magazine, which was slightly canted forward to accommodate EMP magazines. MP-36 was a selective-fired weapon, and in fact the improved MP-38 was a simplified version of its little known predecessor, adapted for different magazine. Therefore, it took only few months before the new weapon was ready for official adoption and mass production. Manufacture of a new submachine gun, designated as MP-38, commenced in summer of 1938, at Erma, and later on also at C.G. Haenel.
The gun was manufactured for just 2 years, when it was replaced in production by externally similar, but less expensive MP-40, which used more stamped parts instead of machined parts, found in MP-38. There also were minor variations in design of MP-38, such as shape of cocking handle etc. MP-40 was also produced in a number of variations, which differed in shape of certain parts; also, toward the end of the war, several production shortcuts were introduced to save the costs of manufacturing. probably the most interesting variation of the MP-40 were the MP-40-II and MP-40-II. These guns featured dual magazine housings which hold two magazines in a laterally sliding bracket. This increase the total ammunition capacity "in the gun" to 64 rounds, in a desperate attempt to catch up with 71-round magazine capacity of Soviet PPSh-41. The later variant, MP-40-II, was made in limited numbers, but turned out to be a failure - sliding dual-magazine housing was a constant source of jams and failures, and was very sensitive to dirt and fouling.
Nevertheless, MP-38 and especially MP-40 submachine guns were of good design, and set the pattern for so called "second generation" of submachine guns ("first generation" being represented by the wood-stocked and carefully machined MP-18, MP-28 and the like). The second generation weapons usually were of compact design, and made using mostly steel stampings and pressings, or castings.
It also must be noted that many MP-40 that survived the WW2, continued to serve up until late 1970s or early 1980s, in few European armies such as Austrian or Norwegian.
Both MP-38 and MP-40 submachine guns are blowback operated weapons that fired from open bolt. Both weapons were full-automatic only, but relatively slow rate of fire permitted for single shots with short trigger pulls. The proprietary bolt system with telescoped return spring guide served as a pneumatic recoil buffer, helping to decrease rate of fire to a very manageable level. The bolt handle was permanently attached to the bolt on early MP-38's; on late production MP-38's and MP-40's bolt handle was made as a separate part and also served as a safety - pushing the head of bolt handle inward locked the bolt either in cocked or forward position. Lack of such feature on early MP-38's resulted in field expedients such as leather harnesses with small loop, used to hold the bolt in forward position. One unusual feature on most MP-38 and MP-40 submachine guns was an aluminum or plastic rail under the barrel, which served as a barrel support / protector when firing over the board of armored personnel carrier. The short handguard was made from plastic and was located between magazine housing and pistol grip; barrel lacked any heat insulation, which often caused burns for supporting hand. Folding shoulder stock resulted for compact weapon when folded, but it was insufficiently durable for combat use and hand-to-hand combat. Single-feed, double-row box magazine was another weak point of the design; it was hard to load without additional help, and often caused jams.