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Maschinenpistole 40 (MP40)

MP40
Type Submachine gun
Place of origin Flag of Nazi Germany Nazi Germany
Service history
In service 1939-1945
Used by Nazi Germany, Israel, Norway
Wars Second World War
Production history
Designer Heinrich Vollmer
Designed 1938
Manufacturer Erma Werke
Produced 1940-1945
Number built Approx. A submachine gun (SMG is a Firearm that combines the automatic fire of a Machine gun with the cartridge of a Pistol, and is Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers Nazi Germany and the Third Reich are the common English names for Germany under the regime of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialist German Workers For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Israel topics. Norway ( Norwegian: Norge ( Bokmål) or Noreg ( Nynorsk) officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Constitutional World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Heinrich Vollmer was one of the most well-known weapon designers of Europe. 1 million
Variants MP36, MP38, MP40, MP40/1, MP41
Specifications
Weight 4 kg (8. 8 lb)
Length 833 mm (32. The pound or pound-mass (abbreviation lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States #) is a unit of Mass The Millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to 8 in)
630 mm (24. Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. The Millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to 8 in) w/stock folded
Barrel length 251 mm (9. Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. For the fictional characters see Gunbarrel (Transformers. A gun barrel is the tube usually Metal, through which a controlled Explosion The Millimetre ( American spelling: millimeter, symbol mm) is a unit of Length in the Metric system, equal to 9 in)
Cartridge 9x19mm Parabellum
Action blowback, open bolt
Rate of fire 500 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity ~380 m/s (1,247 ft/s)
Effective range 100 m (110 yd)
Maximum range 200 m (220 yd)
Feed system 32-round detachable box magazine
Sights Hooded blade front, fixed and flip-up U-notch rear

The MP40 (Maschinenpistole 40, literally "Machine Pistol 40") is a submachine gun developed in Germany and used extensively by paratroopers and platoon and squad leaders, and other troops during World War II. Inches redirects here To see the Les Savy Fav album see Inches. A cartridge (also known as a "round" packages the Bullet, Gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the The 9x19mm Parabellum is a pistol cartridge introduced in 1902 by the German weapons manufacturer Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken (DWM for their In Firearms terminology an action is the system of operation used to load rounds and/or seal the Breech. Blowback is an operating system for autoloading Firearms that utilizes energy created by combustion in the chamber and bore acting directly on the bolt face through Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific Weapon can fire or launch its projectiles A gun's muzzle velocity is the speed at which the Projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun The foot per second (plural feet per second) is a unit of both Speed (scalar and Velocity (vector quantity which includes direction A magazine is an Ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating Firearm. A submachine gun (SMG is a Firearm that combines the automatic fire of a Machine gun with the cartridge of a Pistol, and is Paratroopers are Soldiers trained in Parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force. A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or Squads and containing about 30 to 50 soldiers In military terminology a squad is a small Military unit led by a Non-commissioned officer (NCO that is subordinate to an Infantry World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including The MP40 had a relatively low rate of fire and low recoil, which made it more manageable than other contemporary submachine guns. This article is about backward Momentum produced in firearms when fired [1]

Contents

History

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. The German Army (Deutsches Heer heɐ) is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. It took design elements from Heinrich Vollmer's VPM 1930 and EMP. Heinrich Vollmer was one of the most well-known weapon designers of Europe. 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 Invasion of Poland (1939 precipitated World War II. It was carried out by Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union, and a small German-allied 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 ( 24 September 1884 &ndash 12 September 1953) was a German developer of infantry weapons in the 20th century 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.

Design

MP 40 extended stock
MP 40 extended stock
MP 40 folded stock
MP 40 folded stock

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. [2]

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. Armoured personnel carriers (APCs are Armoured fighting vehicles developed to transport Infantry on the Battlefield They usually have only a Machine The Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251 ( SdKfz 251) Half-track was an Armored fighting vehicle designed and first built by Nazi Germany 's Hanomag A half-track is a civilian or military vehicle with regular wheels on the front for steering and Caterpillar tracks on the back to propel the vehicle and carry most of the 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[3], 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 Thompson submachine gun is an American Submachine gun that became infamous during the Prohibition era 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. The Sten (or Sten gun) was a family of British 9 mm Submachine guns used extensively by British and Commonwealth forces throughout 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. [4][5]

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. Paratroopers are Soldiers trained in Parachuting and generally operate as part of an airborne force. A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four sections or Squads and containing about 30 to 50 soldiers In military terminology a squad is a small Military unit led by a Non-commissioned officer (NCO that is subordinate to an Infantry The Karabiner 98 Kurz (often abbreviated Kar98k or K98k) was a Bolt-action Rifle adopted as the standard infantry rifle in 1935 by the 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. Urban warfare is modern warfare conducted in Urban areas such as Towns and cities.

There were never enough MP40s because raw material and labor costs made it expensive to produce alongside the Kar98 rifles. The Karabiner 98 Kurz (often abbreviated Kar98k or K98k) was a Bolt-action Rifle adopted as the standard infantry rifle in 1935 by the 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. The Heer was the land forces component of the German armed forces ( Wehrmacht) from 1935 to 1945, which also included the Navy (

Copies and post-war usage

The MP38 or MP40 was a pattern for diverse submachine guns such as:

Star Model Z-45
Star Model Z-45

Two MP40s were used by the LAPD SWAT team during the famous May 1974 shootout with members of the terrorist Symbionese Liberation Army. SWAT ( Special Weapons And Tactics) is an elite special operations tactical unit in American Police departments similar to the Taiwan Thunder Squad The Symbionese Liberation Army ( SLA) was an American self-styled urban Guerrilla warfare group active between 1973 and 1975 that considered itself a [2]

Variants and developments

See also

References

  1. ^ Bishop, Chris (1998), The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II, New York: Orbis Publiishing Ltd, ISBN 0-7607-1022-8 . The MP181 manufactured by Theodor Bergmann Waffenbau Abteilung was the first practical Submachine gun used in combat This is a list of submachine guns with articles available on Wikipedia. This page lists the common Infantry weapons used by the various armies engaged in World War II. Machine guns MG42 MG34 Submachine guns MP 18 I (World War I Bergmann
  2. ^ Popenker, Max. Modern Firearms - MP-38 and MP-40 submachine guns. Retrieved on 2007-03-09. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Events 590 - Bahram Chobin is crowned as king Barham VI of Persia.
  3. ^ Hogg, Ian; John Weeks (1977). Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. Arms & Armour Press, page 90. ISBN 0-7869-1850-8.  
  4. ^ Weeks, John, WWII Small Arms, Galahad Press, 1980
  5. ^ Nelson, Thomas B. , The World's Submachine Guns, TBN Enterprises, 1977
  6. ^ "Hærn Etter Andre Verdenskrig 1945 - 1990" ISBN 82-90545-18-5
  7. ^ Nelson, Thomas B. , The World's Submachine Guns, TBN Enterprises, 1977

Bibliography

External links

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