NAME (NATIVE) – Maschinenpistole 40

COMMON NAMES – Schmeisser

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN – Germany

DATE OF MANUFACTURE – 1942 to 1945

CALIBER – 9x19mm

OVERALL LENGTH – 63 cm (24.8 in) (Stock folded), 83.3 cm (32.8 in) (Stock open)

BARREL LENGTH – 25.1 cm (9.9 in)

RIFLING (TYPE & TWIST) – 6 groove, Right hand twist

BULLET WEIGHT – 8.04 g (124 gr)

BULLET DIAMETER – 9mm (0.355 in)

MUZZLE VELOCITY – 381 m/s (1250 fps)

MUZZLE ENERGY – 583 j (430 ft/lbs)

WEIGHT (EMPTY) – 4.02 kg (8 lbs 14 oz)

WEIGHT (LOADED) – 4.67 kg (10lbs 5 oz)

SIGHTS – Front – Blade, Rear open U-notch, flip sight for 100 and 200 meters (109 and 218 yds)

EFFECTIVE RANGE – 200 m (218 yds)

OPERATION – Blowback, fires from open bolt

TYPE OF FIRE – Full automatic only

RATE OF FIRE – 96 rpm

CYCLIC ROF – 500 rpm

FEED DEVICE – 32 round box magazine, double-column, single position feed

FEED DEVICE WEIGHT (EMPTY) – 0.26 kg (9 oz)

FEED DEVICE WEIGHT (LOADED) – 0.65 kg (1 lb 7 oz)

MAGAZINE LOADER WEIGHT 0.15 kg (5.3 oz)

BASIC AMMUNITION LOAD – 6 magazines (192 rds)

LOAD WEIGHT – 3.9 kg (8 lbs 10 oz)

MANUFACTURER – ERMA Erfurter Maschinenfabrik B. Geipel GmbH, Erfurt, Germany, C.G. Haenel Waffen-und Fahrradfabrik AG, Suhl, Germany, Steyr-Daimler-Puch, A.G. Werk, Steyr, Osterreichische (Austria). And a number of subcontractors who produced parts.

STATUS – Obsolete, May still be found in guerilla hands throughout the world

SERVICE –– Extensive issue and use throughout all of the German forces during WWII. Post World War II saw widespread use of the MP40, limited only by the numbers produced, in Chinese and other Asian countries as well as South and Central America with both military and police forces.

     This German submachinegun is probably one of the most recognized weapons of its type of World War II. Parts of the design were copied in a number of Allied weapons including the British Sten series, the Australian Austen, and the American M3 Greasegun, making the MP40 also one of the most influential designs of a submachinegun. At one point, the British even considered manufacturing the MP38 in 1940, just before the MP40 was available.

     The direct predecessor of the MP40 was the MP38. Though the earlier weapon was considered a very good design and proved itself on the battlefield, it was expensive and used a great deal of machinery to produce making it both time and labor intensive. The MP40 was a basic improvement on the MP38, particularly in that is used a great deal of stampings, pressings, and welding in its manufacture. These factors made it faster and easier to produce than the earlier design. Regular improvements were made to the internal components as well as some of the basic design of the MP40, improvements that continued to the final production units. These facts helped make the MP40 a turning point in the development and manufacture of submachineguns worldwide.

     In spite of the many positive features of the MP40, there were still problems with the design. The first of these centered on the magazine which were based on the earlier Hugo Schmeisser patents for a double column, single feed design. In the design, the cartridges sit in two rows down the body of the magazine. They are lifted into place by the follower spring where they meet the thick metal collar at the top. Near the top of the magazine the cartridges are forced against one another by the tapering sides of the magazine body. Each cartridge fits into a central feed opening for loading into the chamber. This setup makes it necessary to have a powerful follower spring to force the column of cartridges up and into position. This system makes it necessary for the user to have a magazine loader, a device that helps force the rounds down into the magazine when it is being loaded. Another piece of equipment that the operator has to keep track of. In a side pocket of one of the magazine pouches used with the weapon was a pocket to hold the magazine loader as well as a special magazine cleaning brush.

     The flat-sided magazines used in both the MP38 and the early MP 40 weapons operated fine, as long as they were clean. And gathering of dirt, dust, or grit inside the magazine body greatly increased the friction between the cartridges and the steel walls of the magazine. When troops operated from their barracks prior to World War II beginning, clean magazines were relatively easy. In the dirt and mud of active warfare, the gathering of grit within the magazines would cause critical failures to feed during combat. In August, 1942 orders went out that all magazines for the MP38 and MP40 would have two ribs impressed into the body of the magazine from both sides. This allowed debris a place to gather within the magazine and minimized the friction between the magazine walls and the follower. Additionally, in September, 1942, the magazine cleaning brush became available for issue.

     Another critical action that caused jams with the double-column, single feed design was that the system was particularly sensitive to misalignment with the chamber of the weapon. Holding the magazine while firing was an easy way to damage the magazine or cause movement of the magazine, preventing and incoming round from properly chambering. Orders were issued that the only way to properly fire the MP38 and MP40 was to hold the weapon by either the ribbed bakelite forearm that covers the underside of the weapon and most of the frame behind the magazine housing, or by holding the magazine housing itself. To increase the strength of the magazine housing, by late 1941 five ribs had been stamped into the sides of the housing body. This also made firmly gripping the housing easier.

       One very important improvement to the MP40 was the addition of the two-piece cocking handle to the bolt. Early production MP40s utilized the same hook-shaped cocking handle as the MP38. Because of this it was often necessary to fit them with a locally produced (field made) safety strap that fit around the base of the barrel and had a thin strap that extended down the left side of the weapon. The end of the strap had a hole in it that could fit over the handle of the bolt, holding it forward and preventing accidental movement. The strap was made by unit armorers as it had to be replaced occasionally as it either burned through from the weapon firing or stretched out of shape from excessive wetting. It was not an elegant solution to the bolt movement and accidental discharge problem.

     A mechanical solution to the bolt movement problem was developed by Hugo Schmeisser in late 1940. By mid-1942, the cocking handle safety had become a standard feature of new-production MP40s. By late July, 1942, the Supreme Command of the (German) Armed Forces ordered that all original one-piece cocking handles on MP 40s and MP38s were to be replaced with the new safety handle. Technical instructions for the installation of the new part were issued in August 1942 for regimental workshops in the field.

     The new cocking handle safety used a two-piece cocking handle that could slide and lock into detents. On the upper side of the sliding handle was a lug that extended up and in from the body of the handle. In the receiver of the weapon was cut a small (7.2mm wide) notch with a curved (3.6mm diameter) notch at the upper front of the cocking handle slot. With the bolt in the forward position, pressing the cocking handle in snapped the lug into the notch, locking the bolt in place. The handle was easily pulled away from the weapon by the operator, releasing the bolt for cocking. The safety notch at the rear of the of the receiver was unchanged and the bolt would be pulled back and lifted (rotated) up and into the safety notch. Mainspring pressure kept the bolt handle forward in the extended top of the notch.

    The basic MP40 design allowed the operator to work the weapon completely without releasing his hold on the pistol grip. The weapon could be cocked with the left hand and the same hand could quickly change magazines. For accuracy, the stock would be unfolded and locked in the open position. But experienced shooters could quickly and accurately place their fire onto target with 100 yards by just holding the weapon with both hands.

     Continued minor improvements kept the MP 40 in front line service and full production until 1944. At that time, production was cut back so that facilities could be dedicated to producing the new Sturmgewehr StG44 assault rifle. Repairing battlefield damage and assembling weapon from stocked parts kept the MP40 in some form of production to the end of the war in 1945. By that time, well over 1 million MP 40s and MP38s had been produced. Steyr alone produced over half a million weapons of both types by the end of the war. Reportedly, though records are scarce, Steyr made over 46,000 MP40s in 1945, the last year of the war. Along with the weapons, over 15 million magazines were produced to feed the MP38s and MP40s.