OVERALL LENGTH – 46 cm (18.1 in) (Stock folded), 74.6 cm (29.4 in) (Stock extended)
BARREL LENGTH – 26 cm (10.24 in)
RIFLING (TYPE & TWIST) – 6 grooves, Right hand twist
BULLET DIAMETER – 9.02 mm (0.355 in)
BULLET WEIGHT – 8.04 g (124 gr)
MUZZLE VELOCITY – 381 m/s (1250 fps)
MUZZLE ENERGY – 583 j (430 ft/lbs)
WEIGHT (EMPTY) – 2.99 kg (6 lbs 9 oz)
WEIGHT (LOADED) – 3.62 kg (8 lbs)
SIGHTS – Rear sight, Coarse wide, curved notch, set for 75 m (82 yds), Aperture peep for precision aiming, set for 75 m (82 yds), Front sight, Hooded post with channel on top of sight for coarse aiming, center post for precision aim.
MANUFACTURER – Carl Walther – Waffenfabrik, Ulm/Donau
STATUS – Obsolescent
SERVICE – West German Police, Commercial sales, Mexican Navy, Portugese Special Forces, US Special Forces Detachment – Delta, Detachment A, US Special Forces Detachment – Berlin
This is the first commercially successful German submachinegun design since the end of World War II. The Walther design is primarily made of sheet metal stampings, greatly lowering the cost and ease of manufacture. The compact nature of the receiver comes from the unusual version of a telescoping bolt used by the designers. The bolt assembly is made up of a long, hollow cylindrical upper piece with an angular lug welded onto the underside of the assembly to act as the bolt proper.
The cylindrical upper bolt follows a round channel in the upper part of the receiver. The recoil spring acts on the inside of the upper bolt, helping to minimize to overall length of the weapon. The barrel follows the lower portion of the receiver in a rectangular channel. The barrel being underneath the main mass of the bolt gives the Walther design an in-line recoil action, minimizing muzzle climb while being fired.
The bolt cocking knob is on the upper left of the forward receiver is spring loaded to return to the forward position automatically after the weapon is cocked. By pressing down on the cocking knob it engages the bolt and can be used to force the bolt backwards and forwards, with the trigger pulled and no magazine, to help clear an action clogged with dirt, mud, or other foreign material. This action is referred to as “Shake-through” by the company and greatly helps clear a jammed weapon.
The Walther MP series is considered to be one of the finest versions of a straight blowback submachineguns made. It is very simple mechanically with refinements to the layout to ad in functioning and accuracy. It has been used operationally by a number of NATO Special Operations forces.
