MP38

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 17:50 Written by Administrator Friday, 03 July 2009 00:06

The MP38 was a German submachine gun introduced at the beginning of the Second World War. It was designed by Heinrich Vollmer in 1938 and production began in 1940.

The MP38 was used extensively by German paratroopers, squad leaders and other troops during the war and was found to be very effective for rapid advance and in urban warfare.

The submachine gun was chambered for the 9mm Parabellum round and was fed by a 32-round magazine. It was accurate up to 70 meters and could fire at a rate of 500 rounds per minute. The MP38 balances stopping power with controlling and thus is a good weapon in the field.

The MP38 came with a foldable stock which when extended made the submachine gun resemble a carbine. The MP38 was used with the stock folded in close-combat situations. Production of the MP38 was not very expensive as it was constructed from stamped steel parts.

Despite the various advantages of the MP38, it had some serious drawbacks. The weapon would get discharged when accidentally dropped or hit against something hard. This problem was corrected in the next version i.e. MP40. The MP40 was almost identical to the MP38 except for some minor changes. However, improvements were made to make the production less expensive.

The MP38 and 40 saw extensive action during the Second World War. In all, more than 1 million units were manufactured during the war.