MP18
Encyclopedia : M : MP : MP1 : MP18
 | |
| MP18 | |
|---|---|
| Type | Submachine gun |
| Nation(s) of origin | Germany |
| Era | World War I |
| History | |
| Date of design | |
| Production period | 1918 to 1920s |
| Service duration | |
| Operators | Germany |
| War service | World War 1,2;Spanish Civil War |
| Variants | |
| Number built | |
| Specifications | |
| Type | |
| Caliber | Pistolemunition 08 |
| Ammunition | 9 x 19 mm |
| Feed system | 32 detachable snail (WWI); 20 round detachable box (after) |
| Firearm action>Action | open bolt blowback |
| Length | 83.2 cm (32.75Inches) |
| Gun barrel>Barrel length | 200 mm |
| Weight | 4.18 kg |
| Rate of fire | ~500 round/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 380 m/s (~1247 ft/s) |
| Effective range | |
The MP18 was one of the first submachine guns. It was first used by the German Army during World War I. While MP18 production ended in the 1920s (supplanted by the MP28), its derivatives formed the basis for many submachine guns design in the 1920s and the 1930s.
History
In 1915 the German Rifle Testing Commission at Spandau decided to develop a new weapon for trench fighting. Originally intending to modify an existing weapon, technical issues made this impractical so the Commission determined that a completely new kind of weapon was needed. Hugo Schmeisser eventually designed a weapon to fulfill the requirements. This weapon was designated Maschinenpistole 18/I (MP18). The MP18 was a solid weapon, for it was a soundly engineered piece of equipment with near commercial grade fittings. The MP18 had a well machined walnut butt stock and breech block, and the blow back mechanism was made of the fine material by modern standards. It fired a reduced power 9mm Parabellum round, usually called 9mm Bergmann.
Produced by Bergmann, it served in final stages of the war in 1918. It was beaten by the Beretta 1918 to by a couple months into service however, which was similar, firing 9mm Glisenti from a box magazine (not be confused with more bizzare Villar Perosa of 1915). It was used by the German police force after the end of the war. Production was outlawed by the Paris treaty, which makes determining the exact end of production hard, though it is likely somtime during the 1920s.
The MP28.II was an improved version of the MP18, used by the German police and by SS units. It was secretly tested during the 1920s. Unlike 18 it used a box, rather then snail magazine, and included some other smaller enhancements such as fire selector (whereas the MP18 was full auto only). After the war a 20 round box magazine would also be made for the MP18, though these were not compatible with the MP.28. A derivative of this weapon was made in Switzerland known as the SIG M1920, and one by Steyr Solothurn in Austria known as the MP34.
Operation
The original was designed to use the Snail drum magazine that was designed for use in the long barreled Luger Artillery model pistol, and early models used this pistol's barrel. This rotary design type of magazine holds 32 rounds of 9mm ammunition and the user would have to load the magazine with a separate, and unique loading tool. As the snail drum magazine was originally designed for the Luger pistol, a special sleeve was required when the Snail drum was used on the MP18. This sleeve was slipped over the top part of the magazine and was used to stop the Snail drum from being inserted too far into the receiver and jam the firearm when it was fired.
Later modifications to the MP18 allowed the use of a staggered box type magazine as used in the later developed MP40 sub-machine gun.The MP18 could only fire in the fully automatic mode, while the later developed MP28/II was designed to allow the user to select single shot or fully automatic.
Service
The MP18 would prove to be an excellent weapon. Its basic design would influence later submachine gun designs, and copies of it were made in several countries, such as the British Lanchester SMG and the Japanese Type 100. The open bolt design left one problem: if the butt was given a hard knock while the bolt was fully forward while a loaded magazine is inserted, the gun could accidentally fire. Soldiers liked to leave the bolt of their firearm forward so dirt and debris would not enter into the barrel and chamber that could cause a malfunction to occur when the firearm needed to be fired. Later sub-machine gun designs like the Sten gun were designed to allow the cocking handle to be pushed inwards to lock the closed bolt to the tubular receiver casing. This design change prevented accidental discharges when the bolt was left forward and a loaded magazine was inserted.
External links
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.