MP18
Type:	Submachine gun
Place of origin:	Germany
Service history
Used by:	Germany
Wars:	World War 1,2;Spanish Civil War
Production history
Produced:	1918 to 1920s
Specifications
Weight:	4.18 kg
Length:	83.2 cm (32.75Inches)
Barrel length:	200 mm
Cartridge:	9 x 19 mm
Caliber:	Pistolemunition 08
Action:	open bolt blowback
Rate of fire:	~500 round/min
Muzzle velocity:	380 m/s (~1247 ft/s)
Feed system:	32 detachable snail (WWI); 20 round detachable box (post-WWI)

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. Image File history File links (marked by uploader as PD, no evidence for that at given link). ... An MP5A4 (fixed stock and 3-round burst trigger group) A submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the ammunition of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size. ... The barrel of a gun or other firearm is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion is released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at great speed. ... It has been suggested that Firearm brass and Casing (ammunition) be merged into this article or section. ... ball and hollowpoint 9mm Luger rounds are popular handgun ammunition. ... The word calibre (British English) or caliber (American English) designates the interior diameter of a tube or the exterior diameter of a wire or rod. ... In firearms terminology, an action is the system of operation that the firearm employs to seal the breech (in a breech-loading firearm), and to load consecutive rounds. ... The Rate of fire is the speed at which a specific firearm or artillery piece can operate. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... An MP5A4 (fixed stock and 3-round burst trigger group) A submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the ammunition of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size. ... Army (from French armée) can, in some countries, refer to any armed force. ... Combatants Allied Powers: British Empire Canada France Italy Russian Empire United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary Bulgaria German Empire Ottoman Empire Commanders Douglas Haig John Jellicoe Sir Arthur Currie Ferdinand Foch Nicholas II Woodrow Wilson John Pershing Wilhelm II Reinhard Scheer Franz Josef I Oskar Potiorek İsmail Enver Ferdinand I...

History

In 1915 the German Rifle Testing Commission at Spandau decided to develop a new weapon for trench fighting. The original intention had been to modify existing automatic pistols, specifically the Luger and C96 Mauser. However, the delicate mechanisms of these pistols were not suited to the stresses of full automatic fire, let alone the dirt and debris of the typical battlefield. Also, such light weight weapons were difficult to control in full automatic fire. Based upon this, the Commission determined that a completely new kind of weapon was needed. Hugo Schmeisser, working for the Bergmann Waffenfabrik, eventually designed a weapon to fulfill the requirements, which was designated the Maschinenpistole 18/I (MP-18). It is not clear what the "I" designation is intended to indicate. For the 1980s New Wave group, see Spandau Ballet. ... A trench is a long narrow ditch. ... Hugo Schmeisser (born 24 September 1884; died 12 September 1953) was one of the most important developers of infantry weapons in the 20th Century. ...

The MP18 was a solid, perhaps overbuilt weapon. The receiver tube was very thick (~3mm), compared with later WWII submachine guns with half or less of that thickness, such as the STEN or MP-40. Built to fine early 20th century standards, it was a soundly engineered piece of equipment with near commercial grade fittings and finish. The MP18 had a well machined walnut butt stock and breech block, and the blow back mechanism was made of fine material, even by modern standards (however, it is not clear what specific steel alloys were used in its construction). Naturally, this made for a heavy weapon, weighing over 11 pounds fully loaded.

Though Schmeisser designed a conventional 20 round capacity "stick" magazine for the weapon, the Testing Commission, for reasons unknown, insisted that the MP18 be adapted to use the 32 round Luger "snail" drum magazines. Their use made employment of the MP18 awkward, since they stuck out at an odd angle and unbalanced the weapon somewhat.

There is evidence that prototypes of the MP18 saw frontline action as early as 1916 (a British report of an interrogation of a German prisoner provides a description of what can only be an MP18), though full up production did not begin until either late 1917 or early 1918. Though technically not the worlds first submachine gun, being beaten by the bizarre Villar Perosa of 1915, it did beat out the Villar Perosa's more conventional successor design, the Beretta 1918 (which fired a similar 9mm Glisenti from a box magazine. Certainly, the MP18 was the world's first submachine gun in the modern understanding of the term. ... The Beretta Model 1918 was a submachine gun that entered service in 1918 with the Italian armed forces. ...

The MP18 primarily served in final stages of WWI in 1918, especially in the so-called Kaiserschlacht offensive. Exact production figures are difficult to pin down, as different sources cite different numbers. At best guess at least 3000 MP-18s were built and used during WWI, based upon observed serial number ranges of captured weapons. However, it is possible that up to 10,000 were built for the war. Though production was outlawed by the Versailles treaty, manufacture continued in secret into the early 1920s, as the final production total (again, based upon obsevered serial numbers) ended at around 35,000. The MP-18 continued in use with German police forces after the end of the war. The 1918 Spring Offensive or Kaiserschlacht was a series of German attacks along the Western Front during the First World War, which marked the deepest advance by either side since 1914. ...

After the war ended, some MP18s were modified to accept Schmeisser's original 20 round magazine design. This modification required removal of the existing magazine well collar, and replacement with a different one. This modification was carried out by Haenel Waffenfabrik.

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 the 18 it used a box, rather than 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. SS or ss or Ss may be: The Schutzstaffel, a Nazi paramilitary force Steamship (SS) (ship prefix) The United States Secret Service A submarine not powered by nuclear energy (SS) (United States Navy designator), see SSN A Soviet/Russian surface-to-surface missile, as listed by NATO reporting name Shortstop...

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 Parabellum 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. M1900 American Eagle Commercial For other uses of the word see Luger A Luger (Pistole Parabellum), is a toggle lock pistol based on principles by Hiram Maxim. ...

MP18 with staggered box type magazine

Later modifications to the MP18 allowed the use of a staggered box type magazine as used in the later developed MP40 sub-machine gun. Image File history File linksMetadata MP18VWM.jpg‎ Summary Picture taken on trip to Virginia War Museum, March 14, 2006 MP18 SMG Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): MP18 Metadata This file contains additional information, probably... Image File history File linksMetadata MP18VWM.jpg‎ Summary Picture taken on trip to Virginia War Museum, March 14, 2006 MP18 SMG Licensing File links The following pages on the English Wikipedia link to this file (pages on other projects are not listed): MP18 Metadata This file contains additional information, probably...

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. The Lanchester was a submachine gun used by the British during World War II. History In 1940, with the Dunkirk evacuation completed, the Royal Air Force decided to adopt some form of submachine gun for airfield defense. ... The Type 100(一〇〇式機関短銃 Hyaku-shiki kikantanju) was a Japanese submachine gun used extensively during World War II, and the only submachine gun produced by Japan in any quantity. ... The Sten gun was a British submachine gun from World War II, notable for its simple design and low cost of production, being made from only 47 different parts. ...

External links

• Historic Arms
• Small Arms Review: The MP28,II Successor of the MP18,I (.pdf)