The German submachine gun EMP (''Erma Maschinenpistole'') also known as MPE (Maschinenpistole Erma) was produced by the Erma factory, and was based on designs acquired from
Heinrich Vollmer
Heinrich Vollmer (1885 in Altdorf, Esslingen–1961 in Tübingen) was a German small-arms designer.
Vollmer began his manufacturing career by making parts for the German copies of the Maxim gun during the First World War. His first innovation wa ...
. The gun was produced from 1931 to 1938 in roughly 10,000 exemplars (in three main variants) and exported to Spain, Mexico, China and
, but also used domestically by the SS. It was produced under license in Spain by the arsenal of
A Coruña
A Coruña (; es, La Coruña ; historical English: Corunna or The Groyne) is a city and municipality of Galicia, Spain. A Coruña is the most populated city in Galicia and the second most populated municipality in the autonomous community and s ...
under the designation M41/44.
History
In the early 1920s, Vollmer started to develop his own sub-machineguns. His early models, named VPG, VPGa, VPF and VMP1925 were fairly similar to the MP18. The VMP1925 had a wooden handgrip and was fed by a 25-round drum magazine. The VMP1925 was secretly tested by the
Reichswehr
''Reichswehr'' () was the official name of the German armed forces during the Weimar Republic and the first years of the Third Reich. After Germany was defeated in World War I, the Imperial German Army () was dissolved in order to be reshaped ...
, along with competing designs from Schmeisser and Rheinmetall. (The Reichswehr was prohibited by the
Versailles Treaty
The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...
from having sub-machine guns in service, although the German police were allowed to carry a small number.) Secret funding was given to Vollmer to continue development, and this resulted in the VMP1926, which mostly differed from its predecessor by the removal of the cooling jacket. A subsequent development was the VMP1928, which introduced a 32-round box magazine sticking from the left side. The final development of this series was the VMP1930. (It can also be seen at the WTS.) This model introduced a substantive innovation—a telescoping main spring assembly, which made the gun more reliable and easier to assemble and disassemble in the field. Vollemer applied for a patent for his innovation in 1930 and it was granted in 1933 as DRP# 580620. His company, Vollmer Werke, produced however only about 400 of these, and most were sold to Bulgaria. In late 1930, the Reichswehr stopped supporting Vollmer financially; consequently he sold the rights to all his designs to the company known as
Erma Werke
The Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (ERMA) was a German weapons manufacturer founded in 1922 by Berthold Geipel. Prior to and during World War II it manufactured many firearms, including the Karabiner 98k, the MP40 and other submachine guns.
The compa ...
(which is an abbreviation for
Erfurt
Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
er Maschinenfabrik, Berthold Geipel GmbH).
The submachine guns that Erma started to sell in 1932 under the names EMP (Erma Maschinenpistole) or MPE (Maschinenpistole Erma) was basically just the VMP1930 with the cooling jacket restored. Although there were several variants with varying barrel lengths and sights made to customers' specifications, roughly three main variants were produced: one with a 30 cm barrel, tangent rear sight and
bayonet lug
A bayonet lug is a standard feature on most military muskets, rifles, and shotguns, and on some civilian longarms. It is intended for attaching a bayonet, which is typically a long spike or thrusting knife. The bayonet lug is the metal mount ...
was apparently sold to Bulgaria or Yugoslavia. The second model, sometimes called the MP34, or the "standard model", had a 25 cm barrel and no provision for a bayonet; the rear sight on these varies—some had a tangent sight, others a simplified flip-up "L" sight. A third variant was basically similar in the metallic parts, but replaced the
foregrip
A vertical forward grip or foregrip is a vertical pistol grip mounted on the fore-end of a long-barrel firearm, designed for grasping by the frontal support hand (or "off hand").
Use
Forward grips aid in the maneuverability of the firearm, ...
with an MP18-style stock with finger-grooves. Overall, at least 10,000 of these Vollmer-based designs were made by Erma. They were adopted by the SS and the German Police, but also sold to Mexico, Yugoslavia and Spain. During the
Spanish Civil War
The Spanish Civil War ( es, Guerra Civil Española)) or The Revolution ( es, La Revolución, link=no) among Nationalists, the Fourth Carlist War ( es, Cuarta Guerra Carlista, link=no) among Carlists, and The Rebellion ( es, La Rebelión, lin ...
, the EMP was used by both the Republicans and the
Nationalists
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...
.
In the Spring of 1939, a large number of defeated Spanish Republicans fled to France, where they were disarmed. Some 3,250 EMPs formerly in the possession of these fighters ended up in a French warehouse at
Clermont-Ferrand
Clermont-Ferrand (, ; ; oc, label=Auvergnat (dialect), Auvergnat, Clarmont-Ferrand or Clharmou ; la, Augustonemetum) is a city and Communes of France, commune of France, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regions of France, region, with a population ...
. The EMPs were usually referred to as the "Erma–Vollmer" in French documents. The French tested the weapons and decided to adopt them for their own service. A provisional manual was printed in French as ''Provisoire sur le pistolet-mitrailleur Erma – Vollmer de 9mm'', issued on December 26, 1939 and updated on January 6, 1940. However, the French had obtained only some 1,540 suitable magazines for these guns, so only 700-800 EMPs were actually distributed to the French forces, mostly to the
Mobile Gendarmerie
The Mobile Gendarmerie (french: Gendarmerie mobile) (GM) is a subdivision of the French National Gendarmerie whose main mission is to maintain public order (from crowd control to riot control) and general security. Contrary to the Departmental G ...
Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism
The Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism (french: Légion des volontaires français contre le bolchévisme, LVF) was a unit of the German Army during World War II consisting of collaborationist volunteers from France. Officially design ...
, which eventually became part of the SS Charlemagne division. This division was practically destroyed in February 1945 in Eastern Prussia, now part of Poland. Numerous EMPs have been found in the last-stand battlefields of the SS Charlemagne division; most of these guns lack any German military stamps or marks. The EMPs which arrived in German hands via the French route were given the (''Fremdgerät'') designation 740(f). The Yugoslav purchased EMPs were used by both the Partisans and the
Chetniks
The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Yugoslav royalist and Serbian nationa ...
.
In
Francoist Spain
Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spai ...
, the EMP, chambered in the 9mm Largo cartridge, was locally produced until the mid-1950s. It was designated Model 1941/44 or "subfusil Coruña". It performed poorly during the
Ifni War
The Ifni War, sometimes called the Forgotten War in Spain (''la Guerra Olvidada''), was a series of armed incursions into Spanish West Africa by Moroccan insurgents that began in October 1957 and culminated with the abortive siege of Sidi I ...
.
Design
Its arming lever is on the right. The magazine housing, which is on the left, is slightly canted forwards to assist in feeding ammunition. The weapon could be fired either in semi-automatic or fully automatic modes.
Influence
The final development at Erma is known as the EMP 36. This can be considered an intermediate model between the EMP and the
MP38
The MP 40 (''Maschinenpistole 40'') is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War II.
Designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with in ...
. Although many details of the mechanism were changed from the EMP, it retained Vollmer's telescoping main operating spring basically unchanged. On the exterior, the most obvious differences are that the magazine housing was now almost vertical, although still canted slightly to the left and forward. The solid wood stock was replaced with a wood frame and a folding metal butt. It is not entirely clear who designed the EMP 36, although Berthold Geipel himself is usually credited. Apparently, the features of the new design were the result of another secret contract with the German army. The EMP's telescopic cylinder return spring guide was retained for the Maschinenpistole 38.
Users
* : used the VMP1930 during the
Chaco War
The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko Ñorairõ
*
**
Vichy France
Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its ter ...
(small amount issued to
Milice française
The ''Milice française'' (French Militia), generally called ''la Milice'' (literally ''the militia'') (), was a political paramilitary organization created on 30 January 1943 by the Vichy regime (with German aid) to help fight against the Fr ...
)
*
* :Exported by Nationalist forces and used during the Second-Sino Japanese War
*
* : The Norwegian Police Service Assault Group (Statspolitiet) bought 8 VMP1930 submachine guns in 1932
* : A few were bought before the
Chaco War
The Chaco War ( es, link=no, Guerra del Chaco, gn, Cháko Ñorairõ9×19mm Parabellum
The 9×19mm Parabellum (also known as 9mm Parabellum or 9mm Luger or simply 9mm) is a rimless, tapered firearms cartridge.
Originally designed by Austrian firearm designer Georg Luger in 1901, it is widely considered the most popular handgun a ...
See also
*
MP 40
The MP 40 (''Maschinenpistole 40'') is a submachine gun chambered for the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. It was developed in Nazi Germany and used extensively by the Axis powers during World War II.
Designed in 1938 by Heinrich Vollmer with in ...
EMP 44
The EMP 44 was a prototype, all-metal submachine gun produced by Erma Werke in 1943. It was rejected by the Heereswaffenamt.
Design
The EMP 44 fires from an open bolt. The caliber is 9×19mm Parabellum. The length of the gun is 892–950 m ...
*
List of submachine guns
This is a list of submachine guns.
It includes Submachine guns (SMG), Machine pistols (MP), Personal defense weapon systems (PDW), and "compact submachine gun-like weapons" not easily categorized. Weapons may fit in more than one category.
S ...
*
List of World War II firearms of Germany
:''Note: Weapons listed were made by or for Germany and do not include captured foreign equipment.
Pistols
Rifles
.
Machine guns
Submachine guns
Anti-tank weapons
Other weapons
See also
* List of equipment used in World War II
* Lis ...
References
Further reading
* K.R. Pawlas (1994) "Die Maschinenpistole Erma (MPE)", ''Waffen Revue'' Nr. 95, pp. 47–56
* L. Guillou (1994) "Le pistolet mitrailleur Erma-Vollmer de 1931 cal.9 mm Para." '' Gazette des armes'' numéro 254
* Les P.M. Allemands (1918-1945) - ''Gazette des armes hors-serie'' n° 19
*