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MP 18
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MP 18
The MP 18 is a German submachine gun designed and manufactured by Bergmann Waffenfabrik. Introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I, the MP 18 was intended for use by the Sturmtruppen, assault groups specialized in trench combat, as a short-range offensive weapon that would provide individual soldiers with increased firepower over a pistol.
Although MP 18 production ended after World War I, it was highly influential on subsequent small arms design; it formed the basis of most submachine guns manufactured between 1920 and 1960.
What became known as the "submachine gun" had its genesis in the early 20th century and developed around the concepts of fire and movement and infiltration tactics, specifically for the task of clearing trenches of enemy soldiers, an environment within which engagements were unlikely to occur beyond a range of a few feet.
In 1915, the German Rifle Testing Commission at Spandau decided to develop a new weapon for trench warfare. An attempt to modify existing semi-automatic pistols (specifically the Luger and C96 Mauser) failed, as accurate aimed fire in full automatic mode was impossible due to their light weight and high rates of fire of 1,200 rounds per minute. The commission determined that a completely new kind of weapon was needed. Hugo Schmeisser, working for the Bergmann Waffenfabrik, was part of a team composed of Theodor Bergmann and a few other technicians. They designed a new type of weapon to fulfill the requirements, which was designated the Maschinenpistole 18/I. The I stands for the number 1. Four different versions of the MP 18 were evaluated by the German Army, known as the models I, II, III, and IV. They shared the same basic design but exhibited differences in the feed system.
The MP 18/I used the same Trommelmagazin drum as the artillery Luger. No details are available concerning the MP 18/II, however it is known that the MP 18/III and the MP 18/IV both fed from a straight, 90° magazine feed which took Mauser pattern box magazines, of the same type used in Mauser's experimental C06/08 pistol and C17 'Trench Carbine' (the latter was possibly a rival to the MP 18/I) and later the SIG Bergmann. Full-scale production began in early 1918.
The MP 18 is often credited as the very first submachine gun, as some sources discount the Villar Perosa, on account that it was originally fielded as a light support weapon on a mount. Whether the MP 18 was actually the first submachine gun is debated.
In October 1915 the Austro-Hungarian Standschützen-Battalionen trialed a submachine gun chambered in the 8x18mm Roth cartridge, known as the Maschinengewehr Hellriegel. This was tested as both a support weapon fired from a prone position, and an assault weapon fired from the hip. In late 1916, the Military Aviation Corps of the Italian Army created the first official demand for a submachine gun when they requested the development of a single-barreled Villar Perosa with a detachable stock, which was made in early 1917 and later adopted as the Carabinetta Automatica OVP, with 500 being issued to observation crews. The designer of the Villar Perosa, Colonel Bethel-Abiel Revelli, had already conceived the principles of the submachine gun in September 1915, when he wrote that his gun could be converted to a single-barreled version that "may be mounted in the manner of a rifle so that it may be fired from the shoulder".
It remains a matter of controversy as to whether he made a weapon matching this description, but it is proven[by whom?] that the MP 18/I was merely one of many submachine gun concepts that were developed at the time, and that it cannot be referred to with any certainty as the first. The MP 18/I was the first mass-produced submachine gun to see extensive use in an infantry assault role in warfare.
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MP 18 AI simulator
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MP 18
The MP 18 is a German submachine gun designed and manufactured by Bergmann Waffenfabrik. Introduced into service in 1918 by the German Army during World War I, the MP 18 was intended for use by the Sturmtruppen, assault groups specialized in trench combat, as a short-range offensive weapon that would provide individual soldiers with increased firepower over a pistol.
Although MP 18 production ended after World War I, it was highly influential on subsequent small arms design; it formed the basis of most submachine guns manufactured between 1920 and 1960.
What became known as the "submachine gun" had its genesis in the early 20th century and developed around the concepts of fire and movement and infiltration tactics, specifically for the task of clearing trenches of enemy soldiers, an environment within which engagements were unlikely to occur beyond a range of a few feet.
In 1915, the German Rifle Testing Commission at Spandau decided to develop a new weapon for trench warfare. An attempt to modify existing semi-automatic pistols (specifically the Luger and C96 Mauser) failed, as accurate aimed fire in full automatic mode was impossible due to their light weight and high rates of fire of 1,200 rounds per minute. The commission determined that a completely new kind of weapon was needed. Hugo Schmeisser, working for the Bergmann Waffenfabrik, was part of a team composed of Theodor Bergmann and a few other technicians. They designed a new type of weapon to fulfill the requirements, which was designated the Maschinenpistole 18/I. The I stands for the number 1. Four different versions of the MP 18 were evaluated by the German Army, known as the models I, II, III, and IV. They shared the same basic design but exhibited differences in the feed system.
The MP 18/I used the same Trommelmagazin drum as the artillery Luger. No details are available concerning the MP 18/II, however it is known that the MP 18/III and the MP 18/IV both fed from a straight, 90° magazine feed which took Mauser pattern box magazines, of the same type used in Mauser's experimental C06/08 pistol and C17 'Trench Carbine' (the latter was possibly a rival to the MP 18/I) and later the SIG Bergmann. Full-scale production began in early 1918.
The MP 18 is often credited as the very first submachine gun, as some sources discount the Villar Perosa, on account that it was originally fielded as a light support weapon on a mount. Whether the MP 18 was actually the first submachine gun is debated.
In October 1915 the Austro-Hungarian Standschützen-Battalionen trialed a submachine gun chambered in the 8x18mm Roth cartridge, known as the Maschinengewehr Hellriegel. This was tested as both a support weapon fired from a prone position, and an assault weapon fired from the hip. In late 1916, the Military Aviation Corps of the Italian Army created the first official demand for a submachine gun when they requested the development of a single-barreled Villar Perosa with a detachable stock, which was made in early 1917 and later adopted as the Carabinetta Automatica OVP, with 500 being issued to observation crews. The designer of the Villar Perosa, Colonel Bethel-Abiel Revelli, had already conceived the principles of the submachine gun in September 1915, when he wrote that his gun could be converted to a single-barreled version that "may be mounted in the manner of a rifle so that it may be fired from the shoulder".
It remains a matter of controversy as to whether he made a weapon matching this description, but it is proven[by whom?] that the MP 18/I was merely one of many submachine gun concepts that were developed at the time, and that it cannot be referred to with any certainty as the first. The MP 18/I was the first mass-produced submachine gun to see extensive use in an infantry assault role in warfare.
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