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MP-18
The MP-18 is the world's first mass—produced submachine gun, designed by Hugo Schmeisser. It was adopted by Imperial Germany in 1918 and became a revolution in close combat. It was created for World War I assault groups using the 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge, which later became the NATO standard. The MP-18 featured a unique free-bolt automatic system for its time, which provided a rate of fire of 500 rounds per minute. Initially, the submachine gun was equipped with a TM-08 drum magazine for 32 rounds (from Luger P08), but later switched to box magazines due to unreliability. The wooden box and barrel casing made the MP-18 look like a rifle, which made it possible to disguise it as a conventional infantry weapon. It showed excellent effectiveness in trench warfare, especially during the 1918 Spring Offensive, where it was used together with grenades and flamethrowers. According to the Treaty of Versailles, the production of the MP-18 was banned, but it was secretly continued in Switzerland and Japan, and its design influenced all subsequent PPMS, including the Soviet PPSh. The characteristic side magazine and curved shape became the hallmark of early submachine guns. The MP-18 was used in the civil wars in China and Spain, and individual copies were found even in World War II. This submachine gun went down in history as the "great-grandfather" of modern automatic weapons, laying the foundations for the concept of individual infantry firepower.
Photo of the constructor:
Main Features:
Caliber: 9×19 mm Parabellum.
Barrel length: 200 mm.
Total length: 815 mm.
Weight: 4.18 kg (without cartridges).
Magazine capacity: 32-round drum magazine (from Luger P08 "Artillery Model" pistol). Later it was replaced by a box magazine for 20 or 32 rounds.
Rate of fire: ~500 rounds per minute.
Aiming range:
Effective range: ~100-150 meters.
Maximum range: up to 200 meters.
Type of automation: free shutter.
Firing type: automatic only (bursts).
Other features:
First in its class: The MP 18 was the first mass-produced submachine gun to prove the effectiveness of light automatic weapons in close combat.
The simplicity of the design: The absence of complex mechanisms (for example, a gas outlet) made it cheap to manufacture and repair.
Combat use: It was used by assault groups (Sturmtruppen) at the end of the First World War, especially in trench warfare.
Luger P08 magazine: Initially, the Trommel drum magazine from the Luger pistol was used, but later switched to box magazines due to unreliability.
Wooden box: Similar to rifles, which improved stability when shooting, but increased weight.
Produced: About 35,000-50,000 copies (1918-1920s). If you take into account the copies (for example, Swiss and Chinese), the total number can reach 60,000.
Advantages:
High density of fire at short ranges.
Compact compared to rifles (convenient in trenches and buildings).
Easy to manufacture and maintain.
Powerful 9x19mm cartridge, effective against manpower.
Disadvantages:
Rapid overheating of the barrel during prolonged firing.
Unreliability of the drum magazine (misalignments, delays).
There is no single fire mode (only a queue).
Limited range of effective fire.
Interesting facts:
Although the MP-18 appeared at the end of the war (in March 1918), it was used in the Spring Offensive - the Allies called it a "diabolical weapon."
After the war, production of the MP-18 was officially banned, but the Germans secretly continued to produce it for the police and export.
Because of the decommissioned army MP-18s, the gangsters of the Weimar Republic and the Chinese military leaders fell in love with him.
Despite its obsolescence, the MP-18 was used by the Volkssturm and the rear units of the Wehrmacht – mostly captured Chinese copies.
It is often confused with the Bergmann MP-18.I, but it is the same thing: Bergmann is the manufacturer, Schmeisser is the designer.
Photos:
A soldier of an assault group with his Bergmann MP18.1 pistol in Northern France, 1918.
Soldiers of one of the assault units of the German army practice shooting with MP-18 submachine guns, 1918
Brigadier General Victor Odlum, together with officers of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, inspect the captured MP-18 captured near Amiens, 1918.
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