This period of development in the late 1930s was about proving the concept of a mass-producible, high-rate-of-fire weapon that could be manufactured with the industrial capacity of Nazi Germany. Only a small number of these prototypes were ever produced, but they provided the crucial groundwork for what was to come.
MP40 Development Timeline Origin: From Early Prototypes to the Birth of the Iconic Submachine Gun
The Early Prototypes and the EMP36 The lineage of the MP40 can be traced back to the EMP36, a rather unconventional and expensive submachine gun designed by Heinrich Vollmer. This evolving tactical doctrine created the precise battlefield role that the future MP40 was designed to fill, bridging the gap between a rifle and a true automatic weapon.
The German Army, the Heer, began to formalize a new approach to infantry combat that emphasized speed, volume of fire, and maneuverability for non-commissioned officers and squad leaders. The most significant change was the replacement of the MP38’s wooden stock with a distinctive telescoping "paratrooper" stock made from metal stampings, and the careful substitution of more stampings for milled parts.
The Early Development and Iterative Design of the MP40
The limitations of bolt-action rifles in the close-quarters chaos of trench warfare were evident, and the potential of submachine guns, like the British Sten and the German Bergmann MP18 from World War I, was being closely studied. The Refinement: The Birth of the MP40 The MP40 was not a radical redesign but a clever evolution, an exercise in simplification.
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