Figure 1.--This youth holds a German MP-41, but he is not German. He is a Yugoslav partisan holding a captured weapon. Getting ahold of a MP-41 is not as advatageous as it may sound. These weapons used far more amunition than a regult eifle, but partians were not well supplied. Unfortunatly we can not make out th badge on the cap. Click on the image to see the message on the back. It seems t be written in Serbo-Croatian. Perhps someimne will be able to translate.

A related weapon to the machine gun was what the Americans called a sub-machine gun which is now more commonly known as an assault weapon. The machine gun had revolutionized World War I. The sub-machine gun or asault weapon was a natural progression, essentially puting machin guns in the hands of individual infantry weapon. A popular misconception about World War II is that infantry soldiers sighted an fored on enemy soldiers. This of course occurred, but most infantry casulties were inflicted by unsighted fire. Soldiers assuallt did not see the men they killed. Rather it was the volume of fire that as important. This is why the sub-machine gun was such an important innovation. Even a light-machine gun could not be easily carried and operated by a single infantryman. Machineguns whether a light or heavy weapon, depending on size of bullet, were made to be fired from a fixed position by a crew. They are not considered to be a hand held weapon even if a beef soldier could carry it on a shoulder sling and operate it by himself for a short period. The soldier would have to be very strong not just to carry it by himself but only to absorb the recoil of the firing. They were meant to hand held and fired and could not be used in a fixed position gun mount. There were no bipods or tripods for these types of weapons. All the major combtant countries during World War II had at least one type of sub-machine gun. The American called them sub-machine gun and they are the precursor to the modern assault rifle like the Soviet AK-47 and American M-16. The Americans had the Browning Automtic Rifle which they chose not to use during World War I. It was too heavy for general issue. It fired a .30 caliber bullet and used until the 1960s when it was replaced by the M-16. The Germans produced related sub-machine guns, much admired MP-38 and MP-40 machine pistols christened Schmeissers. The MP-38 and even MP-40 was not for general issued, but given to guards, storm troopers, and the Waffen-SS. A good example is a Waffen-SS soldier holding one, probably about 1942-43. They were produced ar Berthold-Giepel works. Production was delayed by Hitler. He did not like it becaue it did nbot have the look and feel of a finally craftd weapon. The irony is tht only if mass production methods were used like stmped metal could larg nimbrs be nse that wold hav barrleiekd imnpact. At the end of the War, the German began deliverinf the MP-43. The collapse of German industry limited deliveries, but it was the first of a whole new generation of post-War infantry weapons. The Sturmgewehr 44 (STG 44), literally 'storm(or assault) rifle model of 1944, was an assault rifle developed and issued by the Germans in the last months of the War. It was the first of its kind to see major deployment and is considered by many historians to be the first modern assault rifle. This weapon used a .30 caliber bullet - about 7.9mm.

Terminology

A related weapon to the machine gun was what the Americans called a sub-machine gun which is now more commonly known as an assault weapon. The machine gun had revolutionized World War I.

Importance

The sub-machine gun or asault weapon was a natural progression, essentially puting machin guns in the hands of individual infantry weapon. A popular misconception about World War II is that infantry soldiers sighted an fored on enemy soldiers. This of course occurred, but most infantry casulties were inflicted by unsighted fire. Soldiers assuallt did not see the men they killed. Rather it was the volume of fire that as important. This is why the sub-machine gun was such an important innovation. Even a light-machine gun could not be easily carried and operated by a single infantryman. Machineguns whether a light or heavy weapon, depending on size of bullet, were made to be fired from a fixed position by a crew. They are not considered to be a hand held weapon even if a beef soldier could carry it on a shoulder sling and operate it by himself for a short period. Machine guns varied, but a typical machine gun weighed about 25 lbs with a bipod and over 40 pounds on a tripod. The soldier would have to be very strong not just to carry it any distance by himself but also to absorb the recoil of the firing. They assault weapon were meant to hand held and fired and not be used in a fixed position gun mount. There were no bipods or tripods for these types of weapons.

Country Trends

All of the major combatant couties World War II had at least one type of sub-machine gun, but usage varied widely. The American called them sub-machine gun and they are the precursor to the modern assault rifle like the Soviet AK-47 and American M-16. The Americans had the Browning Automtic Rifle which they chose not to use during World War I. It was too heavy for general issue. It fired a .30 caliber bullet and used until the 1960s when it was replaced by the M-16. The Germans produced related sub-machine guns, much admired MP-38 and MP-40 machine pistols christened Schmeissers. The MP-38 and even MP-40 was not for general issued, but given to guards, storm troopers, and the Waffen-SS. A good example is a Waffen-SS soldier holding one, probably about 1942-43. They were produced ar Berthold-Giepel works. Production was delayed by Hitler. He did not like it becaue it did nbot have the look and feel of a finally craftd weapon. The irony is that only if mass production methods were used like stmped metal could large enough numbrs be used for it to have a real battlefield impact. At the end of the War, the German began deliverinf the MP-43. The collapse of German industry limited deliveries, but it was the first of a whole new generation of post-War infantry weapons. The Sturmgewehr 44 (STG 44), literally 'storm (or assault) rifle model of 1944, was an assault rifle developed and issued by the Germans in the last months of the War. It was the first of its kind to see major deployment and is considered by many historians to be the first modern assault rifle. This weapon used a .30 caliber bullet - about 7.9mm. Britain recovering from the sisaster on the Continent developed the 9 mm Parabellum Lanchester submachine gun (1941). In the emergency after Dunkirk evacuation there was no time for the standard research and development cycle. The British just made a copy of the German MP 28--the Lanchester. It performed well enough, but was difficult and expensive to manufacture in any number. As a result, the British came up with the much simpler STEN submachine gun. It performed just as well, but was less expensive and faster to produce. It could be mass produced. The British manufactured 4 million STEN Guns during the War. This was less than the Soviets, but the British had a much smaller army. The STEN was such a sucessful weapon gthat the Germans began manufacturing a copy late in the War--the MP 3008) towards the end of World War II. The British also used many M1928 Thompson submachine guns during World War II. And unlike the Germans, the British and Americans had the logistical infrastructure to supply its soldiers whith vurtually unlimited quantities of amunition. The United States already had the Thompson submachine gun, but it and the simplified M1 were complicated and thus expensive and slow to produce. They could not be pass produced. As a result, the United States developed the M3 submachine gun (1942). It became known as the Grease Gun because it resemled the injector used by mechanics. The improved M3A1 was introduced (1944). The M3 did not improve performance, but it solved the manufacturing problem. It was made mostly of stamped parts whuch were simply welded together. It was configured to fire either .45 ACP or 9mm Luger ammunition. The United States produced some 1.8 million Thopson variants. The fact that the M1 Garand was semi-automatic probably explains why more were not produced. The M3A1 was an extremely long serving submachine gun design and was produced into the 1960s and serving in American forces into the 1990s. The Japanese produced the Type 100 submachine gun, but only in small quantities. The Italians developed the Bareta MAB 38, but only produced it in limited numbers. It was issued to elite units inckuding paratroopers, Alpini "Monte Cervino" assault battalion, 10th Arditi Regiment, "M" Black shirt Battalions of Milizia Volontaria per la Sicurezza Nazionale (MVSN), and themilitary police.

Created: 6:52 PM 2/9/2014
Last updated: 12:30 AM 3/8/2019