MP-40 Facts for Kids

A MP-40 gun

The MP-40 (which stands for Maschinenpistole 40 in German, meaning Machine pistol 40) was a famous type of submachine gun. It was used by the German military during World War 2. People sometimes called it the "Schmeisser," but that's not quite right! A designer named Hugo Schmeisser created other weapons, but he didn't design the MP-40. This weapon was developed in the late 1930s and first saw action in the early 1940s.

What is the MP-40?
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What is the MP-40?

The MP-40 was a special kind of gun designed to be light and easy to use. It fired 9mm bullets, which were common at the time. Each magazine, or "clip," could hold 32 rounds. This meant a soldier could fire many bullets quickly before needing to reload.

How the MP-40 Fired

The MP-40 could only fire in full-automatic mode. This means that if you held down the trigger, it would keep firing bullets until the magazine was empty. However, it had a fairly slow rate of fire compared to some other guns, about 500 rounds per minute. Because it fired slowly, a skilled soldier could actually tap the trigger very quickly to fire just one or two bullets at a time, even though it wasn't designed for single shots.

Materials and Design

The MP-40 was quite advanced for its time. It was one of the first weapons made mostly from plastic and steel, instead of wood and other heavier materials. This made it much cheaper and faster to produce in large numbers. This was very important during World War 2, as Germany needed many weapons quickly.

Why Soldiers Liked It

The design of the MP-40 was very good and reliable. It worked well even in tough conditions. In fact, it was so well-liked that some British soldiers would often choose to use a captured MP-40 instead of their own Sten submachine guns. This wasn't a big problem because both the MP-40 and the Sten used the same type of 9mm bullet and magazine. This made it easy for soldiers to share ammunition.