EMP 44

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
EMP 44

ERMA EMP 44
Type Submachine gun
Place of origin  Nazi Germany
Service history
Wars World War II
Production history
Designed 1942
Manufacturer Erma Werke
Specifications
Length 950 mm (37.4 in)
Cartridge 9x19mm Parabellum
Action Straight blowback,
Rate of fire 500 rounds/minute
Effective firing range 150-200 meters
Feed system Two 32-round detachable box magazines
Sights Fixed Iron Sight

The EMP 44 is a prototype, all-metal submachine gun produced by Erma Werke in 1943. It was rejected by the Heereswaffenamt.[1]

Design

The EMP 44 fires from an open bolt. The caliber is 9mm Luger Parabellum. The length of the gun is 892–950 mm depending on stock position. The barrel length is either 250 or 308 mm long.[citation needed] Its rate of fire is 500 rounds per minute and has sliding two 32 round MP 40 magazine wells. The practical range was 150–200 meters.

The gun was crudely assembled with a stock made of pipes welded together. This was part of its design philosophy for the weapon was created in response to the requirements of the Primitiv-Waffen-Programm, more or less in an attempt to imitate the British Sten gun and to a lesser extent the PPSh-41. Ultimately, it's crude looking design was what made it to be rejected by the German army.[2]

The gun was probably designed in 1942, with the sole exemplar known having serial number 15, and having February 1943 as its manufacture date. One theory as to fate of the prototypes is that most were cannibalized for their dual feed mechanism which was then installed on MP40/I.[3]

History

The wide use of submachine guns by the German armed forces in the Second World War led to a strong dependence on the industrial capacity of arms factories that brought out simplified designs at lower production costs. In 1944, Erma, the main MP 40 producer submitted the EMP 44. The receiver was produced out of welded steel tubing like the Sten. The flash suppressor was formed in the same manner as the Russian machine pistol PPS-43 muzzle brake from stamped steel. The EMP 44 was rejected due to its failure to pass acceptance tests, but mainly because new weapons like the MP 44/STG 44 were already produced with the goal to replace both the MP 40 and the Karabiner 98k.

See also

References

  1. ↑ John Walter (2004). The Guns of the Third Reich. Greenhill Books. p. 187. ISBN 978-1-85367-598-0. 
  2. ↑ W. Darrin Weaver (2005) Desperate Measures - The Last-Ditch Weapons of the Nazi Volkssturm, Collector Grade Publications, ISBN 0889353727, pp. 110-112
  3. ↑ G. de Vries, B.J. Martens: The MP 38, 40, 40/1 and 41 Submachine gun, Propaganda Photos Series, Volume 2, Special Interest Publicaties BV, Arnhem, The Netherlands.First Edition 2001, page 36

External links

For photographs see:

German firearms and light weapons of World War II
Side arms (Pistolen)
Rifles and carbines (Gewehre und Karabiner)
Submachine guns (Maschinenpistolen)
Machine guns and other larger weapons
Mortars (Granatwerfer)
Grenades (Granaten)
Notable foreign-made infantry weapons
German-made cartridges used by the Wehrmacht
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.