Heckler & Koch UMP

The UMP (Universale Maschinenpistole, German for "Universal Machine Pistol") is a submachine gun developed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch. The UMP has been adopted by various agencies such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection.^[1] Heckler & Koch developed the UMP as a lighter and cheaper successor to the MP5, though both remain in production.^[2]

Design details

A Royal Thai Navy SEAL with the UMP9 during a boarding exercise, August 2008.

The UMP is a blowback operated, magazine-fed submachine gun firing from a closed bolt.^[3]

As originally designed, the UMP is chambered for larger cartridges (.45 ACP and .40 S&W) than other submachine guns like the MP5, to provide more stopping power against unarmored targets (with slightly lower effectiveness at longer range) than the MP5 (largely offered in 9×19mm, albeit with short-lived production of 10mm Auto and .40 S&W variants). A larger cartridge produces more recoil, and makes control more difficult in fully automatic firing. To mitigate this, the cyclic rate of fire was reduced to 650 rounds/min (600 rounds/min for the UMP45), which makes it one of the slower firing submachine guns on the market.^[3]

The UMP9 (the 9×19mm version of the UMP) is almost 0.2 kilograms (0.44 lb) lighter than its MP5 counterpart. Its predominantly polymer construction reduces both its weight and the number of parts susceptible to corrosion.^[3][4]

The UMP is available in four trigger group configurations, featuring different combinations of semi-automatic, 2-round burst, fully automatic, and safe settings. It features a side-folding buttstock to reduce its length during transport. When the last round of the UMP is fired, the bolt locks open, and can be released via a catch on the left side. The standard viewing sights are composed of an aperture rear sight and a front ring with a vertical post. It can mount four Picatinny rails (one on top of the receiver, and one on the right, left, and the bottom of the handguard) for the attachment of accessories such as optical sights, flashlights, or laser sights. Vertical fore-grips can be attached to the bottom rail for increased control during burst and automatic fire.^[3]

Variants

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers carrying UMPs.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency officers carrying UMP9 and SG-553.

There are three versions of the UMP: the UMP45, firing a .45 ACP cartridge; the UMP40, firing a .40 S&W cartridge; and the UMP9, firing a 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge. Apart from the different chambering, all versions feature the same basic design, the most noticeable difference being the curved magazine used on the UMP9 (whereas the UMP40 and UMP45 use a straight magazine). All three versions of the weapon can be converted to any of the available chamberings via replacement of the bolt, barrel, and magazine.^[3][4]

The USC or Universal Self-loading Carbine is a semi-automatic version of the UMP that is available to private citizens. It was designed following the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 in the United States and was introduced in 2000. Changes from the original UMP include a "thumbhole" type stock and grip (versus the pistol grip of the UMP, though aesthetically there is little difference), longer barrel (no flash suppressor), limited 10-round magazine, and semi-automatic only trigger group and action.^[5] Originally available in gray, as of 2008 the USC comes only in an all-black finish.^[6] In 2013, the USC was cancelled.^[7]

Recall

In 2000, H&K recalled certain UMP and USC serial numbers due to faulty operating handles. The faulty handles, made of a polymer, could break off making the weapons inoperable.^[8]

Users

Country	Organization name	Model	Quantity	Date	References
Australia	New South Wales Police Force Tactical Operations Unit	UMP40	_	_	[9][10]
	New South Wales Department of Corrective Services Hostage Response Group	UMP40	_	_	[11][12]
	Victoria Police Critical Incident Response Team	UMP40	_	_	[13][14]
Canada	Brantford Police Service Emergency Response Team	UMP40	_	_	[15]
Egypt	Sa'ka Forces	UMP45	_	_	_
France	Gendarmerie Nationale (Regular Squad)	UMP9	_	_	_
Georgia	Georgian Special Forces	UMP45	_	_	[16]
Jordan	Jordanian Special Operations Forces	_	_	_	[17]
Latvia	Latvian Army	UMP9	_	_	[18]
Liechtenstein	Special Police Unit	-	_	_	[19]
	Security Corps	-	_	_	[20][19]
Lithuania	Lithuanian Special Operation Forces	UMP45	_	_	_
Malaysia	Pasukan Khas Laut (PASKAL) counter-terrorism team of the Royal Malaysian Navy	UMP45	_	_	[21][22]
	Special Task And Rescue counter-terrorism team of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency	UMP9	_	_	[23]
Mexico	Mexican Marines	_	_	_	[24]
Morocco	Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie	_	_	_	_
Philippines	Special Action Force of the Philippine National Police	UMP45	_	_	[25]
Romania	Land Forces special operations battalions	UMP9	_	_	[26]
	Naval Forces special operations group (GNFOS)	UMP9	_	_	[27]
Serbia	Special Brigade of the Serbian Army	UMP9	_	_	[28]
Slovakia	5th Special Forces Regiment of the Armed Forces of Slovak Republic	_	_	_	[29]
South Africa	National Intervention Unit - A special operations element of the South African Police Service (SAPS)	UMP9	_	_	[30]
Spain	Mossos d'Esquadra	UMP9	_	_	[31]
	Spanish Army	_	_	_	[32]
Thailand	Royal Thai Navy SEALs	UMP9	_	_	[33]
United States	U.S. Border Patrol	UMP40	_	_	[1]
	Pentagon Force Protection Agency	UMP40	_	_	[34]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: HK UMP (category)

• Official page
• UMP operator's manual
• 2008 Heckler & Koch Military and LE brochure
• The UMP at Modern Firearms
• HKPRO page on UMP
• HKPRO page on the USC
• Nazarian's Gun Recognition Guide – H&K UMP Demonstration (MOV)