The Trench Sweeper
When introduced, the MP 18,I was the first of an entirely new class of weapon - the submachine gun. Folke Myrvang describes its service from the First and into the Second World War. Derivatives were used beyond 1945, right up to more recent times.
During the First World War, the reality of trench warfare demanded a new kind of weapon, and in 1915 the German GPK (Gewehr Prüfungskommission) stipulated it was looking for a small, automatic weapon for short range assault use in close combat of ranges from 0-200 metres.
Not a great deal is known as to which designs made it into the 1917 firing trials for the GPK, but contenders included Rheinmetall and Bergmann. One candidate was a fully automatic P08 Luger pistol, while another was a C96 Mauser carbine with a 40 x round detachable magazine. Rheinmetall submitted a 9mm carbine firing from a closed bolt, a design reminiscent of the later Solothurn submachine guns.
The most interesting detail about these trials is the fact that the GPK already visioned an intermediate cartridge to fill the gap between the ordinary rifle and pistol cartridges. The same man would be heavily involved in both the first submachine gun and later the first assault rifles of Germany.
SIMPLY BUILT
Hugo Schmeisser was a young arms designer with the Theodor Bergmann Abteilung Waffenbau in Suhl, part of Bergmann Industriewerke Gmbh in Gaggenau, Baden, during the First World War. He had worked with his father, Louis, who had left the Bergmann company in 1905. In 1917, Hugo designed the submachinegun, later known as the MP18,I. No specimens of the prototypes are known to exist today, but they most likely had more conventional box magazines. Most of the patents filed for the MP18,I were held in the Bergmann company name.
The MP18,I was built as simple as it could possibly be. The rear sight is a flip up, graduated at 100 and 200 metres, and there is only full auto capability. The safety is a notch in the receiver tube where the bolt can be positioned to avoid accidental discharges during transportation of a loaded weapon. To disassemble the MP18,I it must be checked to be unloaded. With the bolt forward, it is neccesary to press the latch on the receiver tube cap forward and the receiver tube then tilts forward. Keeping the latch pressed in, a quarter turn to the left and it can be removed. The bolt, firing pin and recoil spring will then easily come out of the receiver
tube for cleaning. Further disassembly is seldom required. To remove the barrel, the front sight needs to be removed and the large muzzle disc unscrewed. A setscrew in the chamber end of the barrel must be loosened, and the barrel will then come out.
The action of the MP18,I is an unlocked, heavy bolt that uses inertia locking in the moment of firing. The recoil spring, combined with the weight of the bolt, has enough force to strip the cartridge from the magazine, chamber it, and then fire it. The force of the fired cartridge is strong enough to push the bolt back and eject the spent case, bringing the bolt back to its rearward position. This system was used in most submachine guns until the MP5 came on the market in the 1960’s. Open bolts were used with fully automatic weapons from the 1897 Hotchkiss, providing easy operation with efficient cooling of the barrel.
MAGAZINES AND EQUIPMENT
Around the same time, a 32 x round magazine for the P08 was developed and put in production. Its intended use was for the Lange Pistole 08, or ‘Artillery Luger’. The requirement for the new weapons were changed with the introduction of the Trommelmagazine 08. The TM08 is often referred to as a ‘snail drum’ magazine because of its peculiar shape. Most likely, this was to avoid having several production lines going.
The TM08 was designed by the Hungarian designer Frigyes Blum to increase the firepower of the Luger pistol and was made by two manufacturers in staggering numbers. A first and second issue model is also noted. An estimate of around 800,000 magazines made before the end of the First World War can be made from studying the serial numbers of surviving examples. Although the TM08 was developed for the Luger pistol, it was with the MP18,I that it would be used the most. After the First World War, it was never used with the Luger pistol again, but stayed with the MP18,I all the way until the end of the Second World War.
Although the TM08 was a less than ideal magazine for the MP18,I, it was quite reliable. The biggest issue with the magazine was that it was easily damaged and also expensive. Consequently, it was not disposable on the battlefield. For each soldier with an MP18,I there was also an ammunition bearer.
To use the TM08 in the MP18.I, a short metal sleeve was developed as a spacer to prevent the TM08 from being inserted too far into the magazine well of the weapon. A sheet metal dust cover was also issued with the drums. Five drums, along with ammunition and a loading tool for the magazines, was packed in a wooden crate, while a canvas pouch for one TM08 was also issued.
These single pouches were worn by the soldiers as an immediate supply of spare ammunition in case the bearer was not within reach.
ISSUED TO STORMTROOPERS
Performance wise, the MP18,I was quite successful. The gun is very reliable and pleseant to shoot, as all first generation wooden stocked submachine guns normally are. The author has witnessed several live firings of MP18.I’S and they are regarded as nice guns to shoot. As one might imagine, the TM08 gives the gun a definite tilt to the left, but it is easily corrected. The cyclic rate of the MP18,I is around 600-700 rounds per minute
Very little is known today about the MP18,I and its combat service during the First World War. It is assumed that it was issued to ‘Storm Troopers’, but very little actual evidence of that exists today. However, its colloqiual name of Grabenfeger (or Trench Sweeper) might well alude to this supposed connection.
The initial order was placed with the Bergmann factory in late 1917, for 50,000 guns. How many of these were completed before the November 1918 Armistice is unknown. One source claims that weapons with serial numbers as high as 17-18,000 have been found with Imperial German acceptance markings. During a visit to the Imperial War Museum, London, the author examined all the MP18,I’S in storage and found those that were traceable as having First World War service had a number of things in common: they were all well used and had serial numbers below 3,000. These guns were all tagged, and could be tracked back to the units that captured them. This has been consistent with all MP18,I guns which the author has examined all over the world. At the same time, the author has never found a gun with a serial number below 3,000, modified for the later stick magazine.
It is the opinion of the writer that the MP18,I probably saw very little use during the First World War, and if it had been used with any great success then it would have been more widely discussed and copied sooner. As it was, only the
Germans and the Americans continued with development of submachine guns. Even in the United States, the Thompson did not have any interest shown in it by the military for many years.
THEFTS FROM ARMS DEPOTS
For the re-issue of weapons in the 1920’s, submachine guns were only allowed to be used by the German Police. The treaty of Versailles made submachine guns illegal in the German army, so only the police were allowed to use them after the war.
Because of the large number of weapons in civillian hands after the war, the army bought service weapons as an ‘amnesty buy back programme’. There had been a huge problem with thefts from arms depots, and weapons were being sold several times. To prevent this from happening, all weapons in stock during 1920 were stamped with 1920 as a property mark, identifying that they had been government owned at this time. If a civillian tried to sell a 1920 marked gun back to the military, he would be prosecuted for theft. The highest serial number the author has observed on an MP18,I was in the 37,000 range, and had a 1920 property stamp. This tells us that it was in the hands of German government officials during that year.
With this in mind, it is a qualified guess that all the parts, or certainly most of them, to assemble around 40,000 guns were made during the war. It is most likely that a large number of MP18,I’S were assembled in the chaotic period after the war from parts that had already been made. Subcontractors were used for many of the parts, and there is no way of knowing when the guns were assembled or distributed. It is only possible to look at surviving examples and draw conclusions.
At some point, leather pouches holding three TM08 were issued in pairs for the Police to be worn on the chest of the officer. An unlaoding tool for the TM08 was made locally at police stations from damaged loaders. The demand for the unloading tools arose when it was ordered that the TM08’S should be emptied after each mission to avoid unneccesary strain on the follower spring. The unloading tool was officially adopted in 1928 to make the chore easier, and to ensure the magazines did not get damaged in the unloading process.
After the war, it was not possible to be a commercial arms manufacturer in Germany, but development still took place – although not openly. The Bergmann factory sold the manufacturing rights of the MP18,I to Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, (SIG) who soon advertised their Model 1920.
The SIG Model 1920 submachine gun is similar to the MP18,I, but has a totally different bolt and a double stack, double feed 50-round magazine. Double stack, double feed magazines were not new at this point. The Mauser C96 pistol had the same magazine, although not detachable. SIG believed the submachinegun had potential, and wanted to market it as soon as possible. The SIG version is marked Brevet Bergmann, or Bergmanns Patent.
Hugo Schmeisser was disappointed in the sale of his invention and would have preferred to have his submachine gun marketed by the Pieper-bayard company of Belgium. Since it was Bergmann who owned the patents, they would also decide who to sell to. Schmeisser and his brother Hans eventually left the Bergmann company
and formed several companies on their own, relocating to the C G Haenel Waffen und Fahrradfabrik in Suhl. At C G Haenel, the Schmeisser brothers also became partners in the company. They remained there until the end of the Second World War, when Hugo was taken to Russia as part of a group of German arms designers required to work for the Soviets.
One of his first actions at the new factory was to design a replacement magazine well, along with a new magazine for the MP18,I. The magazine well had the markings of the C G Haenel factory on the front face, and the inscription MP18,I System Schmeisser on the top, but along with a serial number normally matching the serial number of the original gun. The new magazine was a short 20-round magazine, carried in pouches of four or five magazines each and in pairs of two pouches for each policeman. Only 20 x round magazines have been observed for the MP18,I.
The magazine was a 20 x round double stack, single feed magazine. It was necessary to retain the single feed to avoid altering the bolt of the existing MP18,IS. As the Luger pistol used an eight x round single feed magazine, the TM08 naturally had to be designed the same way. When Schmeisser designed the new magazine for the MP18,I in the 1920’s, he made the decision to continue using the same bolt already in use. This bolt could only feed its ammunition from a single feed magazine, thus the double stack, single feed magazine was invented and patented by Schmeisser. By this time, he had learned to keep the patents in his own name and not let the company hold them.
Unfortunately, the double stack, single feed design from the MP18,I was carried on into the later design by Schmeisser, the MP28.II, and subsequently ended up in the British Lanchester and Sten submachine guns, as well as being used with the German MP38 and 40 series. As widespread as it became, it was a poor design and this became especially apparent in the MP40 and Sten guns. In the early German guns, the magazines fit tightly in the magazine well, but in the later sheet metal guns the magazine would wobble quite a bit and cause malfuntions. The feed lips and magazine body itself were also prone to damage.
Since the conversion included an alteration of the feed opening of the receiver tube, it is believed that the guns were shipped to the C G Haenel plant for retrofitting. No record exists of how many MP18,IS were converted to use the new stick magazines. It is believed that this conversion took place in the late 1920’s, but it may have been a few years later.
The TM08 was still shown in use in a 1927 manual for the German police. A 1933 manual still has pictures of the TM08, but states that the magazine is now a 32-round stick magazine. It is possible that the new magazines were not available yet and that is the reson for the capacity given. In a 1938 manual, both 20 and 32 x round magazines are shown in the illustrations, but the capacity is only listed as 20 x rounds in the text.
Only submachine guns held by the German Police were converted. Although illegal by the treaty of Versailles, we can safely assume that the German Army, the Reichswehr, and its paramilitary ‘secret’ sister organization, the ‘black’ Reichswehr, held a substantial number of MP18,IS in their original configuration as these were carried all the way through the Second World War.
THE ‘SCHMEISSER’ THE MP28.II
Many MP18,IS with stick magazines have been observed with the so called ‘Police’ safety catch present. This safety catch seems to have been installed on submachine guns used by the German police as an extra safety measure. In its SAFE position, it will lock the bolt completely from movement.
Some MP18,I submachine guns have been observed with MP28.II magazine points on them. The reason for this is somewhat unclear, but these parts have been found in several countries, and appear to be genuine. It is a qualified guess that these were used to convert MP18,IS to stick magazines after the parts supply from C G Haenel dried up.
In Norway, both original and converted MP18,IS have been located. Most have been converted to stick magazines. One ‘oddball’ gun is found at the Norwegian Military Museum an MP18,I which bears signs of having been converted to stick magazine and then back to TM08. Most likely, the gun changed service branch for some reason and thus has been converted to comply with the requisite standards.
C G Haenel marketed the MP28 II submachine gun around 1930, as a further developed MP18,I with a tangent rear sight graduated to 1,000 metres, a selector allowing full auto and single shots and a different firing pin and recoil spring assembly. Construction wise, the MP28.II has a barrel threaded at the muzzle and which screws directly into the receiver tube, fixed in position with a set screw that is positioned underneath the front sight. The bolt assembly may be interchanged between the two models.
The MP28.II used a 32 x round magazine that was externally similar to that of the MP18,I, but somewhat lighter in construction. The external dimensions of the two magazines are also slightly different. This results in the loss of interchangeability between the two guns: MP18,I magazines may be used in the MP28.II, but not the other way around. For the MP28.II, the magazines were carried in pouches of three magazines. These pouches were normally also carried in pairs by the users.
On the magazine well of the MP28.II, ‘System Schmeisser Patent’ is distinctly stamped. This, and earlier marking of converted MP18,IS, is probably the reason that German submachine guns are forever spoken of as ‘Schmeissers’. The name itself even sounds like a machinegun! The first user of the MP28. II appears to have been the German police.
The German army never adopted the MP28.II, but in the 1930’s large numbers were bought and put into use with paramilitary units such as the SS. These units had to procure weapons on their own as army stocks were not yet available to them. This would soon change.
In the beginning, the MP28.II was marketed as the Schmeisser submachinegun by the Dutch Veland company. Their sales brochures have been observed in several languages, and we find the MP28.II is offered with 50, 32 and 20 x round magazines in several calibres. It must also be noted that the Schmeisser/bergmann design was copied and/or licensed and made in several other countries, with Belgium, Spain and the Baltic countries all making their own versions of the so-called ‘Schmeisser’.
The most famous copy of the MP28. II would probably be the British Lanchester, which was used by the Royal Navy during the Second World War. The British chose a 50 x round magazine for their gun and later used the same magazine (shortened to 32 x round capacity) for the millions of Sten Guns manufactured during that war.
The designation of the gun as the MP18,I has never been fully deciphered. Of course, MP18 means that it was the submachine gun (Machinen Pistole) of 1918, but the comma before the ‘I’ is more of a puzzle. Many interesting theories have been offered, but no documentary proof has ever been located. At the same time, the modified MP18,I with the stick magazine bears exactly the same designation. Lastly, we have the gun’s successor, the MP28.II, which is in the same boat with regards to nomenclature. Nobody knows what the .II means, either!