EMP 44
| 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 | 720 mm (28.3 in) |
| Cartridge | 9×19mm Parabellum |
| Action | Straight blowback, |
| Rate of fire | 500 rounds/minute |
| Effective firing range | 150-200 meters |
| Feed system | Two 32-round detachablebox magazines |
| Sights | Fixed Iron Sight |
TheEMP 44was a prototype, all-metalsubmachine gunproduced byErma Werkein 1943. It was rejected by theHeereswaffenamt.[1]
Design
[edit]The EMP 44 fires from anopen bolt.The caliber is9×19mm 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-roundMP 40magazinewells. 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 BritishSten gunand to a lesser extent thePPSh-41.Ultimately, its 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 theirdual feedmechanism which was then installed onMP40/I.[3]
History
[edit]The wide use of submachine guns by the German armed forces in theSecond World Warled 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 theSten.Theflash suppressorwas formed in the same manner as the Russian machine pistolPPS-43muzzle brake from stamped steel. The EMP 44 was rejected due to its failure to pass acceptance tests, but mainly because new weapons like theMP 44/STG 44were already produced with the goal to replace both the MP 40 and theKarabiner 98k.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^John Walter (2004).The Guns of the Third Reich.Greenhill Books. p. 187.ISBN978-1-85367-598-0.
- ^W. Darrin Weaver (2005)Desperate Measures - The Last-Ditch Weapons of the Nazi Volkssturm,Collector Grade Publications,ISBN0889353727,pp. 110-112
- ^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
[edit]For photographs see:
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