Original Item: Only One Available. Taken from an MP 40 Parts Set that was built into a Display Gun and sold separately. This example comes complete with its extractor and push/pull cocking handle, as well as the telescoping recoil assembly topped with the firing pin. Condition is very good, with a bit of light rust in areas. Push-pull safety works well. The bolt, firing pin, and recoil assembly all bear Waffenamt proofs.

Now so very difficult to find, those days are truly over. Bolt bears German Waffenamt and serial number. Ready to display!

History of the MP40-

Both MP 38 and MP 40 submachine guns are open-bolt, blowback-operated automatic arms. Fully automatic fire was the only setting, but the relatively low rate of fire allowed for single shots with controlled trigger pulls. The bolt features a telescoping return spring guide that serves as a pneumatic recoil buffer. The cocking handle was permanently attached to the bolt on early MP 38s, but on late production MP 38s and MP 40s, the bolt handle was made as a separate part. It also served as a safety by pushing the head of handle into one of two separate notches above the main opening; this action locked the bolt either in the cocked (rear) or uncocked (forward) position. The absence of this feature on early MP 38s resulted in field expedients such as leather harnesses with a small loop, used to hold the bolt in forward position.

The MP 38 receiver was made of machined steel, but this was a time-consuming and expensive process. To save time and materials, and thus increase production, construction of the MP 40 receiver was simplified by using stamped steel and electro-spot welding as much as possible. The MP 38 also features longitudinal grooving on the receiver and bolt, as well as a circular opening on the magazine housing. These features were eliminated on the M38/40 and MP 40.

One unique feature found on most MP 38 and MP 40 submachine guns was an aluminum, steel, or bakelite resting bar or support under the barrel. This was used to steady the weapon when firing over the side of open-top armored personnel carriers such as the Sdkfz 251 half-track. A handguard, made of a synthetic material derived from bakelite, was located between the magazine housing and the pistol grip. The barrel lacked any form of insulation, which often resulted in burns on the supporting hand if it was incorrectly positioned. The MP 38 and MP 40 also had a forward-folding metal stock, the first for a submachine gun,[10] resulting in a shorter overall weapon when folded; however, this stock design was at times insufficiently durable for hard combat use.

The MP 38 and MP 40 (MP designates Maschinenpistole.) were submachine guns developed in NSDAP Germany and used extensively by Fallschirmjäger (paratroopers), platoon and squad leaders, and other troops during World War II. Both weapons were often erroneously called the Schmeisser, despite Hugo Schmeisser's non-involvement in their design and production.