Original Item: Only One Set Available. Here we have a very nice "battlefield pickup" set from a German MP 40 "Machine Pistol", made up of the lower receiver "Cup" assembly frame, and the grip frame. There are a few remaining internal trigger group components in the lower receiver frame, while the grip frame is just the frame, with no other parts included. These were picked up some time after the war, and the bakelite grips and lower housing were removed, most likely used for another MP 40, or just sold off.

The rear receiver cup is marked with the date and manufacture codes, which are clear:

This indicates manufacture by Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, Werk Steyr, the legendary Austrian arms company. The date is partly missing, and the serial number is completely gone. There are no other visible markings on either piece of the set.

A nice MP 40 Battlefield pickup set, ready to display!

History of the MP40

The Maschinenpistole 40 ("Machine pistol 40") descended from its predecessor the MP 38, which was in turn based on the MP 36, a prototype made of machined steel. The MP 36 was developed independently by Erma Werke's Berthold Geipel with funding from the German Army. It took design elements from Heinrich Vollmer's VPM 1930 and EMP. Vollmer then worked on Berthold Geipel's MP 36 and in 1938 submitted a prototype to answer a request from the Heereswaffenamt (Army Weapons Office) for a new submachine gun, which was adopted as MP 38. The MP 38 was a simplification of the MP 36, and the MP 40 was a further simplification of the MP 38, with certain cost-saving alterations, most notably in the more extensive use of stamped steel rather than machined parts.

It was heavily used by infantrymen (particularly platoon and squad leaders), and by paratroopers, on the Eastern and Western Fronts. Its advanced and modern features made it a favorite among soldiers and popular in countries from various parts of the world after the war. It was often erroneously called "Schmeisser" by the Allies, despite Hugo Schmeisser's non-involvement in the weapon's design and production. From 1940 to 1945, an estimated 1.1 million were produced by Erma Werke.