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1. Nov 14, 2009  Here’s a book about gunsmithing that you can download as a 40MB PDF file. It’s Advanced Gunsmithing by W. Vicery and it was published in 1940. It’s an old book but I think you may still find it useful and interesting, even if you don’t own a gun, because it describes how to use many of the same machine shop tools and techniques that we’re still using today.
2. Scotts Gunsmithing in Glen Burnie offers professional services.

This article is about the Erma machine pistol gun, not to be confused with the Bergmann MP-35 or the Austrian MP34.

The German machine pistol EMP (Erma Maschinenpistole) also known as MPE (Maschinenpistole Erma) was produced by the Erma factory, and was based on designs acquired from Heinrich Vollmer. The gun was produced from 1931 to 1938 in roughly 10,000 exemplars (in three main variants) and exported to Spain, Mexico, China and Yugoslavia, but also used domestically by the SS. It was produced under license in Spain by the arsenal of A Coruña under the designation M41/44.

History[edit]

In the early 1920s, Vollmer started to develop his own sub-machineguns. His early models, named VPG, VPGa, VPF and VMP1925 were fairly similar to the MP18. The VMP1925 had a wooden handgrip and was fed by a 25-round drum magazine. The VMP1925 was secretly tested by the Reichswehr, along with competing designs from Schmeisser and Rheinmetall. (The Reichswehr was prohibited by the Versailles Treaty from having sub-machine guns in service, although the German police was allowed to carry a small number.) Secret funding was given to Vollmer to continue development, and this resulted in the VMP1926, which mostly differed from its predecessor by the removal of the cooling jacket. A subsequent development was the VMP1928, which introduced a 32-round box magazine sticking from the left side. The final development of this series was the VMP1930. (It can also be seen at the WTS.) This model introduced a substantive innovation—a telescoping main spring assembly, which made the gun more reliable and easier to assemble and disassemble in the field. Vollemer applied for a patent for his innovation in 1930 and it was granted in 1933 as DRP# 580620. His company, Vollmer Werke, produced however only about 400 of these, and most were sold to Bulgaria. In late 1930, the Reichswehr stopped supporting Vollmer financially; consequently he sold the rights to all his designs to the company known as Erma Werke (which is an abbreviation for Erfurter Maschinenfabrik, Berthold Geipel GmbH).^[2]

The submachine guns that Erma started to sell in 1932 under the names EMP (Erma Maschinenpistole) or MPE (Maschinenpistole Erma) was basically just the VMP1930 with the cooling jacket restored. Although there were several variants with varying barrel lengths and sights made to customers' specifications, roughly three main variants were produced: one with a 30 cm barrel, tangent rear sight and bayonet lug was apparently sold to Bulgaria or Yugoslavia. The second model, sometimes called the MP34, or the 'standard model', had a 25 cm barrel and no provision for a bayonet; the rear sight on these varies—some had a tangent sight, others a simplified flip-up 'L' sight. A third variant was basically similar in the metallic parts, but replaced the foregrip with a MP18-style stock with finger-grooves. Overall, at least 10,000 of these Vollmer-based designs were made by Erma.^[2] They were adopted by the SS and the German Police, but also sold to Mexico, Yugoslavia and Spain.^[3] During the Spanish Civil War, the EMP was used by both the Republicans^[4] and the Nationalists.^[1]

In the Spring of 1939, a large number of defeated Spanish Republicans fled to France, where they were disarmed. Some 3,250 EMPs formerly in the possession of these fighters ended up in a French warehouse at Clermont-Ferrand. The EMPs were usually referred to as the 'Erma–Vollmer' in French documents. The French tested the weapons and decided to adopt them for their own service. A provisional manual was printed in French as Provisoire sur le pistolet-mitrailleur Erma – Vollmer de 9mm, issued on December 26, 1939 and updated in January 6, 1940. However, the French had obtained only some 1,540 suitable magazines for these guns, so only 700-800 EMPs were actually distributed to the French forces, mostly to the Mobile Gendarmerie. After the Germans conquered France, some EMPs armed the Legion of French Volunteers Against Bolshevism, which eventually became part of the SS Charlemagne division. This division was practically destroyed in February 1945 in Eastern Prussia, now part of Poland. Numerous EMPs have been found in the last-stand battlefields of the SS Charlemagne division; most of these guns lack any German military stamps or marks.^[5] The EMPs which arrived in German hands via the French route were given the (Fremdgerät) designation 740(f).^[6] The Yugoslav purchased EMPs were used by both the Partisans and the Chetniks.^[7]

In Francoist Spain, the EMP, chambered in the 9mm Largo cartridge, was locally produced until the mid-1950s. It was designated Model 1941/44^[8] or 'subfusil Coruña'.^[9] It performed poorly during the Ifni War.^[10]

Design[edit]

Its arming lever is on the right. The magazine housing, which is on the left, is slightly canted forwards to assist in feeding ammunition. The weapon could be fired either in semi-automatic or fully automatic modes.

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Influence[edit]

Erma Pistol Manual Free Download Husqvarna

The final development at Erma is known as the EMP 36. This can be considered an intermediate model between the EMP and the MP38. Although many details of the mechanism were changed from the EMP, it retained Vollmer's telescoping main operating spring basically unchanged. On the exterior, the most obvious differences are that the magazine housing was now almost vertical, although still canted slightly to the left and forward. The solid wood stock was replaced with a wood frame and a folding metal butt. It is not entirely clear who designed the EMP 36, although Berthold Geipel himself is usually credited. Apparently, the features of the new design were the result of another secret contract with the German army.^[2] The EMP's telescopic cylinder return spring guide was retained for the Maschinenpistole 38.

Users[edit]

• Bolivia: used the VMP1930 during the Chaco War^[11]
• France^[12]
  • Vichy France (small amount issued to Milice française)^[13]
• Germany
• Republic of China^[2]
• Mexico
• Norway: The Norwegian Police Service Assault Group (Statspolitiet) bought 8 VMP1930 submachine guns in 1932^[14]
• Spain
• Yugoslavia: in 9×19mm Parabellum^[15]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abSmith 1969, pp. 153-154.
2. ^ ^abcdG. de Vries, B.J. Martens (2001). The MP 38, 40, 40/1 and 41 Submachine gun. Propaganda Photos. 2. Arnhem: Special Interest Publicaties BV. pp. 8–13. ISBN90-805583-2-X.
3. ^Smith 1969, p. 428.
4. ^Smith 1969, p. 156.
5. ^The Erma EMP submachine guns – Translation to English of text from Martin Helebrant's Samopal MP38 a MP40, Nakladatelstvi Elka Press, ISBN978-80-87057-02-5 at mp40.nl
6. ^Thorsten Heber (1942). Kennblätter fremden Geräts. BoD – Books on Demand. p. 135. ISBN978-3-8370-4042-5. Retrieved 11 August 2013.
7. ^Scarlata, Paul (1 October 2017). 'Yugoslav Part II: World War II small arms: an assortment of small arms from friends and foe alike'. Firearms News.
8. ^Smith 1969, p. 544.
9. ^Juan Tous Meliá (2000). Guía histórica del Museo Militar Regional de Canarias. p. 93. ISBN978-84-7823-752-4.
10. ^Piñero, Juan Pastrana (2015). 'El ejército español en la Guerra de Ifni-Sahara'. In Viñas Martín, Angel; Puell de la Villa, Fernando (eds.). La historia militar hoy: investigaciones y tendencias [Military History Today : Research and Trends] (PDF) (in Spanish). pp. 295–314. ISBN978-84-617-2104-7.
11. ^Alejandro de Quesada (20 November 2011). The Chaco War 1932-35: South America's greatest modern conflict. Osprey Publishing. p. 24. ISBN978-1-84908-901-2.
12. ^Scarlata, Paul (June 2017). 'French World War II Small Arms: Part II'. Firearms News (15): 34.
13. ^World War II Vichy French Security Troops. Osprey Publishing. 2018. p. 41. ISBN1472827759.
14. ^Magnar Skaret (2017). Politiets Våpen. Norsk Politihistorisk Selskap. p. 109-110. ISBN978-82-998108-4-5.
15. ^Smith 1969, p. 723.

Further reading[edit]

• K.R. Pawlas (1994) 'Die Maschinenpistole Erma (MPE)', Waffen Revue Nr. 95, pp. 47–56
• L. Guillou (1994) 'Le pistolet mitrailleur Erma-Vollmer de 1931 cal.9 mm Para.' Gazette des armes numéro 254
• Les P.M. Allemands (1918-1945) - Gazette des armes hors-serie n° 19
• Smith, Joseph E. (1969). Small Arms of the World (11 ed.). Harrisburg, Pennsylvania: The Stackpole Company.

External links[edit]

The Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (ERMA) was a German weapons manufacturer founded in 1922 by Berthold Geipel. Prior to and during World War II it manufactured many firearms, including the Karabiner 98k, the MP40 and other submachine guns.

The company is also noted for having produced various forms of military training rifles, including the famous EL 24subcaliber 'Barrel Insert' training devices that allowed .22 long rifle ammunition to be fired from infantry rifles such as the Karabiner 98 and Steyr-Mannlicher M1895 through use of a special action conversion kit and a thin-walled .22 caliber barrel inserted within the larger rifle's bore.

History[edit]

The Erfurter Maschinen- und Werkzeugfabrik GmbH was formed in 1922 in Erfurt, Thuringia, by Berthold Geipel. At the beginning of the 1930s the company started its firearms business, acquiring licenses to produce Mauser carbines like the 'Karabiner 98k' and rights to manufacture submachine guns ('Machine Pistols'), which received the designation 'EMP' for 'ERMA Maschinenpistole'.^[1]

Firearms Production[edit]

Die 'EMP' series was based on designs by Heinrich Vollmer which had been bought by Geipert in the early 1930s. These SMGs would be produced in different variants from 1932 (as direct copies of the Vollmer models) to 1938 and sold in Germany, but also to Spain, Mexico, China and Yugoslavia. The Spanish acquired a license for domestic production later on. By 1935 a license to produce repeating rifles of the Mauser Model 98 system has been acquired, production would go on until the early 1940s mid-war. Pre-war conversion kits as training devices, with subcaliber 'Insert Barrels' like the type 'Erma EL 24' (EL for 'Einstecklauf'), would also be sold for those weapons systems. In 1933 Berthold's brother Elmar Geipel is hired by the company. In 1934 the enterprise was renamed to Erfurter Maschinenfabrik B. Geipel GmbH, or 'ERMA' for short. In 1937 Berthold Geipel is appointed Wehrwirtschaftsführer of Erfurt by the Nazi regime.

From the version 'EMP 36' of ERMA the SMG 'MP 38' and the following model 'MP 40' had been developed under the guidance of Vollmer, and been accepted by the german Wehrmacht, been put into production.^[2] In 1943 another SMG had been constructed by the 'ERMA-Werke', the 'Erma EMP 44', a very simplified Machine Pistol, which could have been manufactured with speed and in great numbers. Such a crudely designed firearm was not approved by the Wehrmacht at that time. Later reconsiderations on the viability for a setup to manufacture the firearm led to nowhere, although there had been certain demand by the end of the war. Similar designs for such simple SMGs had been met with success and these were issued in numbers to the Soviet army (PPS submachine gun) and the British (Sten gun), to be used effectively for decades.

During the war part of the Geipel enterprise was located at the Altonaer Straße 25 in Erfurt, an area on the campus of the Fachhochschule Erfurt, founded in 1991. Furthermore, since about 1940 a forced labour camp ('Zwangsarbeitslager') for the nearby weaponry manufacture plants had been erected in the vicinity of said Fachhochschule. Around 2000 workers had been re-settled there in shacks to keep production going.^[3]

Post war[edit]

In 1945 Geipel was arrested and imprisoned by the Allied occupation forces in Germany due to his involvement with the Nazi party. He was eventually freed and underwent denazification, after which he worked for 'Vollmer GmbH' as Assistant Director to Heinrich Vollmer. Following the end of the war, the Thuringia region found itself in the Soviet occupation zone. Marshal Zhukov of the Group of Soviet Forces in Germany ordered what was left of the 'ERMA' assets to be liquidated on August 31st 1948.^[1][4]

Geipel re-established the company under the brand name ERMA-Werke in Bavaria in 1949 and in 1952 the company moved to Dachau, near Munich. Geipel's son Rudolf became the Chief Engineer of the new company and for the first few years production was devoted to household appliances. Around 1952 'ERMA' was awarded a contract by the government of West Germany to service and produce parts for the various Allied forces weapons that had been supplied to the German police forces, notably M1 Carbines.^[4] The company also commenced manufacture of gas pistols and revolvers (like EGR 66), and rifles a.o. with lever actions.

Following the foundation of the Bundeswehr in May 1955, the Federal government gave ERMA permission to research and develop a new submachine gun; the aim was to replace the weapons given by the Allied forces to both West Germany's police and army. ERMA's design was, however, outbid and out-performed by a submission of the Uzi, which became the 'MP 2' issued to the German Army (Deutsches Heer). In the 1960s the Walther MP would be issued to the German Navy (Bundesmarine) and used by federal police forces. The financial resources expended in developing the new submachine gun had been quite substantial, and as a consequence 'ERMA-Werke' were taken over in 1961 by 'Fiberglide', a division of Lear-Siegler, which traded under the 'ERMA' brand name. Berthold Geipel and his son left the company.^[4]

In October 1997 'ERMA Werke' commenced bankruptcy proceedings and in 1998 was taken over by 'Suhler Jagd- und Sportwaffen GmbH' (later 'Merkel'), at that time a division of Steyr-Mannlicher. An 'ERMA Suhl' logo was used on their products for a while.^[5] By 2004 Heckler & Koch had taken over the Thuringian company forming the 'H&K Jagd und Sportwaffen GmbH' as hunting and shooting sports section under the 'Merkel' brand name, following which the 'ERMA' name and brand ceased to exist for manufacturing firearms.

Firearms manufactured[edit]

• MP38 / MP40
• EMP 44, experimental low cost SMG
• EG 70, an M1 Carbine copy, ERMA manufactured parts for these weapons in the early 1950s and produced a .22 caliber training rifle modeled after the carbine that proved so popular it was commercially marketed as the EM-1 and available in .22 WMR
• Various low cost .22 caliber pistols resembling the Luger pistol
• KGP 68, .380 (9mm kurz) Luger pistol Clone
• ESP 85A, target pistol.
• TP 22, .22 caliber pistols resembling the PPK.
• TP 25, .25 ACP variant of the TP-22 pocket pistol.
• ET 22, .22 caliber pistols with 11 inch barrels for the West German Navy.
• Ithaca Model 72 Saddlegun, in .22LR and .22WMR
• EGR 66 and 66X, gas revolver, Smith & Wesson-Revolvers Model 36 copy, 66X is the stainless steel version

Further reading[edit]

• A. J. R. Cormack (1972) Erma Submachine guns, Small Arms Profile 8, Profile Publications Ltd., OCLC506029049
• G. de Vries, B.J. Martens: The MP 38, 40, 40/1 and 41 Submachine Gun, Vol. 2. Special Interest Publicaties BV, Arnhem 2001, ISBN90-805583-2-X
• Werner Limbrecht: ERMA & FEIMA: Berthold Geipel und seine Erfurter Waffenfabriken, Fachhochsch., 2009, ISBN978-3-00-026775-8. (german)

References[edit]

1. ^ ^abDie Maschinenpistole 40, Berthold Geipel - mp40.nl
2. ^G. de Vries, B.J. Martens (2001). The MP 38, 40, 40/1 and 41 Submachine gun. Vol. 2. Arnhem: Special Interest Publicaties BV. pp. 8–13. ISBN90-805583-2-X.
3. ^Fachhochschule Erfurt - News, 01.04.2009 (german)
4. ^ ^abc'ERMA-Werke E M1, History, Importers, Markings Part I 1945-1990 - m1carbinesinc.com'.
5. ^'ERMA-Werke E M1, History, Importers, Markings Part II 1990-2000+ - m1carbinesinc.com'.

Erma Pistols Luger