There’s a funny thing about submachine guns in World War II for SOME allies and some axis.




There’s a funny thing about submachine guns in World War II for SOME allies and some axis.

This is more about how soldiers, in general felt about submachine guns.

I’ve read a shit load of accounts, and spoke with veterans including an expert on firearms and decorated veterans, sadly, all gone.

WE can look at a parallel-With the Americans, while they hated the M1 thumb and knew that was a heavy sucker, they’d talk about something like a Thompson, with a bit of boyish giddiness, and how fun it was to shoot, but shift back to serious work and like the rifle. Audie Murphy praised the M1 Carbine, but he was an exception. He liked the M2 heavy machine gun. I don’t think he mentioned grabbing a submachine gun as a first choice for anything. I think a lot of Germans and Americans preferred rifles. They’d seen situations where the range was too great and you needed a rifle and didn’t want to be pinned down and impotent.

I’ve found accounts of both Marines and US soldiers wanting not so much the submachine gun, but the BAR! I think Americans and others like powerful weapons. Sometimes you’ll hear of Germans wanting the submachine guns, but it’s in close in fighting where it’s suitable, but the Mauser ’98K must have been one Helluva rifle, you’ll read about the Germans wanting a pistol like every soldier, but seldom complaining about their bolt action rifle. They are astonished by the firepower of facing automatic weapons, but they had their MG42 which was a beast.

While the Soviets grabbed up any damn submachine gun they could! Considering the fact they carried an awkward Mosin Nagant, I think most of us would as well, especially as they were supposed to have a fixed bayonet just to shoot. (Barrel harmonics, it’s one of the few rifles designed that way.)

Since we already strayed, one comment about the Brits is interesting, in the original books that created Band of Brothers as a reference. In Currahee, I think it was, Americans employing an MG 42 pissed off nearby Brits. They didn’t like troops employing enemy small arms, as they knew the founds and believed it to be Germans outflanking them which makes sense.

So for soldiers armed with a decent rifle, when it came down to it, if it was close in, they’d grab a submachine gun if one was available, but even many Infantry Officers preferred rifles.

For those assigned the MP40, like many NCO’s, motorcyclists, etc.


It was well received, better than the some of the alternatives, although the Beretta as great, most wound up with the Waffen SS. The MP40 was a more economical version of the MP38 to build, but there didn’t seem to be much disliked about it.


The MP 38 and MP 40 were decent submachine guns and had some accuracy and were easily controlled. Like the Mauser 98K, there wasn’t much if any negative comments about them so they did the job. The fact that they were readily adopted by Partisans and their enemies speaks highly of them. A partisan would rather have an MP 40 than a Sten.

You can find a great assortment of Soviets and Partisans carrying the MP38’s and MP40’s.

One funny thing was because the enemy had drum magazines in the East, some Germans felt a bit of inferiority and wanted higher capacitary.

So the Germans did try out a double magazine SMG.

now the proper way to shoot it wasn’t to hold the magazine, they did hold the housing, but for accuracy, it’s better to hold it like a rifle. As with the M16 series, holding it by it’s magazine housing isn’t bad, but it’s hard to distinguish in some photos as it is with the STEN.


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