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Description of  MP 38 and MP 40 Submachine Guns (Weapon)

Nazi Germany's MP 38 and MP 40 submachine guns are among World War II's most iconic weapons. Widely issued to Fallschirmjager (airborne troops) owing to their portability and folding stocks, the MP 38 and MP 40 became the hallmarks of Germany's infantry section and platoon leaders. Over 1 million were produced during World War II, many finding their way after 1945 into the hands of paramilitary and irregular forces, from Israel to Vietnam the Norwegian armed forces continued to use them until the early 1990s, and examples and derivatives saw widespread use in the Yugoslav wars of that decade. The MP 38 and the MP 40 saw combat in the hands of German troops in every theater in which they were involved, and have become synonymous with Nazi Germany's war effort in popular perception. Even during the war Geipel and Vollmer's designs, mistakenly attributed to the rival designer Hugo Schmeisser by the Allies, profoundly influenced the British Sten and the US M3 grease gun as well as postwar weapons such as the Spanish Star Modelo Z-45 and the Yugoslav M56. Featuring specially commissioned full-color artwork and period and close-up photographs, this is the story of the origins, combat use, and lasting influence of two of World War II's most famous firearms.