MP 40 - Copies and Post-war Usage

Copies and Post-war Usage

After the end of World War II, many MP 40s captured by the Allies were redistributed to the paramilitary and irregular forces of some developing countries; these guns were eventually used in conflicts in Greece, Israel, and Vietnam.

The MP 38 or MP 40 was also a pattern for diverse submachine guns such as:

• While designing the American .45-caliber M3 submachine gun, engineers considered some features of the British Sten guns and captured MP 40s. The M3 used a copy of the Sten magazine, which itself was similar to the MP 40 magazine.
• The Spanish company Star Bonifacio Echeverria, S.A. produced the Star Modelo Z-45, a variant of the MP 40. Produced in 9x23mm Largo, the Z-45 is a selective-fire submachine gun, equipped with either a wooden or a folding metal buttstock, and wooden handguards. Its magazine was a copy of the MP 40, and held 30 rounds. It served in Spain, Cuba, Chile, Portugal and Saudi Arabia and was used for the first time in combat in the battle of Sidi Ifni.
• The Yugoslav Peoples Army used a similar submachine gun in 7.62x25mm Tokarev produced by Zastava called the M56 which was used in some quantity in the various conflicts after the breakup of Yugoslavia. It was recognized by its long thin barrel, curved magazines, and a permanently mounted folding bayonet.
• The Norwegian Army used the MP 40 from 1945 until about 1970 and other parts of the Norwegian armed forces, such as the Norwegian Home Guard, still issued the MP 40 up into the early 1990s.
• Some MP 40s were in use by the Kosovo Liberation Army in the Kosovo War in 1999.
• Two MP 40s were used by the LAPD SWAT team during the famous May 1974 shootout with members of the urban guerrilla Symbionese Liberation Army.
• The BD 38 is a semi-automatic copy of the MP 38 submachine gun manufactured by HZA Kulmbach GmbH.