Erma EMP

Erma EMP-35 submachine gun - 9x19mm

The Erma EMP, also called Erma EMP 35 (not to be confused with the Bergmann MP35/I‎) or Erma MPE, was a German submachine gun, which was manufactured from 1931 to 1938 by the Erfurter Maschinen- und Werkzeugfabrik Berthold Geipel GmbH (ERMA). The terms EMP and MPE stand for Erma-Maschinenpistole and Maschinenpistole-Erma. The weapon was a further development of the submachine guns VMP (Vollmer Maschinenpistole) M1925, VMP M1927 and VMP M1930 developed by Heinrich Vollmer. The Erma submachine guns were exported worldwide and produced under license in Spain (called Coruña MP 41/44) and Switzerland. The weapon was used during the Second World War by the SS and the police in the German Reich. In addition, the EMP was used in the Spanish Civil War and the Chaco War. In addition, the Polish Mors M1939 was developed on the model of the Erma EMP, which were allegedly from Belgium.

The weapons designer Heinrich Vollmer developed his first submachine gun with the name VMP M1925 in 1925 based on the Bergmann MP18. Like the later models, this prototype was equipped with a cooling jacket for the barrel and an additional, front wooden handle. However, the weapon was loaded with a 25-round drum magazine. The prototype was further developed to the models VMP M1927 and VMP M1930. The drum magazine was replaced by a 32-round box magazine and the cooling jacket was dispensed with. There should also have been magazines for 20, 40 and 50 cartridges. The VMP M1930 used a similar telescopic closing spring as the later submachine gun MP38, MP40 and MP41. The patent for this development received Heinrich Vollmer in 1933. These Vollmer submachine guns had a cadence of 600 rounds / min and were for the same cartridges as the later Erma EMP set up.

The development of the VMP models was partly secretly supported and financed by the Reichswehr. Officially, no machine guns, including machine pistols or "machine carbines" (as submachine guns were called in Europe at the time) were allowed to be developed or manufactured in the German Reich because of the Treaty of Versailles. This cooperation was abruptly stopped on the one hand because of the global economic crisis, on the other hand due to the negative attitudes of military leadership towards submachine guns, which were thought of as weapons for criminals rather than soldiers. From the early Vollmer machine pistols, a total of 350 to 400 pieces were produced by the Vollmer plants. Due to the low number of pieces produced, Heinrich Vollmer could not become commercially successful with these models. Therefore, Vollmer turned to the Erma Werke to finance the production and sale of its submachine guns in large numbers. As a result, the VMP M1930 was slightly upgraded and re-equipped with the previous cooling jacket. These weapons were manufactured under the designations EMP, MPE and EMP 35 by the company ERMA, which had bought the licensing rights of Vollmer, in four versions and sold worldwide.

Specifications

(1931-1945) Germany

• Type: Submachine Gun

• Caliber: 9 × 19 mm, 9 mm Bergmann-Bayard, 7,65 × 21 mm Luger, 7,63 × 25 mm Mauser, 9 mm Mauser Export[

• Weight: 4 kg (8 lb 13 oz)

• Length: 95 cm (3 ft 1 in)

• Barrel length: 32 cm (13 in)

• Capacity: 20- or 32-round detachable box magazine

• Fire Modes: Semi-auto / full-auto

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The Erma EMP and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Film

Title	Actor	Character	Note	Date
Our Agent Tiger (Le Tigre se parfume à la dynamite)	Roger Hanin	Louis Rapière aka Tiger		1964
	Micaela Pignatelli	Sarita Sanchez
		Various
The Olsen Gang in a Fix		Bavarian mobsters		1969
Papillon		French Gendarmerie		1973
Cuba	Sean Connery	Maj. Robert Dapes	Probably a Spanish M41/44	1979
		Cuban Government soldiers and guerillas
Libertarias	Ana Belén	Pilar		1996
	Victoria Abril	Floren
	Blanca Apilánez	Aura
	Laura Mañá	Concha
	Joan Crosas	Boina
	Jorge Sanz	Worker Son
	José Sancho	Worker Father
		Anarchists
Stalingrad		German Soldier		2013

Video Games

Game Title	Appears as	Notation	Release Date
Battlefield V	"Erma Maschinenpistole"		2018