Obscure Object of Want: The Walther MPK Submachine Gun

In the summertime of 1972 I used to be 5 years previous. I don’t keep in mind a lot from that point however I’ve a reasonably good reminiscence of the TV information experiences of the Munich Olympic Village massacre, the place the Palestinian group Black September murdered 11 Israeli Olympic athletes.

One factor that didn’t go unnoticed: the distinctive Walther MP collection submachine weapons utilized by first responder German Polizei items. They seemed so sinister. It could take greater than 4 a long time for me to lastly really hearth one, a possibility supplied by Battlefield Vegas.

The post-World Struggle II chilly struggle period noticed a renaissance in submachine designs, together with the UZI, the MAT-49s and Beretta Mannequin 12.

Walther noticed the necessity for a for a extra light-weight design which might be each controllable and dependable. The fruit of their labor — the Walther MP collection of SMGs — entered manufacturing in 1963.

Just a few years later, competitor Heckler & Koch would excellent the SMG by way of its roller-lock design, producing the enduring HK MP5.

Regardless of attending to market first, the Walther MP submachine gun would at all times play second fiddle to the MP5. Though Walther secured a good variety of contracts from West German police departments and some army forces right here and there world wide, the MP’s had been a disappointment commercially. Nonetheless, it remained in manufacturing for roughly twenty years.

Apparently, United States particular forces bought a small variety of MP collection SMGs within the late Nineteen Sixties and Nineteen Seventies, together with 1st SFOD-D and Navy SEALs. The picture beneath purportedly exhibits a SFOD-D operator utilizing a Walther MP on the ill-fated Iranian hostage rescue mission:

The Walther MP is a select-fire, open-bolt, blowback-operated submachine gun that fires the 9x19mm cartridge. Rounds are fed by way of a 32-round field journal that seems to be based mostly on the Carl Gustaf “Swedish Okay” stick magazines.

On full auto, the cyclic price of fireplace is roughly 550 rounds per minute, making the weapon extremely controllable. The Walther MP includes a stamped metal higher and decrease receiver. It’s sometimes discovered with a skeleton wire folding inventory cloaked in a rubberized overlaying.

Walther produced two variants of the MP: the Walther MPL (Maschinenpistole Lang proven above) and the MPK (Maschinenpistole Kurz proven beneath). The first distinction between the 2 is the barrel size.

The MPL includes a 10.2″ Barrel and the MPK sported a 6.8″ barrel. With the inventory prolonged, the MPL is 29.5″ lengthy (75cm), and the MPK measures 26″ (66cm) lengthy.  The MPK was additionally 1/3 pound lighter than the MPL.

The Walther MP SMGs are attention-grabbing from a design standpoint for quite a lot of causes. First, it options an L-shaped bolt which rides partially above the barrel. This design reduces the size of the receiver, as proven within the images beneath.

Second, the MP doesn’t have a firing “pin” per se, however quite includes a nipple-like protrusion on the bolt face.

The Walther MP’s dual-purpose iron sights additionally deserve consideration. It’s a long-range aperture sight. A “notch” fashion CQB sight is etched into the highest. With this mixture the shooter can take extra exact pictures at longer distances and use the notches on high for instinctive or level taking pictures at nearer ranges.

My taking pictures expertise with the Walther MPK was very nice and all too transient. The weapon might be simply be fired in 2-3 spherical bursts. Hits had been simple to acquire.

My solely actual grievance: the three-position ambi selector swap isn’t practically as simple to control as an HK MP-5’s. Apparently, the selector goes from protected (S) to full auto (D) and then lastly to semi-Auto (E).

The 2 images beneath present the barrel shroud, chamber, and the non-reciprocating bolt deal with:

The subsequent picture exhibits the decrease receiver, highlighting the weapon’s use of a easy stamped metallic design. College students of the gun will recall that the Germans pioneered the usage of stamped metallic in SMGs throughout WWII.

You’ll be able to shoot 25 rounds via the Walther MP at Battlefield Vegas for a mere $40. Fifty rounds are a relative discount at $75.

That’s a number of coin, however for these of us who do not forget that unhappy day in Munich, the cash buys you a bit of perception into an attention-grabbing query: what if?

Walther MPL
Caliber: 9×19 mm Luger
Weight unloaded: 3.0 kg
Size (unfolded / folded): 746 / 462 mm
Barrel size: 260 mm Fee of Fireplace: 550 rounds/min
Efficient vary: 200 m
Journal capability: 32 rounds

Walther MPK
Caliber: 9×19 mm Luger
Weight unloaded: 2.83 kg
Size (unfolded / folded): 659 / 381 mm
Barrel size: 173 mm Fee of Fireplace: 550 rounds/min
Efficient vary: 100 m
Journal capability: 32 rounds