Every time when the conversation comes about the main German machine gun of Germany during the Second World War - the MP-40, here they remember that in reality this type of weapon had a representative number of design disadvantages. Most of them could be tolerated in one way or another. However, there was one major drawback, which often turned out to be a very sad outcome for German soldiers.
Very hot barrel, no forend, no reliable fuse until 1942, accelerated wear the main spring, spontaneous shots - all this is not a complete list of those problems that they talk about when remembering about the MP-40. Perhaps it would be worth stopping at spontaneous shots. In fact, in the absence of a normal fuse, this behavior was characteristic of absolutely all hammerless string systems, including Soviet automata. True, in the latter, the problem was solved from the very beginning with a good fuse.
The MP-38 and early MP-40 also had a fuse, but experienced machine gunners rarely used it due to the specifics of the device of this mechanism. The fact is that in order to set the weapon to the safety catch, it was necessary to first cock it, thus tightening the spring. In this state, the shutter was translated into a special locking groove (cutout). Although the first fuse prevented accidental shots as a result of falling, hitting or catching weapons, it was at times accelerated the degree of wear of the spring, which could ultimately cause the entire machine to break down in the most inappropriate time. It was possible to eliminate this problem only in 1942, after the appearance of a fundamentally new front fuse in German machine guns.
The most important drawback of the MP-40 was its store, which used the so-called "Schmeisser cone". The first German (like most European) submachine guns used magazines that were loaded with cartridges in a checkerboard pattern. This approach made it possible to increase the magazine's capacity, but was more demanding on the trigger mechanism of the weapon. In particular, such magazines required more space for extraction and cartridge firing. Another drawback was the complexity of equipping such elements of ammunition. It was extremely difficult to do this without a special device, since due to the strong compression of the spring, the last 20-30% of the cartridges were almost impossible to insert with bare hands.
Schmeisser suggested checker cartridges. This made it possible to solve all of the above problems of stores that appeared during the years of the end of the First World War. Hugo Schmeisser's shops were easier to equip and were less picky about the trigger mechanism, which also simplified the production of automatic machines. However, it quickly became clear that even in relatively favorable European conditions, such machines often jam. It was possible to establish the cause only by the end of 1942. It turned out that dirt and dust that inevitably gets inside the store when the cartridges are in checkered arrangement is more likely to lead to jamming during intense shooting. It was proposed to solve this problem in the field simply: it was necessary to put in the store 1-3 cartridges less than it should be.
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Continuing the topic, read about best german pistols first half of the XX century.
A source: https://novate.ru/blogs/040621/59250/
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