MP42

MP42, short for Maschinenpistole 42, was a German prototype submachine gun developed during World War II. The project emerged in 1942 as an attempt to replace the MP40 with a weapon designed for easier and cheaper production, using simplified stamped-metal components and a straightforward field-disassembly process.

Several firms built prototype examples and conducted small-scale trials in 1942–1943. Although the MP42 prototypes reportedly offered improvements in manufacturing efficiency and handling, the design did not reach mass production. The program was overtaken by the broader StG 44 development program, and attention shifted to the Maschinenpistole 43/44 line, culminating in the Sturmgewehr 44, the first widely produced assault rifle.

Today, limited documentation and a small number of surviving components indicate the MP42’s existence. It is generally regarded as a late-war transitional design rather than a fielded weapon, contributing to the broader shift in German small arms toward more versatile infantry rifles that could fire an intermediate cartridge.

The MP42’s historical significance lies primarily in its place within the late-war German arms development program and its relation to the emergence of the Sturmgewehr 44, which combined rifle-like characteristics with automatic fire and helped popularize the concept of the assault rifle in military doctrine.