Original Item: One-of-a-kind. This is an excellent MP (Maschinenpistole) 40 display gun built from original matching serial number parts and constructed into a totally legal non-firing BATF approved display Sub-Machine Gun with use of a solid newly made non-functional receiver. Also included is the matching bolt/recoil assembly, as well the matched barrel bushing.

IMA has been very fortunate in finding this highly sought after Original WW2 German MP 40 Display Gun, which has been reconstructed using a CNC cut aluminum receiver to finish off an original parts set. Offered with totally original bakelite stock and functional extending butt stock, this is the real thing that will only appreciate in value as time passes.

All complete, simulated fixed aluminum bolt system gives the impression of an original unit and is fitted with the original safety bolt handle. Barrel is original and has not been deactivated, and has a very nice bore, mostly bright with clear lands and grooves.  Original markings maintained and make a keystone item for any serious WW2 Collection.

The rear receiver cup of this display gun is marked with the date and manufacture codes, as well as the serial number:

This indicates 1942 manufacture by Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, Werk Steyr, the legendary Austrian arms making conglomerate. 141 / e is the serial number, and there are also other markings and waffenampt proofs throughout the display gun. The barrel and bolt-head are also marked with serial number 141 / e, making this a matched set. The firing pin retainer is even marked 141!

The barrel is marked with bnz maker code Steyr, while the bolt head is marked ayf, for ERMA-Erfurter Maschinenfabrik, the company that developed the MP38 and MP40. The Barrel Bushing is marked 41 / cos, and this maker code is also found on trigger guard in front of trigger, which represents Merz-Werke Gebr. Merz, Frankfurt am Main, a maker of small arms components. Steyr was a huge industrial conglomerate, and often subcontracted out many parts, so the different makers is normal.

Included with this offering is an original MP 40 magazine, in very good condition. It is marked M.P.38u.40 on the bottom, and kur 43 on the back of the top strap, along with Waffen Proofs.  This magazine was made in 1943 at another factory of Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG in Werk Graz, Fuhrhofsgasse 44. The magazine will have the spring and follower removed if sent to a state that prohibits high capacity magazines.

This is a fantastic offering, one the likes of which we have not had in many years, and may not have again. A great MP40 parts set, built into a dummy gun, but with the internals and barrel bushing included.

History of the MP40

The Maschinenpistole 40 ("Machine pistol 40") descended from its predecessor the MP 38, which was in turn based on the MP 36, a prototype made of machined steel. The MP 36 was developed independently by Erma Werke's Berthold Geipel with funding from the German Army. It took design elements from Heinrich Vollmer's VPM 1930 and EMP. Vollmer then worked on Berthold Geipel's MP 36 and in 1938 submitted a prototype to answer a request from the Heereswaffenamt (Army Weapons Office) for a new submachine gun, which was adopted as MP 38. The MP 38 was a simplification of the MP 36, and the MP 40 was a further simplification of the MP 38, with certain cost-saving alterations, most notably in the more extensive use of stamped steel rather than machined parts.

It was heavily used by infantrymen (particularly platoon and squad leaders), and by paratroopers, on the Eastern and Western Fronts. Its advanced and modern features made it a favorite among soldiers and popular in countries from various parts of the world after the war. It was often erroneously called "Schmeisser" by the Allies, despite Hugo Schmeisser's non-involvement in the weapon's design and production. From 1940 to 1945, an estimated 1.1 million were produced by Erma Werke.