page_title: Submachine gun
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Submachine gun / History / World War II
caption_attribution_description: Polski: Pistolet maszynowy Sten Mk II. Obok pm lezy bagnet od karabinu No. 4 Mk I. Zdjęcie zrobione w Muzeum Górnictwa Węglowego, wystawa czasowa "Żołnierze wolności. I Dywizja Pancerna".
context_page_description: A submachine gun, abbreviated SMG, is a magazine-fed, automatic carbine designed to fire handgun cartridges. The term "submachine gun" was coined by John T. Thompson, the inventor of the Thompson submachine gun, to describe its design concept as an automatic firearm with comparatively much inferior firepower than a proper machine gun.
  The submachine gun was developed during World War I as close quarter offensive weapons, mainly for trench raiding. At its peak during World War II, millions of SMGs were made for use by regular troops, clandestine commandos and partisans alike. After the war, new SMG designs appeared frequently. However, by the 1980s, SMG usage decreased. Today, submachine guns have been largely replaced by assault rifles, which have a longer effective range and are capable of penetrating the helmets and body armor used by modern infantry. However, submachine guns are still used by military special forces and police SWAT teams for close quarters battle because they are "a pistol-caliber weapon that's easy to control, and less likely to overpenetrate the target".
context_section_description: Changes in design accelerated during the war, with the trend being one of the abandonment of complex and finely made pre-war designs like the Thompson submachine gun to weapons designed for cheap mass-production and easy replacement like the         M3 Grease Gun.  
  The Italians were among the first to develop submachine guns during World War I. However, they were slow to produce them under Mussolini; the 9 mm Parabellum Beretta Model 1938 was not available in large numbers until 1943. The 38 was made in a successive series of improved and simplified models all sharing the same basic layout. The Beretta has two triggers, the front for semi-auto and rear for full-auto. Most models use standard wooden stocks, although some models were fitted with an MP40-style under-folding stock and are commonly mistaken for the German SMG. The 38 series was extremely robust and proved very popular with both Axis forces and Allied troops (who used captured Berettas). It is considered the most successful and effective Italian small arm of World War II. The 38 series is the longest serving of the world's SMGs, as later models can still be seen in the hands of Italian military and police forces.
  In 1939, the Germans introduced the 9 mm Parabellum MP38 during the invasion of Poland. However, the MP38 production was still just starting and only a few thousand were in service at the time. It proved to be far more practical and effective in close quarters combat than the standard-issue German Kar 98K bolt-action rifle. From it, the simplified and modernized MP40 (commonly and erroneously referred to as Schmeisser) was developed and made in large numbers; about a million were made during World War II. The MP40 was lighter than the MP38. It also used more stamped parts, making it faster and cheaper to produce. The MP38 and MP40 were the first SMGs to use plastic furniture and a practical folding stock. They would set the fashion for all future SMG designs.
  During the Winter War, the badly outnumbered Finnish used the Suomi KP/-31 in large numbers against the Russians with devastating effect. Finnish ski troops became known for appearing out of the woods on one side of a road, raking Soviet columns with SMG fire and disappearing back into the woods on the other side. During the Continuation War, the Finnish Sissi patrols would often equip every soldier with KP/-31s. The Suomi fired 9 mm Parabellum ammo from a 71-round drum magazine (although often loaded with 74 rounds). "This SMG showed to the world the importance of the submachine gun to the modern warfare", prompting the development, adoption and mass production of submachine guns by most of the world's armies. The Suomi was used in combat until the end of the Lapland war, was widely exported and remained in service to the late 1970s.
  In 1940, the Russians introduced the 7.62×25mm PPD-40 and later the more easily manufactured PPSh-41 in response to their experience during the Winter War against Finland. The PPSh's 71-round drum magazine is a copy of the Suomi's. Later in the war they developed the even more readily mass-produced PPS submachine gun - all firing the same small but high-powered Tokarev cartridges. The USSR would go on to make over 6 million PPSh-41s and 2 million PPSs by the end of World War II. Thus, the Soviet Union could field huge numbers of submachine guns against the Wehrmacht, with whole infantry battalions being armed with little else. Even in the hands of conscripted soldiers with minimal training, the volume of fire produced by massed submachine guns could be overwhelming.
  In 1941, Britain adopted the 9 mm Parabellum Lanchester submachine gun. Following the Dunkirk evacuation, and with no time for the usual research and development for a new weapon, it was decided to make a direct copy of the German MP 28. However this gun, the Lanchester, proved to be difficult and expensive to manufacture. Shortly thereafter, the simpler STEN submachine gun was developed, which was much cheaper and faster to make. Over 4 million STEN Guns were made during World War II. Indeed, the STEN 
caption: STEN MK II
exif: {"Image Make": "Canon", "Image Model": "Canon PowerShot A610", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image XResolution": "180", "Image YResolution": "180", "Image ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Image DateTime": "2007:09:16 13:09:02", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Centered", "Image ExifOffset": "196", "Thumbnail Compression": "JPEG (old-style)", "Thumbnail XResolution": "180", "Thumbnail YResolution": "180", "Thumbnail ResolutionUnit": "Pixels/Inch", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormat": "1530", "Thumbnail JPEGInterchangeFormatLength": "9553", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/60", "EXIF FNumber": "14/5", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0220", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2007:09:16 13:09:02", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2007:09:16 13:09:02", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "189/32", "EXIF ApertureValue": "95/32", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF Flash": "80", "EXIF FocalLength": "73/10", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1944", "Interoperability InteroperabilityIndex": "R98", "Interoperability InteroperabilityVersion": "[48, 49, 48, 48]", "Interoperability RelatedImageWidth": "2592", "Interoperability RelatedImageLength": "1944", "EXIF InteroperabilityOffset": "1358", "EXIF FocalPlaneXResolution": "2592000/283", "EXIF FocalPlaneYResolution": "486000/53", "EXIF FocalPlaneResolutionUnit": "2", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF CustomRendered": "Custom", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "1", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard"}