MP 59

MP 59
Name	MP 59
Type	Submachine gun
Origin	Germany
Designer	Heinrich Vollmer
Designed	1959
Manufactured	Heckler & Koch, Karl N. Drexler GmbH
Produced	1959–1967
Weight	3.2 kg (loaded)
Length	680 mm (stock extended)
Cartridge	9×19mm Parabellum
Action	Roller-delayed blowback
Rate	800 rounds/min
Feed	30-round detachable box magazine

MP 59 is a German 9×19mm Parabellum submachine gun developed in the late 1950s as part of West Germany's rearmament and standardization efforts following World War II. It combined design principles derived from earlier German small arms research with innovations aimed at compactness and controllability for police and paratroop use. The MP 59 entered limited service and influenced later small-arms programs in Bundeswehr procurement debates and European police armament during the Cold War.

Design and Development

The MP 59 project drew on engineering lineages associated with Heinrich Vollmer, Erma Werke, and the roller-delayed mechanisms refined by Mauser Werke engineers. Development was initiated amid competitive trials in the late 1950s involving firms such as Heckler & Koch, Carl Walther GmbH, and SIG Sauer. Fundamental objectives included achieving controllable automatic fire comparable to submachine designs like the Sten gun and compact assault rifles like the StG 44 while meeting interoperability standards used by NATO partners including United States Army units stationed in Europe.

Design work incorporated features tested in prototypes evaluated against contemporaries such as the Uzi, MP5 prototypes, and experimental designs from Royal Small Arms Factory Enfield. The MP 59 used a short receiver and folding stock to satisfy paratroop requirements championed by planners in Bundesgrenzschutz and airborne elements within Luftwaffe doctrine. Trials emphasized reliability under conditions documented in comparisons against weapons adopted by French National Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police contingents.

Technical Specifications

The MP 59 fired the 9×19mm Parabellum cartridge and used a roller-delayed blowback system evolved from mechanisms studied at Mauser and later implemented in designs fielded by Heckler & Koch and SIG Sauer. Its cyclic rate approximated 800 rounds per minute, with a 30-round detachable box magazine similar in form to magazines used by MP40 successors. Barrel length, overall length with stock extended, and weight were optimized for close-quarters engagements in environments comparable to urban policing operations recorded in Paris riots of 1961 reports.

Sighting systems consisted of adjustable iron sights influenced by layouts used in HK MP5 development and legacy patterns from StG 44 derivatives. Materials selection favored stamped steel components and heat-treated alloys sourced from suppliers serving Krupp and ThyssenKrupp manufacturing chains. Controls—safety selector, charging handle, and magazine release—reflected ergonomic research paralleling studies by NATO Standardization Office working groups and trials conducted with teams from Bundeswehr marksmanship schools.

Service History

Adoption of the MP 59 remained limited, with small quantities accepted by police agencies and select Bundeswehr support units amid procurement debates that ultimately favored alternatives produced by Heckler & Koch and imports like the Uzi. Deployment records indicate use in border security duties under Bundesgrenzschutz and in training roles within Bundeswehr infantry reserve formations. The weapon saw operational presence during security operations in contexts similar to civil disturbances addressed by French CRS and Italian Carabinieri forces, though not in scale to rival standard-issue systems used by United States Armed Forces in NATO.

International interest included demonstrations to delegations from Belgian Gendarmerie, Royal Netherlands Marechaussee, and Turkish procurement teams, but export orders were minimal. Comparative evaluations during the 1960s pitted the MP 59 against the rising dominance of the HK MP5 family and compact designs from Beretta and FN Herstal, leading many ministries of interior and defense to select those alternatives.

Variants and Modifications

A series of experimental variants explored selective-fire tuning, shortened barrels for vehicle crews akin to configurations used in Soviet PPSh-41 carbine adaptations, and integrative mounting brackets for optical devices similar to those later standardized on platforms like the G36. Prototype modifications included a suppressed version tested for clandestine operations comparable to trials by special units in Special Air Service and GSG 9-style requirements, and a conversion enabling compatibility with magazines from contemporaneous Western designs such as those used by CZ Scorpion derivatives.

Manufacturers produced small batches with different stock arrangements—folding metal stock, telescoping stock, and fixed wooden stock—to suit units from Bundesgrenzschutz and municipal police forces modeled on systems adopted by Metropolitan Police Service in the United Kingdom. Armor-piercing and tracer ammunition trials were conducted in ranges shared with NATO allies evaluating terminal ballistics against classes of vehicle armor reported in Yom Kippur War analyses.

Preservation and Legacy

Surviving MP 59 examples are held in museum collections and private holdings that document Cold War-era small-arms development, including exhibits mirroring comparative displays found at institutions like the Bundeswehr Military History Museum and Imperial War Museum. Historical significance rests less on battlefield impact than on its role in the iterative process that produced later influential designs by Heckler & Koch, SIG Sauer, and Beretta.

The MP 59 contributed technical data to standardization discussions at NATO small-arms committees and influenced ergonomic criteria later codified in procurement specifications adopted by states including Federal Republic of Germany and United Kingdom. Collectors and historians reference the MP 59 in studies alongside contemporaries such as the Uzi, MP5, and AKM, and it appears in catalogs of Cold War military hardware and comparative research by scholars associated with Royal United Services Institute and Deutsches Historisches Museum.

Category:Cold War firearms