View source for MP 34

{{Short description|Austrian submachine gun}}
{{Distinguish|text=the Bergmann MP34 variant of the [[MP35]] submachine gun, or with the MP34 variant of the [[Erma EMP]]}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2017}}
{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Maschinenpistole 34 (MP34)
| image              = 1673_-_Salzburg_-_Festung_Hohensalzburg_-_Österreichisch_Maschinenpistole_M34_noBG.png
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = MP34 SMG with bayonet attached
| origin             = [[First Austrian Republic|Austria]]
| type               = [[Submachine gun]]
| is_ranged          = yes
| service            = 1930–1970s
| used_by            = See ''[[#Users|Users]]''
| wars               = [[Chaco War]]<ref name="Chaco"/><br>[[Spanish Civil War]]<br>[[World War II]]<br>[[Ecuadorian–Peruvian War]]<br>[[Bolivian National Revolution]]<ref>{{Cite web|title=Resistencias de los radios populares en Bolivia: Radio Nacional Huanuni y Pío XII, 1950 - 1980|url=http://portal.amelica.org/ameli/journal/670/6703547006/}}</ref><br>[[Portuguese Colonial War]]
| designer           = [[Louis Stange]]
| manufacturer       = Waffenfabrik Steyr
| design_date        = 1929
| production_date    = 1929–1940
| variants           = S1-100, MP30
| weight             = Loaded {{convert|4.48|kg|lb|1|abbr=on}}<br> Unloaded {{convert|4.25|kg|lb|1|abbr=on}}
| length             = {{convert|850|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
| part_length        = {{convert|200|mm|in|1|abbr=on}}
<!-- | rifling = 6 right-hand grooves -->| cartridge          = [[9×19mm Parabellum|9×19mm Luger Parabellum]]; [[9×23 Steyr]]; [[9×25mm Mauser]]; [[7.63×25mm Mauser]]; [[.45 ACP]]; [[7.65×21mm Parabellum]]
| action             = open bolt blowback
| rate               = ~600 rounds/min
| range              = 150–200 m (490–650 ft : 160–220 yds)
| velocity           = ~{{convert| 410|m/s|0|abbr=on}}
| feed               = 20 or 32-round detachable box magazine
| sights             = Hooded or open topped front, adjustable rear
}}

The '''MP34''' (''Maschinenpistole 34'', literally "Machine Pistol 34") is a [[submachine gun]] (SMG) that was manufactured by ''[[Steyr Arms|Waffenfabrik Steyr]]'' as '''Steyr-Solothurn S1-100''' and used by the [[Austrian Armed Forces|Austrian Army]] and [[Gendarmerie (Austria)|Austrian Gendarmerie]] and subsequently by units of the [[German Army (Wehrmacht)|German Army]] and the ''[[Waffen-SS]]'' in World War II. An exceptionally well-made weapon, it was used by some forces well into the 1970s.

==History==
The MP 34 was based on a design for the MP 19 by the [[Rheinmetall]] company based in [[Düsseldorf]]. The weapon is similar in design to the [[MP 18]] Bergmann, which itself saw service towards the end of World War I.<ref name ="Atlas-fr">{{cite encyclopedia|title=Steyr-Solothurn S1-100|language=fr | encyclopedia =Encyclopédie des armes : Les forces armées du monde|publisher=Atlas|year=1986|page=27|volume=I|number=2. Les pistolets-mitrailleurs 1939–1945}}</ref>

To circumvent the conditions of [[Treaty of Versailles]], precluding Germany from exporting weapons and munitions, Rheinmetall acquired the Swiss company [[Waffenfabrik Solothurn]] in 1929 and began secret production of a prototype. What was to become the MP 34 was originally designated ‘S1-100’ using the company's standard naming convention.<ref name="Small Arms"/>

Due to the Solothurn company being unsuited for mass production, Rheinmetall took a controlling interest in ''Waffenfabrik Steyr'', an established arms manufacturer in Austria. Weapons manufactured by Steyr were sold via the [[Zürich]]-based trade company ''Steyr-Solothurn Waffen AG'' to  both the commercial and military markets.<ref name="Small Arms"/>

The MP 34 was manufactured from the very best materials available and finished to the highest possible standard.<ref name ="Atlas-fr"/> It was so well manufactured that it has often been nicknamed the "[[Rolls-Royce (car)|Rolls-Royce]] of submachine guns".<ref name="Small Arms"/> However, its production costs were extremely high as a consequence and was thus largely replaced by the [[MP 40]], which was designed with mass-production in mind.

==Operation==
{{more citations needed|date=October 2018}}

The MP 34 is a [[blowback (firearms)|blowback-operated]], [[open bolt|open-bolt]], [[selective fire|selective-fire]] weapon (single shot or fully automatic). The return spring is located in the wooden stock and is linked to the bolt via a long push rod, attached via a pivot to the rear of the bolt. Easy access to the bolt and trigger assembly is via a hinged top cover which opens up and forward by depressing two release catches. This makes cleaning procedures very easy to perform.

On the left-hand side of the stock is a sliding fire selector switch (marked by letters T and S). Initial production runs of the gun have a [[Hugo Schmeisser|Schmeisser-style]] bolt-locking safety (similar to the [[MP40]]) in the form of hook-shaped cut which is used to engage the bolt handle when the bolt is cocked (which is notoriously unsafe). Later models include a manual safety on the top cover, just in front of the rear sight. This safety can lock the weapon in both a cocked or closed position.

Box magazines of 32- or 20-round capacity are fed in from the left side and the magazine housing is angled slightly forward to improve cartridge feeding to prevent jams. Additionally, the same magazine housing incorporates a magazine refilling feature. An empty magazine can be inserted from underneath and locked in place. From above, stripper clips (of eight rounds each) can be fed into the magazines.

All MP 34s were manufactured with a wooden stock with a semi-pistol grip. The barrel is enclosed into a perforated cooling jacket and has a bayonet-fixing lug on the right-hand side. Front (hooded) and rear rifle-type sights are fitted, the latter marked from 100 to 500 meters.

Some versions of the weapon can be fitted with a detachable tripod for use as a machine gun.<ref name ="Atlas-fr"/>

<gallery widths="200" heights="160">
File:Mp34 bayonet mags.JPG|MP34, bayonet and spare magazines
File:Mp34 top plate.JPG|MP34 rear sights, safety and magazine housing
File:Mp34 mag housing.JPG|Dual purpose magazine housing
File:DCB Shooting MP34.jpg|Portuguese crest on 1942 contract
</gallery>

==Service==
In 1930, the Austrian police accepted the S1-100 as the '''Steyr MP30''', chambered for then standard Austrian [[9×23mm Steyr]] pistol rounds.<ref name="Small Arms"/> The guns sold to South America, China and Japan were in [[7.63x25 Mauser]] calibre.<ref name ="Atlas-fr"/>

The [[Austrian Federal Army|Austrian Army]] adopted the Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 as the '''Steyr MP34''', chambered for the powerful [[9×25mm Mauser]] ammunition.<ref name="Small Arms">{{cite magazine|title=MP34 Maschinen Pistole in 45ACP!|url=http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=2684|first=Vince |last=Oliva|magazine=Small Arms Review |issue=V4N7 |date=April 2001}}</ref>

With the 1938 [[Anschluss]] between Germany and Austria, the German Army acquired most of the available MP30s and MP34s. A number were then re-barrelled to chamber 9×19 ammunition and issued to German troops as the '''MP34(ö)''' – ''Maschinenpistole 34 österreichisch'' (literally "Machine-pistol 34, Austrian").<ref name="Small Arms"/> Production of the MP34 ceased in mid-1940, and manufacturing lines at Steyr moved over to the production of the [[MP 40|MP40]] – a much simpler designed weapon and far less expensive to produce than the MP34. As a substitute standard small arm, it had a relatively short combat service once quantities of the MP38 became available, though some MP34s were used by Waffen SS units in the early stages of the war in Poland and France. It was then allocated to security and reserve units, including military police and ''[[Feldgendarmerie]]'' detachments.{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}

In Greece, various police forces under the Ministry of Security, notably the mechanized police, were equipped with the S1-100<ref name="Greece">{{cite book|title=Armies of the Greek-Italian War 1940–41|series=Men-at-Arms 514|first= Phoebus |last=Athanassiou |date=30 Nov 2017|isbn=9781472819178 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Wbw0DwAAQBAJ&pg=PA19|page=19|publisher=Osprey Publishing}}</ref> in [[9×25mm Mauser]] caliber. In [[Yugoslavia]], both the [[Yugoslav Partisans|Partisans]] and the [[Chetniks]] used captured Solothurn MP34s carried by German and Croatian troops.<ref name="Yug">{{cite magazine|title=Yugoslav Part II: World War II small arms: an assortment of small arms from friends and foe alike|first=Paul|last=Scarlata|magazine=Firearms News|date=1 October 2017|url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/YUGOSLAV+PART+II%3A+WORLD+WAR+II+SMALL+ARMS%3A+AN+ASSORTMENT+OF+SMALL...-a0510936519}}</ref>

Portugal bought in small quantities the [[.45 ACP]] version and was adopted as '''Pistola-metralhadora 11,43mm m/935'''.<ref>{{cite web|language=pt|url=http://www.revistamilitar.pt/modules/articles/article.php?id%3D528 |title=As Indústrias Militares e As Armas de Fogo Portáteis no Exército Português|date=28 May 2010|author=Renato Fernando Marques Pinto|access-date=2013-03-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120327041640/http://www.revistamilitar.pt/modules/articles/article.php?id=528 |archive-date=2012-03-27 }}.</ref> Portugal also purchased small quantities of the S1-100 in [[7.65×21mm Parabellum|7.65x21mm Luger]] calibre in 1938, and the weapon was adopted as the '''Pistola-metralhadora 7,65&nbsp;mm m/938 Steyer''' submachine gun.<ref name="Armas">{{cite web|language=pt|title=As Armas da 1ª Guerra Mundial|date=5 September 2007 |url=http://quelegalbakana.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html|website=quelegalbakana.blogspot.com}}</ref> In 1941 and 1942, larger numbers of 9mm MP34 guns were delivered to Portugal by Germany. In Portuguese service, the 9mm MP34 was known as the '''Pistola-metralhadora 9&nbsp;mm m/942 Steyer'''.<ref>Abbott, Peter and Rodrigues, Manuel, Modern African Wars 2: Angola and Mozambique 1961–74'', Osprey Publishing (1998), {{ISBN|0-85045-843-9}}, p. 17</ref>  Many m/942 guns carry a Portuguese crest just forward of the safety mechanism in combination with ''[[Waffenamt]]'' (WaA) markings. The m/942 remained in service with Portuguese Army into the 1950s, and was used until the 1970s by paramilitary and security forces in Portugal's overseas African colonies during the [[Portuguese Colonial Wars]].<ref name="Armas"/>

During the late 1930s, Japan imported a small number of MP 34s for testing and limited issue.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.historicalfirearms.info/post/118231259899/japanese-submachine-guns-like-many-of-the-major| title=Japanese Submachine Gun |publisher = Historical Firearms| access-date = 20 June 2017}}</ref>

The [[People's Army of Vietnam|PAVN]] use this gun in the Vietnam war<ref>{{Cite web |title=Vũ khí Việt Nam trong hai cuộc kháng chiến. |url=https://www.quansuvn.net/index.php/topic,41.220.html |access-date=2025-06-06 |website=www.quansuvn.net}}</ref>.

==Users==
{{div col}}
* {{flag|Austria|1934}}<ref name="Machine">{{cite book|page=187|title=Machine Guns: An Illustrated History of Their Impact|author=James H. Willbanks|year=2004|isbn=978-1851094806}}</ref>
* {{flag|Bolivia}}<ref name="Chaco">{{Cite book|title=Mauser Military Rifles of the World|last=Robert|first=Ball|publisher=Gun Digest Books|year=2011|isbn=978-1-4402-1544-5|page=59}}</ref><ref name ="Chaco1932">{{cite book|author=Alejandro de Quesada|title=The Chaco War 1932-35: South America's greatest modern conflict|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dTm3CwAAQBAJ|date=20 November 2011|publisher=Osprey}}</ref>
* {{Flag|Bulgaria}}—A small number was acquired for police units in the 1930s; used in larger numbers during WWII<ref>{{Cite web |title=BULGARIAN SMALL ARMS OF WORLD WAR II, PART 2: FROM MAXIM OBRAZETZ 1907G TO ZB39 OBRAZETZ 1939G. - Free Online Library |url=https://www.thefreelibrary.com/BULGARIAN+SMALL+ARMS+OF+WORLD+WAR+II,+PART+2:+FROM+MAXIM+OBRAZETZ...-a0586601065 |access-date=2022-12-19 |website=www.thefreelibrary.com}}</ref> 
* {{flag|Chile}}<ref name="Small Arms"/>
* {{flag|Republic of China}}<ref name ="Atlas-fr"/>
* {{flag|Kingdom of Greece}}—Used by police and gendarmerie forces<ref name="Greece"/>
* {{flag|El Salvador}}<ref name="Small Arms"/>
* {{flag|Ethiopian Empire}}<ref name="Encyc"/>
* {{flag|Nazi Germany}}<ref name="Encyc">{{cite book|pages=253, 259|title=The Encyclopedia of Weapons of WWII: The Comprehensive Guide to over 1,500 Weapons Systems, Including Tanks, Small Arms, Warplanes, Artillery, Ships, and Submarines|author=Chris Bishop|isbn=978-1586637620|year=2002}}</ref>
* {{flagcountry|Kingdom of Hungary (1920–46)}}<ref name="Machine"/>
* {{flagicon image|Flag of Italian Committee of National Liberation.svg}} [[Italian resistance movement|Italian Partisans]]—Used examples captured from German soldiers<ref>{{cite book |last1=Gianluigi |first1=Usai |last2=Riccio |first2=Ralph |title=Italian partisan weapons in WWII |date=January 28, 2017 |publisher=Schiffer Military History |isbn=978-0764352102 |pages=186–187}}</ref>
* {{flag|Empire of Japan}}<ref name="Encyc"/>
*{{flag|Peru|1825}}<ref name="Peru">{{cite book|title=Latin American Wars 1900–1941: "Banana Wars," Border Wars & Revolutions|series=Men-at-Arms 519|publisher=Osprey Publishing|first= Philip |last=Jowett|date= 28 Jun 2018|isbn=9781472826282 |page=42|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=8LJeDwAAQBAJ}}</ref>
* {{flag|Portugal|1939}}<ref name="Encyc"/>
*{{flag|Spain}}
* {{flag|Sweden}}<ref name="Encyc"/>
* {{flag|Uruguay}}<ref name="Small Arms"/>
* {{flag|Venezuela}}{{citation needed|date=October 2018}}
* {{flagcountry|NDH}}
* {{flagicon|Kingdom of Yugoslavia}} [[Yugoslav Partisans]] and [[Chetniks]]<ref name="Yug"/>
* {{flag|Vietnam}}
{{div col end}}

==References==
=== Notes ===
{{reflist|30em}}

=== Bibliography ===
* Ezell, Edward Clinto. ''Small Arms of the World'', Eleventh Edition, Arms & Armour Press, London, 1977
* Gotz, Hans Dieter, ''German Military Rifles and Machine Pistols, 1871–1945''. West Chester, Penn.: Schiffer Publishing, 1990. {{OCLC|24416255}}.
* Günter Wollert; Reiner Lidschun; Wilfried Kopenhagen, ''Illustrierte Enzyklopädie der Schützenwaffen aus aller Welt: Schützenwaffen heute (1945–1985)'', Berlin: Militärverlag der Deutschen Demokratischen Republik, 1988. {{OCLC|19630248}}.
* Moss, John L., "The 9×25 Mauser Export Cartridge", ''IAA Journal'', issue 424, March/April 2002, pp.&nbsp;6–20
* ''Schweizer Waffen Magazin''
* ''Internationales Waffen Magazine''
* ''German Small Arms'' (1971)

==External links==
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnqrU9YiUvY&ab_channel=ForgottenWeapons Japanese Contract Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 (aka MP34)]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4t8F1TmOuo&ab_channel=ForgottenWeapons Subguns for South America: the Steyr-Solothurn MP-34 in .45 ACP]

{{Steyr Mannlicher}}
{{WWIIGermanInfWeapons}}

[[Category:9×25mm Mauser submachine guns]]
[[Category:9mm Parabellum submachine guns]]
[[Category:7.63×25mm Mauser submachine guns]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1920s]]
[[Category:Submachine guns of Austria]]
[[Category:World War II infantry weapons of Germany]]
[[Category:World War II submachine guns]]
[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1929]]