View source for Walther MP

{{Infobox weapon
| name               = Walther MP
| image              = MP-L WALTHER 9MM.jpg
| image_size         = 300
| caption            = 
| origin             = [[West Germany]]
| type               = [[Machine pistol]]
| is_ranged          = yes
<!-- Service history -->| service            = 1963–present
| used_by            = See ''[[#Users|Users]]''
| wars               = [[Congo Crisis]]<ref>{{cite book
|title=Modern African Wars: The Congo 1960–2002
|last=Abbot
|first=Peter
|location=Oxford
|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing]]
|date=February 2014
|isbn=978-1782000761
|page=46}}</ref><br>[[Munich massacre|1972 Munich attack]]<br>[[Portuguese Colonial War]]<br>[[Rhodesian Bush War]]<br>[[Carnation Revolution]]<br>[[Lebanese Civil War]]<br>[[Colombian conflict]]<br>[[Operation Eagle Claw]]
<!-- Production history -->| designer           = 
| design_date        = 
| manufacturer       = [[Walther arms|Carl Walther GmbH]]
| unit_cost          = 
| production_date    = 1963—1985<ref name="hogg2002"/>
| number             = 
| variants           = * ''MPK''
* ''MPL''
<!-- General specifications -->| weight             = * 2.8 kg (6.17 lb) (MPK)<ref name="hogg2002"/>
* 3.0 kg (6.6 lb) (MPL)<ref name="modernfirearms">{{cite web |url=http://modernfirearms.net/smg/de/walther-mpl-e.html |title = Walther MPL - Modern Firearms|date = 27 October 2010}}</ref>
| length             = (w/stock open/closed):
* 659 / 373 mm (25.94/14.7 in) (MPK)<ref name="hogg2002"/>
* 749 / 462 mm (29.4/18.2 in) (MPL)<ref name="hogg2002"/>
| part_length        = * 173 mm (6.8 in) (MPK)<ref name="hogg2002"/>
* 260 mm (10.2 in) (MPL)<ref name="hogg2002"/>
| width              = 
| height             = 
| diameter           = 
| crew               = <!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->
| cartridge          = [[9×19mm Parabellum]]<ref name="hogg2002"/>
| caliber            = 
| action             = Blowback<ref name="modernfirearms"/>
| rate               = 550 rounds/min<ref name="hogg2002"/>
| velocity           = 
| range              = * 100 m (MPK)<ref name="modernfirearms"/>
* 200 m (MPL)<ref name="modernfirearms"/>
| max_range          = 
| feed               = 32-round detachable [[box magazine]]<ref name="hogg2002"/>
| sights             = [[Iron sight]]s<ref name="hogg2002"/>
}}

The '''Walther MP''' (''Maschinenpistole'') series is a family of [[9×19mm Parabellum]] [[machine pistol]]s produced in [[West Germany]] from 1963 to 1985 by [[Walther arms|Walther]].<ref name="hogg2002">Hogg, Ian (2002). Jane's Guns Recognition Guide. Jane's Information Group. {{ISBN|0-00-712760-X}}.</ref>

==History==
In the late 1950s, Walther began designing submachine guns in line with military and police re-arming plans in West Germany. This new submachine gun became the Walther MPL / K, and mass production began in 1963. <ref> 床井雅美『オールカラー最新軍用銃事典』並木書房、2013年。{{ISBN|4890633030}}。</ref> 

When released, it was adopted by West German intelligence agencies, as well as US military special forces in Germany, such as the [[39th Special Forces Detachment]]. 

In West Germany, the Navy adopted the MPL, and some police agencies, like the West Berlin Police, adopted either the MPL, the MPK, or both. During the [[1972 Munich Olympics]] and the [[Munich massacre|ensuing terrorist incident]], the local police were equipped with the MPL. However, most of the police officers dispatched at this time were only trained as patrol police officers and had little experience in using the MPL. The counter-terrorist unit [[GSG-9]], which was established after the incident, adopted the [[H&K MP5]] as their service submachine gun instead of the Walther MP. As the MP5 became more prevalent, it would begin to eclipse the Walther MP's sales until the Walther product was discontinued.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/mpl-mpk-walther-subguns/#ms16-wmp-lead|title = MPL & MPK: Walther's Cold War MP Subguns|newspaper = Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews|date = 6 October 2015}}</ref>

In addition, exports to other countries were also carried out. Many countries, such as Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela, only acquired the compact MPK variant. Walther MP was also used as a submachine gun for special forces in the United States. In addition to being used by [[US Navy SEALs]] during the [[Vietnam War]], it is said to have been used in [[Operation Ivory Coast]] by the [[United States Army Special Forces]]. The [[Delta Force]] used the Walther MP during transitional period of US Army, when the [[M3 submachine gun]] was starting to get phased out in favour of the MP5.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/mpl-mpk-walther-subguns/#ms16-wmp-lead|title = MPL & MPK: Walther's Cold War MP Subguns|newspaper = Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews|date = 6 October 2015}}</ref> Members of the Delta Force were equipped with the Walther MP during the abortive [[Operation Eagle Claw]].<ref name="griswold&giangreco1992">Griswold, Terry and D.M. Giangreco. Delta: America's Elite Counterterrorist Force. Osecola, WI: MBI Publishing Company, 1992. {{ISBN|0-87938-615-0}}.</ref>

At the end of its lifespan, its sales were sluggish. The production of the MP ended in 1983 with the final production was about 27,000 guns.<ref>{{Cite web |url= https://www.all4shooters.com/de/Shooting/Kurzwaffen/50-Jahre-Heckler-und-Koch-Maschinenpistole-MP5/07-2014-50-Jahre-Heckler-Koch-MP5.pdf |title=Bestandsaufnahme in Sachen HK MP5:MP Fünf(zig)  |publisher= all4shooters.com |access-date=2016-09-09}}</ref>

==Variants==
There are two versions of the Walther MP: the '''MPK''' (''Maschinenpistole Kurz'' or "short machine pistol"), illustrated at right, and the '''MPL''' (''Maschinenpistole Lang'' or "long machine pistol"). The only difference between MPK and MPL guns is the length of the barrel,<ref name="hogg2002"/> and that the MPL’s iron sights have 100 and 200 meter settings.<ref name="modernfirearms"/>

==Description==
The mechanism is simple [[Blowback (firearms)|blowback]], but with an unusual bolt design, similar in concept but distinct from that of a [[telescoping bolt]].  In the Walther, most of the mass of the bolt consists of a hollow tubular weight that is actually placed above and parallel to the barrel, housed in a separate channel in which it reciprocates when the gun is fired.  Fixed rigidly to the underside of this heavy tube is an additional steel block that performs most of the tasks of a standard sub-machine gun bolt, that is, this part chambers the rounds and seals them in the chamber, fires them and extracts the empty cartridges.  This section is however very small and light in comparison to the bolts of more conventional simple blowback sub-machine guns, as most of the necessary mass and thus inertia is provided by the tubular weight above.  This weight extends well ahead of the chamber when the gun is in battery, and also contains the main spring, and so the design is horizontally compact and permits both guns to feature relatively long barrels for their overall length.  The receiver is made from stamped steel, with plentiful ventilation slots; and the prominent cocking handle is located on its left front.  A selective fire switch is also on both the left and right side of the receiver, behind the trigger, allowing for ambidextrous use.<ref name="modernfirearms"/>

During the [[Cold War]], the MP was issued to many special forces units and was designed to use a suppressor. However, the Walther MP had a very loud mechanical operating noise, and its quietness was limited. In a test in which a silencer was attached and the sound of shooting subsonic bullets was measured from a distance of 5 m, a peak value of about 116–118 decibels was measured.

Both guns feature side-folding buttstocks, made from thin steel tubes wrapped in a rubber coating.

==Users==
<!--READ FIRST: This section is for cited entries only. Please do not add entries into this list without a citation from a reliable source. All entries without a citation will be removed. Thank you.-->

*{{flag|Brazil}}: MPK variant.<ref name="jones2009">Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). {{ISBN|978-0-7106-2869-5}}.</ref>
*{{flag|Colombia}}: MPK variant.<ref name="jones2009"/>
*{{flag|Germany}}: Used by [[German navy|various naval units]] in the 1960s.<ref name="hogg2002"/> Also used by [[Law enforcement in Germany|various police forces]].<ref name="modernfirearms"/>
*{{flag|Mexico}}: [[Mexican Navy]].<ref name="modernfirearms"/>
*{{flag|Portugal}}: MPL variant used by the [[Portuguese Navy]] and the [[Portuguese Marine Corps]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tactical-life.com/firearms/mpl-mpk-walther-subguns/#ms16-wmp-lead|title = MPL & MPK: Walther's Cold War MP Subguns|newspaper = Tactical Life Gun Magazine: Gun News and Gun Reviews|date = 6 October 2015}}</ref>
*{{flag|United States}}: Used by [[1st SFOD-D]] during [[Operation Eagle Claw]].<ref name="griswold&giangreco1992">Griswold, Terry and D.M. Giangreco. Delta: America's Elite Counterterrorist Force. Osecola, WI: MBI Publishing Company, 1992. {{ISBN|0-87938-615-0}}.</ref> Used by [[Detachment A|Detachment A, Special Forces, Berlin]]<ref>{{Cite book|title=Special Forces Berlin : clandestine Cold War Operations of the US Army's Elite, 1956-1990|last=James|first=Stejskal|year = 2017|isbn=9781612004440|location=Philadelphia|oclc=974913834}}</ref>
*{{flag|Venezuela}}: MPK variant.<ref name="jones2009"/>
*{{flag|Zimbabwe}}: MPK variant.<ref name="jones2009"/>

[[File:Portuguese Navy Walther MPL.JPEG|thumb|right|[[Portuguese Marines]] wield Walther MPLs during a training exercise.]]

== See also ==
* [[Franchi LF-57]]
* [[Borz]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Walther MP}}

*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQSilZnqdlA Forgotten Weapons - Walther MPL Submachine Gun]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cwz1YdpP6JQ&feature=em-uploademail Walther MPL: full disassembly & assembly]

{{Walther}}

[[Category:Submachine guns of Germany]]
[[Category:Cold War weapons of Germany]]
[[Category:Machine pistols]]
[[Category:Military equipment introduced in the 1960s]]
[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1963]]