The MP34 (Maschinenpistole 34, literally "Machine Pistol 34") is a submachine gun (SMG) that was manufactured by Waffenfabrik Steyr as Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 and used by the Austrian Army and Austrian Gendarmerie and subsequently by units of the 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.
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.
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"). in 9×25mm Mauser caliber. In Yugoslavia, both the Partisans and the Chetniks used captured Solothurn MP34s carried by German and Croatian troops.
Portugal bought in small quantities the .45 ACP version and was adopted as Pistola-metralhadora 11,43mm m/935. Portugal also purchased small quantities of the S1-100 in 7.65x21mm Luger calibre in 1938, and the weapon was adopted as the Pistola-metralhadora 7,65 mm m/938 Steyer submachine gun. 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 mm m/942 Steyer. 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.
The PAVN use this gun in the Vietnam War.
Users
- —A small number was acquired for police units in the 1930s; used in larger numbers during WWII