A 7.92-mm Mkb.42 (H) Schmeisser submachine gun, Germany.

A 7.92-mm Mkb.42 (H) Schmeisser submachine gun, Germany.

In 1938-1941, the German weapon designer and co-owner of the weapons-making firm C.G. Haenel Waffenfabrik Hugo Schmeisser developed in the town of Suhl a new weapon type, the Mkb.42 (H) automatic carbine that used the 7.92-mm intermediate cartridge.

In April 1943, 2,000 Mkb.42 Haenel guns were tested in battles by the 31st and 34th infantry divisions in the northern sector of the Eastern Front in the vicinity of the town of Kholm of the Novgorod Region.

The Mkb.42 (H) automatic carbine from the collection of the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War was captured during those battles as a trophy and delivered to Supreme Commander-in-Chief Joseph Stalin, who ordered to take the weapon to the famed Soviet weapon designer V. A. Degtyaryov for analysis and for the development of a more advanced model.

Characteristics:
Caliber, mm — 7.92
Weight, kg — 4.63
Length, mm — 935
Barrel length, mm — 410
Muzzle velocity, m/s — 650
Magazine capacity, rounds — 30