Volkssturmgewehr MP 3008

The 9 mm MP 3008 was a Nazi German substitute standard submachine gun manufactured toward the end of World War II. The weapon was almost identical to the British Sten, except for its vertical magazine.

The MP 3008 was an emergency measure, designed at a time when Germany was at the point of collapse. Desperately short of money and raw materials, the Germans sought to produce a radically cheaper alternative to their standard submachine gun, the MP40.

The MP 3008 was a simple blowback design operating from an open bolt. It was crudely manufactured in small machine shops and variations were common. Typically, the magazine was bottom-mounted unlike the side-mounted Sten. Initially, all steel without handgrips, the wire buttstock was welded to the frame and was typically triangular, however the design changed as conditions inside Germany worsened and on final guns wooden stocks and other variations are found.

Type Submachine gun
Place of origin Nazi Germany
Service history
In service 1945
Used by Nazi Germany
Wars World War II
Production history
Designed 1945
Produced 1945
Number built ~10,000
Specifications
Weight 3.18 kg
Length 760 mm
Barrel length 196 mm
Cartridge 9 x 19 mm
Caliber 9 mm caliber
Action Blowback, open bolt
Rate of fire 450 round/min
Muzzle velocity 365 m/s
Effective range —
Feed system 32-round detachable box magazine