Erma EMP
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Barrel
- 250 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.10 kg
- Introduced
- 1932
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Erma EMP (Erma Maschinenpistole), also called the MPE, was a German submachine gun manufactured by Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (Erma) from 1932 to 1945, based on patents acquired from designer Heinrich Vollmer. Distinctive features include a wooden full stock with a vertical wooden foregrip, a side-mounted box magazine, a perforated barrel jacket, and Vollmer's signature telescoping recoil-spring assembly that protected the spring inside a steel tube. Roughly 10,000 were produced and exported to Spain, France, Mexico, Yugoslavia, and China before German police and Waffen-SS adoption.
Heinrich Vollmer designed the EMP independently after losing a German Army contract in the late 1920s, then licensed it to Erma when the Treaty of Versailles still restricted German automatic-weapon production. Its iconic vertical wooden foregrip - at the time considered exotic on a submachine gun - would influence the visual design of submachine guns for decades, including the M1928 Thompson and the Soviet PPD.
Vollmer originally produced the design himself starting in 1925 (the VPM 1925/26/30 series) before selling manufacturing rights to Erma in 1931. The EMP's vertical wooden foregrip is its most recognizable visual feature and made it widely sought-after by Spanish Civil War combatants on both sides. Some versions were produced without the foregrip. The much-simplified wartime EMP 44 is a separate stamped-steel design and not a true variant.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Erma Werke (Erfurter Maschinenfabrik B. Geipel GmbH)
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Country
- Germany
- Status
- Out of production
- Produced
- 1932 to 1945
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 250 mm
- Overall length
- 950 mm
- Weight, empty
- 4.10 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Blowback
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Trigger
- Single stage
- Capacity
- 32
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Wood
- Finish
- Blued
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 395 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 581 J
- Effective range
- 150 m
- Maximum range
- 200 m
- Rate of fire
- 500 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Open bolt
Left side mounted magazine
Wooden full stock
Vertical wooden foregrip
Vollmer telescoping recoil spring
Tangent rear sight
Perforated barrel jacket
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 201 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 4.10 kg | 3.18 kg | Heavier than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 200 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 950 mm | 723 mm | Among the longest tenth |
| Barrel lengthAmong 202 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 250 mm | 213 mm | Longer than about 70% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 204 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 32 | 32 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Erma EMP
How much does the Erma EMP weigh?
The Erma EMP weighs 4.10 kg (9.04 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Erma EMP?
The Erma EMP is chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum.
How many rounds does the Erma EMP hold?
The Erma EMP holds 32 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Erma EMP?
The Erma EMP is 950 mm (37.4 in) long overall, with a 250 mm (9.84 in) barrel.
Who makes the Erma EMP?
The Erma EMP is made by Erma Werke (Erfurter Maschinenfabrik B. Geipel GmbH) (Germany). It was designed by Heinrich Vollmer.
When was the Erma EMP introduced?
The Erma EMP was introduced in 1932 and discontinued in 1945.
How does the Erma EMP operate?
The Erma EMP uses a blowback action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- Republican Forces (International Brigades)
- 1936
- Nationalist Forces
- 1936
- Waffen-SS
- 1939
- French Army
- France
- Yugoslav Royal Army
- Yugoslavia
Provenance
Confidence in this record
78%
Stockists
Where to buy
Offers link straight to the shop. GunSpec never takes the order.
No shop has listed this firearm yet
Stock and prices come from the shops themselves. If you sell this firearm, you can list it and it appears here.
List a firearmMCP
Ask an assistant about it
The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/erma-emp' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "erma-emp", "name": "Erma EMP", "manufacturer": { "id": "erma-werke", "name": "Erma Werke (Erfurter Maschinenfabrik B. Geipel GmbH)", "countryCode": "DE", "foundedYear": 1922, "website": null, "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:40", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "version": "cf7eddb0061055c09a4132b3ada0e2d39e35194ca5aad2939dcb73860f9e7615" }, "category": { "id": "submachine-gun", "name": "Submachine Gun", "description": "Automatic firearms chambered in pistol calibers" }, "country_of_origin": "DE", "year_introduced": 1932, "barrel_length_mm": 250, "weight_empty_g": 4100, "action_type": "blowback"}