Gerät Potsdam
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Barrel
- 197 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.01 kg
- Introduced
- 1944
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Gerät Potsdam is a German open-bolt, blowback submachine gun chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, produced by Mauser at Oberndorf in late 1944 as an exact clandestine copy of the British Sten Mk II. Down to its stamped-steel receiver, side-mounted 32-round magazine and skeleton stock, it duplicated the original so precisely that the counterfeits even carried the English factory markings and inspection stamps of a genuine Sten, making it nearly impossible to tell the German copy from the British original. Roughly 10,000 were built within a few weeks, most likely intended to arm covert units operating behind Allied lines.
So exact was the Gerät Potsdam that its makers embossed genuine English company designations onto the receivers, meaning collectors and historians often cannot say with certainty whether a given Sten Mk II is a British original or a Mauser-made German forgery.
The purpose of the Gerät Potsdam remains debated; the faithfully copied, English-marked Sten guns are generally thought to have been meant for airdrop to guerrilla or Werwolf units behind enemy lines. Mauser records show 9,972 units delivered and accepted. A related project, the simplified Gerät Neumünster (MP 3008), abandoned the counterfeiting and became a true German-production last-ditch SMG.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Mauser
- Category
- Submachine Gun
- Country
- Germany
- Status
- Discontinued
- Produced
- 1944 to 1945
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 197 mm
- Overall length
- 762 mm
- Weight, empty
- 3.01 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Blowback
- Firing mechanism
- Open bolt
- Trigger
- Select fire
- Capacity
- 32
- Magazine
- Detachable box
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Stock
- Steel
- Finish
- Phosphate
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 365 m/s
- Effective range
- 100 m
- Rate of fire
- 550 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.
Side mounted magazine
Skeleton stock
Stamped steel construction- Faithful sten copy
Counterfeit english markings
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 | 3.01 kg | 3.18 kg | Lighter than about 60% |
| Overall lengthAmong 200 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 762 mm | 723 mm | Longer than about 60% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 202 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 197 mm | 213 mm | Shorter than about 80% |
| Magazine capacityAmong 204 9x19mm Parabellum submachine guns | 32 | 32 | Holds more rounds than about 60% |
Answers
Questions about the Gerät Potsdam
How much does the Gerät Potsdam weigh?
The Gerät Potsdam weighs 3.01 kg (6.64 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Gerät Potsdam?
The Gerät Potsdam is chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum.
How many rounds does the Gerät Potsdam hold?
The Gerät Potsdam holds 32 rounds, fed from a detachable box magazine.
How long is the Gerät Potsdam?
The Gerät Potsdam is 762 mm (30.0 in) long overall, with a 197 mm (7.76 in) barrel.
Who makes the Gerät Potsdam?
The Gerät Potsdam is made by Mauser (Germany).
When was the Gerät Potsdam introduced?
The Gerät Potsdam was introduced in 1944 and discontinued in 1945.
How does the Gerät Potsdam operate?
The Gerät Potsdam uses a blowback action, and its firing mechanism is open bolt.
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
- Wehrmacht
- 1944
Provenance
Confidence in this record
72%
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/gerat-potsdam' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "gerat-potsdam", "name": "Gerät Potsdam", "manufacturer": { "id": "mauser", "name": "Mauser", "countryCode": "DE", "foundedYear": 1874, "website": "https://www.mauser.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:40:45", "version": "ebf488347439c6088bd29deb6dd22bcc1ca8215e5042f489f4bf5cbea07e3307" }, "category": { "id": "submachine-gun", "name": "Submachine Gun", "description": "Automatic firearms chambered in pistol calibers" }, "country_of_origin": "DE", "year_introduced": 1944, "barrel_length_mm": 197, "weight_empty_g": 3010, "action_type": "blowback"}