Strange Guns: Erma EMP 44

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The EMP 44 was a prototype, all-metal open bolt submachine gun produced by Erma Werke in 1943. It was rejected by the German Army Weapons Agency (Heereswaffenamt).

It uses the 9×19mm Parabellum bullets. Depending on stock position, the length of the gun is 892–950 mm. The barrel length is 250 or 308 mm long. Its rate of fire is 500 rounds per minute and has sliding two 32-round MP 40 magazine wells. The practical range was 150 to 200 meters.

The gun was crudely assembled with a stock made of pipes welded together. more or less in an attempt to imitate the British Sten gun and to a lesser extent the PPSh-41. Ultimately, its ugly design was what made it to be rejected by the German military.

The gun was probably designed in 1942 but having February 1943 as its manufacture date. One theory as to what happened to the prototypes is that most were cannibalized for their dual feed mechanism which was then installed on the MP40/I.

The EMP 44 was rejected due to its failure to pass acceptance tests, but mainly because new weapons like the MP 44/STG 44 assault rifle were already produced with the goal to replace both the MP 40 and the Karabiner 98k rifle.