Steyr MP34 Country Austria Type Submachine gun Manufacturer Louis Stange Introduction 1929 Specifications Weight Loaded 4.48 kg (9.9 lb) Unloaded 4.25 kg (9.4 lb) Length 850 mm (33.5 in) Barrel length 200 mm (7.9 in) Cartridge 9x19mm Luger Parabellum; 9x23 Steyr; 9x25 Mauser Export Action open bolt blowback Rate of fire ~500 round/min Muzzle velocity ~410 m/s (1,345 ft/s) Effective range 150 - 200 m (490-650 ft : 160-220 yds) Feed system 32-round detachable box magazine Sights Hooded front, adjustable rear

The MP34 (Maschinenpistole 34, literally \"Machine Pistol 34\") is a submachine gun (SMG) that was manufactured by Waffenfabrik Steyr and used by the Austrian police and subsequently by units of the German army in World War II. An exceptionally well-made weapon, it was used by some forces well into the 1970s.

The MP34 was based on a design for the MP19 by the Rheinmetall company based in Düsseldorf. The weapon is similar in design to the MP28 Bergmann, which itself stemmed from the MP18 that saw service towards the end of the World War I.

Restrictions on the manufacture of certain armaments within the 1919 Treaty of Versailles forbade Germany from manufacturing certain types of weapons such as light automatic firearms (designated as SMGs with barrels in excess of four inches and magazines holding more than eight rounds). To circumvent the treaty Rheinmetall acquired the Swiss company Waffenfabrik Solothurn in 1929 and began secret production of a prototype. What was to become the MP34 was originally designated S1-100 using the company standard naming convention.

Due to the Solothurn company not being suited for mass production, Rheinmetall took a controlling interest in Waffenfabrik Steyr, an established arms manufacturer in Austria. Weapons manufactured by Steyr were sold via the Zurich-based trade company Steyr-Solothurn Waffen AG to both the commercial and military markets.

The MP34 was manufactured from the very best materials available and finished to the highest possible standard. It was so well manufactured that it has often been nicknamed the Rolls Royce of submachine guns. However, its production costs were extremely high as a consequence.

Production of the MP34 ceased in mid-1940, and manufacturing lines at Steyr moved over to the production of the MP40 submachine gun – a much simpler designed weapon and far less expensive to produce than the MP34. Due to its high serviceability, the MP34 remained in service across the world after World War II. It was kept in service by the Portuguese into the 1970s.