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LOT 360
Rare and Exceptional World War II Erma MP.38 Submachine Gun, Class III/NFA C&R Fully Transferable Machine Gun - Serial no. 9501a,
9 mm Luger cal., 10 inch round bbl., blue finish, metal stock. This is an exceptional example of a seldom seen fully transferable MP.38 submachine gun, complete with a rare original leather bolt retention strap; a safety feature added to the MP.38 due to issues with this model being prone to accidental discharge when the bolt handle
was bumped while in the forward position, prior to the introduction of the improved two-piece bolt handle and notch as seen on this example. The guns themselves are uncommon, and surviving original leather bolt retention straps
are far and few between. Produced from 1938 to 1940, the MP.38 was in active use during some
of the earliest aggressive action of World War II
in Europe, and saw active use on all fronts; no doubt many were destroyed through the rigors
of service or captured on the Eastern Front as
the war went on, leaving few examples to be captured by American GIs on the Western Front, and fewer still on the American market in high condition. The immediate forerunner to the MP.40, the MP.38 marks a transition point between the more intricate and expensive machined steel and wood submachine guns of World War I and the inter-war years with the more efficient stampings and drawings that would typify the World War II European machine gun.