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A Deep Dive Into the Little-Known German Walther MPL, We Analyze Reliability, Ergonomics, and Historical Significance To See Why It’s a Great Submachine Gun!
The Walther MPL is a controllable and efficient close combat tool. Employed by West German police agencies, America’s fledgling Delta Force, and sundry international military and Law Enforcement users, the MPL never got the credit it deserved. (Photo by Will Dabbs)
On September 5, 1972, eight members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September slipped into the Olympic Village in Munich, West Germany. They were dressed in tracksuits and carried bulky duffle bags containing AKM rifles, Tokarev pistols, and Combloc hand grenades. German Neo-Nazis provided their logistical support.
In their initial assault, the Black September terrorists killed Israeli athletes Yossef Romano and Moshe Weinberg before seizing another nine of their countrymen.
In exchange for the safe return of these captured Israelis, the terrorists demanded the release of several hundred incarcerated terrorists as well as safe passage out of Germany. Faced with the prospect of a political disaster of Biblical proportions, West German police staged an immediate armed rescue.
The post-war German constitution prevented the use of the West German armed forces within the confines of the country during peacetime so responsibility for the rescue mission fell to the police.
At 4:30 in the afternoon, a group of 38 German police officers carrying distinctive Walther MP submachine guns moved into position. Unbeknownst to them their approach was captured by the news media and broadcast to the world as well as the terrorists inside the compound. Their cover blown, the German police officers retreated without firing a shot.
After protracted negotiations the terrorists moved by helicopter to a nearby NATO base to board a waiting Boeing 727.
Five German police sharpshooters were stationed around the area armed with standard-issue G3 service rifles that lacked sound suppressors or optical sights. Sixteen German police officers dressed as flight crew aboard the 727 precipitously decided to abandon their mission without consulting their superiors. This left five German snipers armed with infantry rifles to confront eight heavily armed terrorists holding nine hostages. The result was a bloodbath.
All nine Israeli hostages died in the exchange along with Anton Fliegerbauer, a German police officer positioned in the control tower. German police killed five of the terrorists.
On October 29, 1972, Palestinian terrorists seized Lufthansa Flight 615 and threatened to blow it up unless the remaining Black September operatives were released. The German government complied. Two of these three men were subsequently eliminated during a wide-ranging Israeli Mossad operation titled, appropriately enough, Operation Wrath of God.
The list of regrettable failures that folded into the Munich Olympic Massacre is long. With the notable exception of Israel, nobody really maintained dedicated counter-terrorist units back then.
The Munich operation was therefore a come-as-you-are affair. Within two months the West German government had organized GSG9, the superlative West German police counter-terrorist unit then commanded by Ulrich Wegener.
The Free World responded quickly to this new challenge, and the influence can be felt all the way up to the present day. Nowadays even small American police departments typically maintain some sort of tactical capability.
Despite the many failures manifest during those fateful days in 1972, one piece of critical gear used on that operation has long been under-appreciated. That is the superb Walther MP submachine gun.
An Unappreciated Jewel
Manufactured by Carl Walther from 1963 until 1985, the MP submachine gun represents the pinnacle of open-bolt submachine gun design.
Feeding from a superb double-column 32-round box magazine, this weapon comes in two variants. The MPL (Maschinenpistole Lang) is the longer version sporting a 10.2-inch barrel and weighing 6.6 pounds. The stubbier MPK (Maschinenpistole Kurz) features a chopped 6.8-inch tube and weighs some seven ounces less. Stemming from more than half a century of martial evolution, the MPL is a superb piece of kit.
The balance and ergonomics of the gun eclipse anything manufactured during World War II. The center of gravity rides where it should, and the weapon is finished in a robust dull Parkerizing. The overall chassis strikes a nice balance between modest weight, compact dimensions, and controllability.
Morphology
The gun is manufactured from steel pressings welded together in much the same manner as the M3 Grease Gun.
The upper receiver is a single flat folded around trunnions and welded at the bottom. The lower receiver is formed from two clamshells welded along the length of the seam. The upper and lower are secured via a spring-retained pushpin.
The grips are formed from unremarkable black plastic. The steel forearm is liberally perforated with cooling slots. The WWII-era MP44 assault rifle clearly influenced the gun’s manufacture.
The selector switch is in the same spot as that of an M4 and is replicated on both sides of the gun. However, two of its three positions are reversed from the Colt standard.
Straight back is safe, the first 90-degree notch is full auto, and the reversed 180-degree position is semiauto. The gun’s sedate rate of fire helps reduce profligate ammunition expenditure, so this is appropriate for a pistol-caliber submachine gun.
The magazine well is located just ahead of the trigger guard and is flared for fast magazine changes. The gun’s pressed steel box magazine enjoys a trapezoidal cross section as well as a stiffening rib down its back spine. These two features help maintain orientation in the dark. This same magazine, slightly modified, feeds the American M-10 9mm submachine gun manufactured by Military Armament Corporation, RPB, and others.
The stock is formed from heavy wire with a plastic coating. This device is common to both the MPK and MPL and folds to the right when not in use. Oddly, the stock partially occludes the ejection port when closed and adversely affects reliability as a result.
The bolt design is quite clever in that the modest bit that manages the rounds is quite small. However, this piece is welded to a much larger component that reciprocates within the upper tubular portion of the upper receiver. This substantial mass is what keeps the rate of fire slow and contributes to the gun’s remarkable controllability.
Pertinent Particulars
The non-reciprocating charging handle is spring-loaded and located at the left front akin to that of the HK MP5, the MPL’s primary competition. This makes it imminently accessible by the weak hand when firing right-handed. As near as I can tell, left-handed people seem not to have been invented until the mid-1980s…
The sling swivels are located on the left side as they should be. Unlike the MP5, the barrels are easily exchanged via a knurled muzzle nut retained by a spring-loaded catch. Swapping out barrels or adding a sound suppressor is easily managed at the user level.
The sights on the MPL are quite curious. Both front and rear are heavily fenced against rough handling. There is an open groove both front and rear for rapid engagements.
After a little practice, they are easily acquired. However, there is a second sighting system built underneath the first. This rig consists of a simple front post combined with a rear peep. For precise semi-auto work in the days before widespread optical sights this would have been fairly revolutionary.
Practical Tactical
While the shorter MPK is purportedly a bit of a handful, the longer, front-heavy MPL is a serene and comfortable gun to run. With a cyclic rate of around 550 rounds per minute, the MPL is imminently controllable and fun on the range. Doubles are fairly easy for an experienced trigger finger, and three- to four-round bursts flow forth naturally. Out to fifty meters, or more, such bursts will typically disperse to about the area of a standard tactical target.
Magazine changes are fast if perhaps a bit more cumbersome than those of your favorite M4. Once the gun runs dry the bolt remains forward. Lock the bolt to the rear manually and release the charging handle to slide forward of its own accord.
Drop the empty magazine and insert a fresh one, point the gun, and squeeze. The magazine release is located behind the magazine for easy access with either thumb. The ample mag well just ahead of the trigger guard is easy to find, even in the dark.
If the MPL has a dark side it is its perforated forearm. After two magazines burned rapidly the forearm gets uncomfortably hot. The solution is simply to move the support hand back to the magazine well, but the gun would benefit from a polymer handguard of some sort.
The MPL is not terribly concealable, but concealability is not its mission. This gun is intended to fulfill the role of the wartime MP40, and it remains a superb general-purpose submachine gun. Rugged, accurate, and versatile, the MPL is what all open-bolt subguns aspire to be.
Regarding rate of fire, the MPL runs much more slowly than many competing designs. The gun’s 550 round per minute rate puts it into the same family as the Sten, MP40, and American M3 Grease Gun.
By contrast, a modern M4 or MP5 typically cycles at around 750-850 rounds per minute. For a general purpose subgun to be used in protracted combat, such as that experienced in Europe during World War II, the MPL is a superb tool. For the counter-terror mission in the hands of well-trained operators, a faster-firing weapon might be preferable.
Denouement
The Portuguese used the Walther MPL through their sundry colonial wars as well as during the Carnation Revolution in April of 1974, the largest peaceful civilian evacuation in human history.
This gun saw service in the Congo as well as during the Lebanese Civil War and the various brushfire conflicts in Colombia. The West German police obviously used the gun extensively as well. The most famous users of the Walther MP, however, were also some of the most secretive.
The U.S. Army’s Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta was the brainchild of a Special Forces Colonel named Charlie Beckwith in the late 1970s.
After training with the British SAS, Beckwith returned to America convinced of the need to establish a dedicated counter-terrorist capability within the United States Army. Early Delta operators used American M3 Grease Guns before transitioning to the Walther MP.
Delta used these weapons during the ill-fated attempted rescue of American hostages in Iran. However, soon thereafter HK MP5s and stubby rifle-caliber assault rifles like the CAR-15 filled this role. Ultimately, the HK 416 undertook this mission.
The world’s counter-terrorist units began shifting toward rifle-caliber weapons in the 1980s. Meanwhile, the HK MP5 was selling as fast as Oberndorf could produce them. As a result, the Walther MP submachine guns died a natural death. However, the argument can be made that the Walther MPL was actually the most effective general-purpose submachine gun ever produced.
Walther MPL Technical Specifications
- Caliber: 9mm Parabellum
- Operation: Blowback open-bolt
- Weight: 6.6 lbs.
- Length: 29.4 in. stock open, 18.2 in. closed
- Barrel Length: 10.2 in.
- Sights: Dual-Function
- Cyclic Rate: 550 rpm
- Feed System: 32-round box magazine
- Manufacturer: Walther
- Status: Out of service
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280 Ross Sporting rifle 1910
Australia’s largest gun buyback in a generation is officially underway in New South Wales, where licensed firearm owners are being offered cash to surrender guns affected by the state’s new ownership limits.
The program began accepting firearms on Nov. 2 and is scheduled to run for 12 months. According to the New South Wales government, 331 appointments had already been booked at launch, covering 2,430 firearms and 194 large ammunition submissions.
Premier Chris Minns did not mince words while launching the program.
“These laws will save lives,” he said, according to 7NEWS reporter Taylor Aiken.
Table of contents
What Australia Is Paying for the Guns
Under the first phase, eligible owners can receive:
- $450 for an air rifle
- $600 for a rimfire rifle
- $650 for a single-barrel shotgun
- $850 for a double-barrel shotgun
- $850 for a semiautomatic handgun
- $1,000 for a revolver
- $1,000 for a centerfire rifle
Owners surrendering at least one kilogram of ammunition with an eligible firearm can also receive a one-time $150 payment. A second phase scheduled for early 2027 will create an appraisal process for eligible firearms worth more than $3,000, with compensation capped at $10,000 per gun.
The complete buyback payment schedule is available through NSW Police.
Of course, whether those fixed payments come anywhere close to the actual market value of the guns is another question. Critics argue that owners will surrender inexpensive or worn firearms while holding onto higher-value guns until the appraisal program becomes available.
New Caps Are Driving the Buyback
The program is tied to sweeping firearm restrictions passed after the December 2025 terrorist attack at Bondi Beach, which killed 15 people.
Under the new system, recreational hunters will generally be limited to four firearms. Sport and target shooters, pest controllers, primary producers and certain professional users face a standard limit of 10, although some categories MAY receive “permission” from the police commissioner to exceed that number.
( I can just see it, that soon a bunch of high ranking cops get caught taking bribes over this one. Said Grumpy the Born again Cynic!)
Licensed collectors and firearm dealers are not subject to the same numerical caps. (For now!)
The “reforms” also reclassify several types of firearms, shorten standard firearm-license terms from five years to two and impose new citizenship and magazine requirements. A full breakdown of the legislative changes is available from NSW Police.
One important detail: the limits are not yet fully in force for people who already own the affected firearms. Owners are not currently required to rush to a police station and surrender guns immediately while the government finalizes regulations and possible exemptions. (So far so but don’t hold your breath on that one either! As you will be next!)
Still, once those provisions take effect, owners above the applicable limits will need to surrender, sell or legally transfer their excess firearms.
The government estimates the changes could affect roughly 274,000 registered firearms (about 24 percent of all registered guns in New South Wales) and approximately 50,000 license holders.
Political Fight Already Underway
The NSW and Australian federal governments are splitting the cost of the program, which officials acknowledge could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
While New South Wales is the first jurisdiction to begin accepting firearms, it is not technically the only one to support the national program. The Australian Capital Territory has also agreed to participate, although its buyback has not yet launched. Other states have resisted joining or are pursuing separate plans, per ABC News.
The NSW opposition is promising changes if voters remove Minns’ Labor government in the March election.
Opposition Leader Kellie Sloane has pledged to freeze the buyback and remove what she calls arbitrary ownership caps for farmers and competition shooters with legitimate needs. She argues that the government is concentrating on licensed owners while organized criminals continue using illegal firearms.
(She was also there at the Bondi Shooting BTW. According to Wikipedia)
“The real enemy on our streets at the moment are organised criminals and terrorists,” Sloane said while criticizing the policy.
One Nation is going further, promising to scrap both the caps and the buyback. Some firearm groups have encouraged owners to wait until after the election before participating.
Fewer Civilian Guns, More Police Rifles
There is also an interesting contrast developing.
While the government is paying licensed owners to surrender firearms, it has launched a $94.3 million Armed Response Command equipped with Australian Combat Assault Rifles, rapid-response vehicles and a round-the-clock intelligence center.
The unit will eventually include 250 armed officers and 28 civilian support personnel tasked with patrolling major events, crowded public spaces, sporting venues and places of worship. (You know that it will get bigger, right? Grumpy)
So, the government’s response to the Bondi attack is essentially twofold: reduce the number of firearms held by licensed citizens while placing more rifle-equipped police on the streets.
Supporters see that as sensible public safety policy. Gun owners see law-abiding hunters, farmers and competitive shooters paying the price for crimes they did not commit.
=================================================Why is it that I think that the “Diggers” are very busy right now with making new holes in the ground?
That and A. That’s a lot of taxpayers money that is being thrown around. B. Considering how expensive is the sport of shooting is. It is not much being “offered” for each gun / ammo. For example at my local gun shop, A 20 round box of 30-06 is over $25 !!
C. Why is it that the Government is all of a sudden so afraid of its citizens being armed? Hmmm!! What with a huge increase in “Armed Response Command / Riot Police”. Orwell must be spinning in his grave.
All I can say on this is God Bless and keep the good folks down under from harm!! Plus remember to dig deep and to keep your mouth shut about your new garden in the back yard. Grumpy