Steyr-Solothurn MP-30

     Notes:  The company called “Steyr-Solothurn” never really existed as such; Steyr-Solothurn was a shell company which existed primarily on paper, in order to allow Nazi Germany to evade the restrictions of the Versailles Treaty until the Nazis were powerful enough to simply disregard it.  The German arms company of Rheinmetall would design the weapons, the Swiss company of Solothurn (which was an actual company) would be passed the designs and perfect them, and then the weapons would be license-produced under the Steyr-Solothurn name.

     One of the first weapons produced under the Steyr-Solothurn name was the MP-30. The MP-30 was introduced in 1930 as a weapon for the Austrian Police (the Austrian Police’s designation was the Steyr MP-30, omitting the “Solothurn” part), chambered for the 9mm Steyr cartridge.  The wooden rifle-type stock had a pistol-grip wrist, a 7.8-inch barrel surrounded by a perforated cooling jacket, and a bayonet lug.  The stock had a very pronounced drop and also looks about a size too small; some people who have actually fired the S1-100 say it is distinctly uncomfortable to fire from the shoulder or from the prone position.  The stock also contains the MP-30’s powerful recoil spring.  The MP-30 was produced until 1935, with the Austrian Police having been the primary users.

     The S1-100 was in essence an improved MP-30; it is perhaps better known by its Nazi designation, the MP-34(ö).  It was at first issued to the Austrian Police, chambered for 9mm Steyr; shortly thereafter, issue began to the Nazis, chambered for 9mm Parabellum, and the Austrian Army, chambered for 9mm Mauser. (The Austrians designation was the “Steyr MP-34.”) Other users included Portugal (in 7.65mm Parabellum and later 9mm Parabellum, called the M-42, and used as late as the 1970s by the Portuguese Fiscal Guards – their equivalent of the Treasury Service), and to the Chinese (in 7.63mm Mauser).  Chile, Bolivia, Uruguay, and El Salvador also used them, primarily in 9mm Parabellum; limited sales were also made on the South American civilian and military markets in a .45 ACP chambering. (These versions also had a foregrip added to their handguards.) The stock does not have as much of a drop, and is also much more substantial in construction.

     That said, the MP-30 and S1-100 are regarded as some of the best-built submachineguns ever made – except for the stocks, they are practically indestructible.  Unfortunately, like most designs of the time that Steyr had a hand in, both were incredibly expensive weapons, in addition to being masterpieces.  The action of the MP-30 and S1-100 were easily accessible for cleaning by lifting a cover at the top of the receiver, and stripping was likewise quite simple.  The fire selector (either semiautomatic or full automatic) was slider on the left side of the handguard (though not within reach of the firing hand).  Shortly after production began, a manual safety was added atop the receiver in front of the rear sight.  The magazines were inserted into the left side, and the magazine well was angled slightly forward to aid proper feeding.  A magazine loading device is built into the magazine well on the underside; one attaches a stripper clip (usually containing 8 rounds) with ammunition to the device, and then uses it to ram the rounds into the magazine.

     A very rare set of accessories were built for the S1-100, a small tripod, and an adapter for the S1-100 to be mounted on the tripod.  Very few were built, and it seems that far fewer were actually used in combat.

Steyr Tactical Machine Pistol

     Notes: This weapon could equally be considered a pistol, but its general configuration places it into the category of “personal defense weapon.”  There are only 41 component parts, and the weapon is easy to field-strip and for armorers to work on.  The weapon is compact, and fits inside the dimensions of a sheet of A4 paper.  The TMP has a foregrip under the barrel, and a sound suppresser can be easily added. A detachable (not folding) stock may also be added.  

     The design for the TMP was sold to the Swiss company Bugger & Thomet in 2001.

Steyr AUG 9mm Para

     Notes: This is a version of the AUG assault rifle, with a new barrel, bolt and magazine well adapter. The bolt converts the AUG to a closed-bolt blowback weapon.  The converted weapon cannot mount a bayonet in its standard configuration or use combat rifle grenades, but an optional muzzle device allows the AUG Para to fire riot control grenades, the barrel is threaded to accept a silencer or suppressor, and a bayonet attachment point may be fitted if necessary. Any AUG can be easily converted to this configuration using a special parts kit. Such a conversion takes a mere 10 minutes, and requires no special skill.  The long barrel allows a good velocity for the bullet. 

Steyr MPi-69/MPi-81

      Notes: This is a simple and light submachinegun built on the telescoping bolt pattern.  It is meant to be an “idiot-proof” weapon, one that is tolerant to dirt, is easily repaired and maintained, and jams easily cleared.  The rate of fire is low to allow greater controllability.  The fire level is chosen, like many Austrian weapons, by trigger pressure; a light touch on the trigger produces semiautomatic fire, while a full pull fires the weapon on automatic.  The front sling swivel is attached to the cocking lever; the firer can thus yank the sling back to cock the weapon after loading or clearing a jam. 

     This is the one feature that users of the MPi-69 disliked the most, so another version of the weapon was produced, the MPi-81.  This version has a conventional cocking handle, which has been moved to the right side of the weapon.  A further version of this weapon is the MPi-81 Firing Port Weapon, used on some Austrian fighting vehicles.  This is the same as the standard MPi-81, but has an extended barrel with a locking collar for a firing port, and a flash suppressor.  The raised sight makes a better interface with vision blocks on Austrian vehicles, and is not telescopic.

    In Austrian service, these weapon have been replaced by the Steyr TMP and the AUG Para.  It is still a popular police weapon throughout the world.

     Twilight 2000 Notes: As Notes, except for the inevitable return of these weapons to service use in Austria.

     Merc 2000 Notes: Austria has sold many of these weapons on the international arms market, where they were largely snapped up by mercenary organizations due to their reliability and ease of maintenance.