Gerät Potsdam
Mauser-Werke GmbH · Submachine Gun · Discontinued · 1944
Also known as: Potsdam Device, Potsdam Gerät, Mauser Sten copy
Overview
The Gerät Potsdam is a German open-bolt, blowback submachine gun chambered in 9x19mm Parabellum, produced by Mauser at Oberndorf in late 1944 as an exact clandestine copy of the British Sten Mk II. Down to its stamped-steel receiver, side-mounted 32-round magazine and skeleton stock, it duplicated the original so precisely that the counterfeits even carried the English factory markings and inspection stamps of a genuine Sten, making it nearly impossible to tell the German copy from the British original. Roughly 10,000 were built within a few weeks, most likely intended to arm covert units operating behind Allied lines.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3010 g (106.2 oz) |
| Overall Length | 762 mm (30.00") |
| Barrel Length | 197 mm (7.76") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Open Bolt |
| Trigger Type | Select Fire |
| Magazine Capacity | 32 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 365 m/s (1198 fps) |
| Effective Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 550 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Steel |
| Finish | Phosphate |
Calibers
- 9x19mm Parabellum · primary · 9mm NATO — also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, 9x19mm
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Bolt Safety Slot
- Features: Side Mounted Magazine, Skeleton Stock, Stamped Steel Construction, Faithful Sten Copy, Counterfeit English Markings
Service history
Operators
- Wehrmacht · adopted 1944
Conflicts
- World War II (1944-1945)
Production
Estimated total produced: 10,000 · Production years: 1944-1945
Approximately 10,000 built within roughly six weeks; Mauser records show 9,972 units delivered and accepted. Around 26,000-28,000 had originally been requested.
Origin
Country of origin: Germany
Discontinued: 1945
Notes
The purpose of the Gerät Potsdam remains debated; the faithfully copied, English-marked Sten guns are generally thought to have been meant for airdrop to guerrilla or Werwolf units behind enemy lines. Mauser records show 9,972 units delivered and accepted. A related project, the simplified Gerät Neumünster (MP 3008), abandoned the counterfeiting and became a true German-production last-ditch SMG.
Background
So exact was the Gerät Potsdam that its makers embossed genuine English company designations onto the receivers, meaning collectors and historians often cannot say with certainty whether a given Sten Mk II is a British original or a Mauser-made German forgery.