Steyr-Solothurn S1-100
Steyr-Solothurn Waffen AG · Submachine Gun · Discontinued · 1929
Also known as: S1-100, Steyr-Solothurn MP34, MP34(o), Solothurn S1-100
Overview
The Steyr-Solothurn S1-100 is an Austrian blowback-operated, open-bolt submachine gun chambered most commonly in 9x19mm Parabellum, developed from a Rheinmetall design of the late 1920s and built by the Steyr-Solothurn combine for export and Austrian service. Renowned for its high-quality machined steel construction and a distinctive horizontal side-feed magazine housing that doubled as a magazine loader, it was adopted by Austrian police and military forces and exported widely before being absorbed into German service as the MP34(o) after the 1938 Anschluss.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 4250 g (149.9 oz) |
| Weight (loaded) | 4480 g (158.0 oz) |
| Overall Length | 850 mm (33.46") |
| Barrel Length | 200 mm (7.87") |
| Action Type | Blowback |
| Firing Mechanism | Open Bolt |
| Trigger Type | Single Stage |
| Magazine Capacity | 32 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Muzzle Velocity | 410 m/s (1345 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 481 J (355 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 200 m (219 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 500 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | 6 Grooves, Right-Hand Twist |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 9x19mm Parabellum · primary · 9mm NATO — also known as 9mm Luger, 9mm NATO, 9x19mm
- 9x25mm Mauser Export — also known as 9mm Mauser Export
Features
- Firing modes: Semi Automatic, Full Automatic
- Feed systems: 20-Round Detachable Box Magazine, 32-Round Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety, Bolt-Locking Notch
- Features: Side-Mounted Horizontal Magazine Well, Magazine Loader Built Into The Magazine Housing, Machined Steel Construction, Select-Fire (Semi/Full Automatic), Wooden Full-Length Stock
Production
Production years: 1929-1940
Produced by Waffenfabrik Solothurn AG in Switzerland and Waffenfabrik Steyr in Austria under the Steyr-Solothurn marketing arrangement; exact totals are not well documented.
Origin
Country of origin: Austria
Designer: Louis Stange (Rheinmetall)
Discontinued: 1940
Notes
The S1-100 was the commercial and export designation of the design later standardised by the Austrian army as the MP34. Its costly machined construction was its defining trait and ultimately its undoing, as wartime Germany replaced it with the far cheaper stamped MP40.
Background
Often considered one of the finest-made submachine guns of its era, the S1-100 combined Swiss-Austrian craftsmanship with a clever magazine housing that let a soldier reload a magazine directly from stripper-style guides built into the gun. That same precision machining made it expensive and slow to produce, so when Germany inherited Austria's stocks as the MP34(o), it kept the existing guns in second-line service but turned to the cheap, stamped MP40 for mass production.