Entrenching tool, belt buckle and canteen: what can stop a bullet from MP-40? Gun Myths. Part 8
Kalashnikov Concern has a nifty YouTube channel if you haven’t seen it yet. The video here is tackling one of those oddball bullet proof clothing myths that alleged Soviet winter gear was reliably stopping 9mm rounds from the MP-40.
The Bullet Proof Soviet was not nearly as accurate as the bullet sponge Soviet as it turns out… which fairly accurately summed up several orders of the Red Army’s doctrine. The clothes and tools are for their original intent, not armor, but I’m certain there will be a few stories floating around still that absolutely assure us that it happened and that the thick winter clad soldiers of the Red Army were able to shrug off the submachine gun fire of the chilled Germans.
The MP40 was a well designed, simple, and typically German 9mm submachine gun. Stolid in its role, like the U.S. with the Thompson, it gave Germans mobile controllable full-auto in close where the bolt action k98 was at disadvantage. Mechanised and paratroopers were the primary intended users. A few of the unique design elements, including the bayonet lug like vehicle brace, were specifically designed to assist shooters from inside the walls of german support craft.
