Ever Notice?

[Hawkeye_Joe]

After getting my MP40 home tonight I was putting on the original sling I bought for it and wondered what side it should be on, since the front sling slot will fit on either side. I looked through "BLITZKRIEG" and I noticed the sling is mostly found on the right side of the weapon and it is carried hung around the neck. Making it sit across a soldat's chest with the butt at his LEFT hand. Every photo I found of a soldat with a slung MP40 it was hung this way. That means that it wasn't used in that position only carried that way. This was very different than what I had first thought.

[RichUrich]

Some reasons why the sling ring was positoned on the right was:

 

1. When the MP40 was slung on the soldier, the bolt retracting knob was not digging into the soldier like it would be if it was slung on the left.

 

2. The sling is suposed to be slung UNDER the barrel chamber area in front of the mag housing! Of course, I have never seen a photo like this, but back in the 1970's I know a former WWII 12th SS man, who taught me a lot about the CORRECT way to do things (when re-enacting) on the MG34, MG40, 98K and MP's. He said, the re-enactors watched too many American movies and had learned "bad habits" from the American military that just were not correct from his experience. (Ever notice that the 98k's in almost all Germans on parade are on the LEFT shoulder?)

[Hawkeye_Joe]

The sling can not be positioned under the barrel, the sling ring has "ears" that make this impossible. It can go to the left or to the right but not up or down.

[leid]

Hi guys,

Rich is correct. I have a reference book with many of the WW2 Wehrmacht propaganda photos of the MP38/40. The sling ring belongs on the right side of the barrel for ease of carrying the weapon. And the sling goes under the barrel for firing as several combat photos illustrate. Most photos show the adjustable end of the sling on the front sling ring with the steel stud end on the rear. Just a few photos show the sling mounted in the opposite direction.

Carey

[Hawkeye_Joe]

I will look at more photos showing them being fired while slung, I haven't seen too many like that so far most are showing firing and the sling is loose, but I did notice in most of the pics in "BLITZKREIG" that the stud was positioned at the front not the rear.

[mp40]

From the pictures and other information that I have available to me, The sling "ring" should be on the RH side. In fact, the MP38(L) the experimental MP38 that was made of cast aluminum has the (cast in!) sling ring on the RH side..Most if not all, of my war time MP40 pictures show the sling ring on the RH side and the soldat hanging the MP with the muzzle pointing towards their right slung across their chest.

 

I think that the sling rings placement was either mandated or placed in the individual soldat's digression..I do believe that the sling should be on the RH side though.

[Hawkeye_Joe]

Just to see what it would look like I tried putting the studded end of the sling in the rear slot and the loop in front. The studded end did not have enough leather to push the stud through and attach.

[RichUrich]

The "correct" sling positioning is for the stud to be at the rear, and God yes, it is difficult to get that stud in the hole sometimes! But that is the way it was.

 

Sometimes K98 slings were used instead of MP40 slings...when that was the case the whole 98k stud keeper was used! Not very neat though in my opinion.

 

Soldiers in the field NEVER woould have had a choice of where the sling ring was positioned. That was a REAR AREA depot repair to replace the barrel assembly! The Germans were very Anal Obsessive about doing things according to the book.

 

Finally, the advantage of the sling ring on the right side and slung UNDER the barrel was that it offered a stable platform for firing while in "mobile assault mode"

 

Remember, MOST pictures taken of the period were staged, not actual combat scenes.

 

 

[Hawkeye_Joe]

I looked in "BLITZKRIEG" again last night paying special attention to sling position. If the Germans are so anal about doing things the "correct" way there sure were a lot MP40's with slings put on backwards from what you are saying. 90% of the MP40's in the photos, both period and staged, in that book have the sling with the stud in the front. Now the later model slings with a folded and sewed end seems to have been used in that position but except for a propaganda poster and one or two more photos, the studded end of the sling is shown attached to the front slot.

 

You are probably more knowledgeable about MP40's than I and I'm just going on what I see in one book but it seems there are a lot of the slings put on with the stud in the front. Also my sling is a WWII original and when I say that the studded end won't fit I mean just that, there is no way that the stud will go back in. The slots in the leather are barely beyond the rounded end of the receiver.

[Hawkeye_Joe]

This pic stated to be at Stalingrad shows two soldaten with the two different types of slings, the one on the right has the sewed type and it is attached at the rear while the troop on the left has the earlier sling and the studded end is attached to the front.

 

http://nacismus.mysteria.cz/soldat/soldimag/stalingrad-mp40.jpg

[RichUrich]

I am willing to bet the one on the right of the Stalingrad picture is using a K98 sling. While the one on the left is using an MP40 sling but the stud part of the sling is affixed at the sling ring instead of toward the rear which is MUCH easier to affix!

 

I have spent too many hours looking at period photos of how slings were affixed.

 

Rich Urich

[Hawkeye_Joe]

I'm not sure if you know what I mean when I say "sewed" end ( possibly I'm mistaken and this is a well known K98 sling feature.). In several period photos I have found while looking into this subject I see that a "tab" has been sewed on to the end of the MP40 sling by folding the end double then sewing the tail of the leather to the middle of the fold making a "tab" this tab is then pushed thru the rear slot and allowed to open to secure the sling. This is the sling that is on the MP40 on the right. A very easy fix for those who must have complained about buttoning the stud.... http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/laugh.gif

 

Oh and just an FYI.. I noticed that almost every German Re-enactor using the MP40 has the sling on the left side of the gun... http://www.machinegunbooks.com/forums/invboard1_1_2/upload/html/emoticons/wink.gif