Heckler & Koch UMP

Heckler & Koch UMP
A Heckler & Koch UMP45 with a vertical foregrip used by the German Army
Type	Submachine gun
Place of origin	Germany
Service history
Used by	See Users
Production history
Designed	1990s
Manufacturer	Heckler & Koch
Produced	1999–present
Specifications
Mass	Without magazine: 2.3 kg (5.2 lb) (UMP9/UMP40) 2.5 kg (5.4 lb) (UMP45) With unloaded magazine: 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) (UMP9) 2.55 kg (5.6 lb) (UMP40) 2.65 kg (5.8 lb) (UMP45)
Length	450 mm (17.7 in), stock folded 690 mm (27.2 in), stock extended
Barrel length	200 mm (8 in)
Cartridge	.45 ACP (UMP45) .40 S&W (UMP40) 9x19mm Parabellum (UMP9)
Action	Blowback, closed bolt
Rate of fire	650 rounds/min (UMP9/UMP40) 600 rounds/min (UMP45)
Effective firing range	100 m (9x19mm Parabellum) 50 m (.45 ACP)
Feed system	30-round detachable box magazine (UMP9/UMP40) 25-round detachable box magazine (UMP45)

The UMP (Universale Maschinenpistole, German for "Universal Machine Pistol") is a submachine gun developed and manufactured by Heckler & Koch. The UMP has been adopted by various agencies such as the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Heckler & Koch developed the UMP as a lighter and cheaper successor to the MP5, though both remain in production.

Design details

A Royal Thai Navy SEAL with the UMP9 during a boarding exercise, August 2008.

The UMP is a blowback operated, magazine-fed submachine gun firing from a closed bolt.

As originally designed, the UMP is chambered for larger cartridges (.45 ACP and .40 S&W) than other submachine guns like the MP5, to provide more stopping power against unarmored targets (with slightly lower effectiveness at longer range) than the MP5 (largely offered in 9x19mm, albeit with short-lived production of 10mm Auto and .40 S&W variants). A larger cartridge produces more recoil, and makes control more difficult in fully automatic firing. To mitigate this, the cyclic rate of fire was reduced to 650 rounds/min (600 rounds/min for the UMP45), which makes it one of the slower firing submachine guns on the market.

The UMP9 (the 9x19mm version of the UMP) is almost 0.2 kilograms (0.44 lb) lighter than its MP5 counterpart. Its predominantly polymer construction reduces both its weight and the number of parts susceptible to corrosion.

The UMP is available in four trigger group configurations, featuring different combinations of semi-automatic, 2-round burst, fully automatic, and safe settings. It features a side-folding buttstock to reduce its length during transport. When the last round of the UMP is fired, the bolt locks open, and can be released via a catch on the left side. The standard viewing sights are composed of an aperture rear sight and a front ring with a vertical post. It can mount four Picatinny rails (one on top of the receiver, and one on the right, left, and the bottom of the handguard) for the attachment of accessories such as optical sights, flashlights, or laser sights. Vertical fore-grips can be attached to the bottom rail for increased control during burst and automatic fire.

Variants

There are three versions of the UMP: the UMP45, firing a .45 ACP cartridge; the UMP40, firing a .40 S&W cartridge; and the UMP9, firing a 9x19mm Parabellum cartridge. Apart from the different chambering, all versions feature the same basic design, the most noticeable difference being the curved magazine used on the UMP9 (whereas the UMP40 and UMP45 use a straight magazine). All three versions of the weapon can be converted to any of the available chamberings via replacement of the bolt, barrel, and magazine.

The USC or Universal Self-loading Carbine is a semi-automatic version of the UMP that is available to private citizens for sporting purposes. It was designed following the Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 in the United States and conforms to those standards. Changes from the original UMP include a "thumbhole" type stock and grip (versus the pistol grip of the UMP, though aesthetically there is little difference), longer barrel (no flash suppressor), limited 10-round magazine, and semi-automatic only trigger group and action. Originally available in gray, as of early 2007 the USC comes only in an all-black finish.

Users

U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers carrying UMPs.

Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency officers carrying UMP9 and SG-553.

Country	Organization name	Model	Quantity	Date	References
Australia	New South Wales Police Force Tactical Operations Unit	UMP40	_	_
	New South Wales Department of Corrective Services Hostage Response Group	UMP40	_	_
	Victoria Police Critical Incident Response Team	UMP40	_	_
Canada	Brantford Police Service Emergency Response Team	UMP40	_	_
Georgia	Georgian Special Forces	UMP45	_	_
Jordan	Jordanian Special Operations Forces	_	_	_
Latvia	Latvian Army	UMP9	_	_
Liechtenstein	Special Police Unit	-	_	_
	Security Corps	-	_	_
Malaysia	Special Task And Rescue counter-terrorism team of the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency	UMP9	_	_
Mexico	Mexican Marines	_	_	_
Philippines	Special Action Force	UMP45	_	_
Romania	Land Forces special operations battalions	UMP9	_	_
Serbia	Special Brigade of the Serbian Army	UMP9	_	_
Slovakia	5th Special Forces Regiment of the Armed Forces of Slovak Republic	_	_	_
South Korea	National Police Agency	UMP	_	_
Thailand	Royal Thai Navy SEALs	UMP9	_	_
United States	U.S. Customs and Border Protection	UMP40	_	_
	Pentagon Force Protection Agency	UMP40	_	_

External links

• Official page
• UMP operator's manual
• 2008 Heckler & Koch Military and LE brochure
• The UMP at Modern Firearms
• HKPRO page on UMP
• HKPRO page on the USC
• Nazarian's Gun Recognition Guide – H&K UMP Demonstration (MOV)