The Bergmann MP18 was designed by Hugo Schmeisser in 1915 at the Bergmann Waffenfabrik factory. It was designed to fulfill the requirements established by the German Rifle Testing Commission. When the weapon was completed it was designated the Maschinenpistole 18/I or MP18/I. The weapons finished and the parts all fitted by hand at near commercial grade quality. The MP18/I went into production in early 1918 using the 32-round snail drum magazine used in the LP08 Artillery Luger. Issued in the final stages of World War I at least 5,000 MP18/I's were built and issued before the war ended. The weapon was outlawed for German Military use by the Treaty of Versailles but small quantity was issued the Weimar Republic for police use. The Weimar Republic weapons are converted with MP28 mag-wells to use 20-round box magazines as the 32-round drum was also banned by the Treaty of Versailles, which wasn't of much concern, as the box magazines were more reliable and much easier to handle. The design was improved upon and manufactured in Belgium for export as the Schmeisser MP28/II
Error creating thumbnail: File missingBergmann MP18/I with 32-round TM 08 snail drum accepting mag-well, as issued in WWI - 9x19mmError creating thumbnail: File missingBergmann MP18/I with 20-round box magazine accepting MP28 mag-well, what the MP18 was originally designed with and retrofitted with post-WWI - 9x19mm
