This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations.(December 2012) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
For another article with Heinrich Vollmer's name, see Heinrich Vollmer (winery).
Heinrich Vollmer
Heinrich Vollmer (1956)
Born
Heinrich Vollmer
(1885-01-06)January 6, 1885
Württemberg, German Empire
Died
January 7, 1961(1961-01-07) (aged 76)
Occupation(s)
inventor, engineer
Heinrich Vollmer (1885 in Altdorf, Esslingen–1961 in Tübingen) was a German small-arms designer.
Vollmer began his manufacturing career by making parts for the German copies of the Maxim gun during the First World War. His first innovation was a beltless feed for the MG08/15. It was followed by a somewhat similar device for the MP/18/I submachine gun—this consisted of a 60-round circular, spool magazine that was carried by the soldier on loop on his hip and it was connected to the gun by a flexible hose. (The latter can be seen at the Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung Koblenz (WTS) as item #50008).[1]
In the early 1920s, Vollmer started to develop his own sub-machineguns. His early models, named VPG, VPGa, VPF and VMP1925 were fairly similar to the MP18. The VMP1925 had a wooden handgrip and was fed by a small 25-round drum magazine, connected directly to the gun. The VMP1925 was secretly tested by the Reichswehr, along with competing designs from Schmeisser and Rheinmetall. (The Reichswehr was prohibited by the Versailles Treaty from having sub-machine guns in service, although the German police was allowed to carry a small number.) Secret funding was given to Vollmer to continue development, and this resulted in the VMP1926, which mostly differed from its predecessor by the removal of the cooling jacket. A subsequent development was the VMP1928, which introduced a 32-round box magazine sticking from the left side. The final development of this series was the VMP1930. (It can also be seen at the WTS.) This model introduced a substantive innovation—a telescoping main spring assembly, which made the gun more reliable and easier to assemble and disassemble in the field. Vollmer applied for a patent for his innovation in 1930 and it was granted in 1933 as DRP# 580620. His company, Vollmer Werke, produced however only about 400 of these, and most were sold to Bulgaria. In late 1930, the Reichswehr stopped supporting Vollmer financially; consequently he sold the rights to all his designs to the company known as Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (ERMA), which continued development as the EMP.[1]
Vollmer also designed some machine guns. His initial work on this area may have begun as early as 1916. In 1927 he designed the VMG 1927 and developed it later in collaboration with Mauser into MV 31 (Mauser-Vollmer 1931). This gun however was not adopted for service.[2] Instead the MG 34 general-purpose machine gun (GPMG), also developed by Vollmer, but on the basis of the Solothurn S2-100 (MG 30) would eventually equip the German military in large numbers.
Between 1935 and 1938 Vollmer also worked on a series of prototype assault rifles, known as the
Vollmer M35, which were chambered in an intermediate cartridge co-developed with Gustav Genschow & Company (GECO).
^ abG. de Vries, B.J. Martens: The MP 38, 40, 40/1 and 41 Submachine gun, Propaganda Photos Series, Volume 2, Special Interest Publicaties BV, Arnhem, The Netherlands.First Edition 2001, pages 8-13
^Heinrich Vollmer (1885–1961) translation to English from Samopal MP38 a MP40 by Martin Helebrant, published in Czech by Nakladatelstvi Elka Press, ISBN 978-80-87057-02-5
HeinrichVollmer (1885 in Altdorf, Esslingen–1961 in Tübingen) was a German small-arms designer. Vollmer began his manufacturing career by making parts...
figure Hans Vollmer (1878–1969), German art historian and encyclopedist HeinrichVollmer (1885–1961), German small-arms designer Henry Vollmer (1867–1930)...
The Vollmer M 35 (also known as Vollmer-Maschinenkarabiner or MKb 35) consisted of a series of experimental automatic rifles developed by Heinrich Vollmer...
extensively by the Axis powers during World War II. Designed in 1938 by HeinrichVollmer with inspiration from its predecessor the MP 38, it was heavily used...
produced by the Erma factory, and was based on designs acquired from HeinrichVollmer. The gun was produced from 1931 to 1938 in roughly 10,000 exemplars...
roles. The MG 30 design was adapted and modified by HeinrichVollmer of Mauser Industries. Vollmer originally designed the feed mechanism to accept MG...
'ERMA Maschinenpistole'. The 'EMP' series was based on designs by HeinrichVollmer which had been bought by Geipert in the early 1930s. These SMGs would...
Berthold Geipel of Erma designed the MP 36 using Vollmer's EMP. The chief designer, HeinrichVollmer, revised the basic construction of Erma MP-36 and...
reportedly tested by the Reichswehr in 1925, along with a design by HeinrichVollmer known as the VMP. These trials yielded no decision and there was only...
mine; see List of land mines Vollmer M35, a series of 1930s experimental automatic rifles developed by HeinrichVollmer M35 Stahlhelm, a type of German...
yet another submachine gun from this period, based on a design by HeinrichVollmer, about 10,000 were manufactured. It was exported to Spain, Mexico,...
a similar bolt structure that also involved a telescoping spring. HeinrichVollmer, a competing designer who designed the EMP36 held the patent for telescoping...
Christian Heinrich Heineken or Heinecken (February 6, 1721 – June 27, 1725), also known as "the infant scholar of Lübeck", was a German child prodigy who...
edition), volume 24, pp. 447–449 (books.google.de). Winter, Heinrich Eduard. In Hans Vollmer (ed.): Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike...
"Johann Heinrich Strack", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 36, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 484–485 Franz Jahn, Hans Vollmer; "Strack...
"Professor Heinrich Lauenstein" (obituary), In: Rhein und Düssel. Nr. 22, 1910, pp.175-176 (Online) "Lauenstein, Heinrich", In: Hans Vollmer (Ed.): Allgemeines...
member of the Vienna Künstlerhaus from 1868 to 1877. "Schubert, Heinrich Carl". In: Hans Vollmer (Ed.): Allgemeines Lexikon der Bildenden Künstler von der Antike...
ISBN 3-7654-3010-2. Hans Vollmer (Ed.): Künstlerlexikon. Vol. 2, E. A. Seemann Verlag, Leipzig 1955. Wikimedia Commons has media related to Heinrich Hermanns. More...
Antje Vollmer (German: [ˈantjə ˈfɔlmɐ]; 31 May 1943 – 15 March 2023) was a German Protestant theologian, academic teacher and politician of the Alliance...
Hans Vollmer (16 November 1878 – 15 February 1969) was a German art historian and encyclopedist. His father was the architect Johannes Vollmer [de] (1845-1920)...
Global Information
