The Walther MPL

In the 1970s West Berlin stood 100 miles inside communist-controlled territory, a tragically flawed testament to post-World War II geopolitical acrimony. The Berlin Brigade was a token NATO force billeted in this surrounded, beleaguered city. Their mission was not so much their combat effectiveness as it was what they represented. Attacking the Berlin Brigade was tantamount to attacking the United States. However, chances are things would not have ended well for these isolated grunts had the Cold War suddenly turned hot.

Operating in the shadows in West Berlin was a small contingent of Special Forces soldiers known as Detachment A. Theirs was the archetypal Green Beret mission. Should the balloon go up and Warsaw Pact forces roll over West Berlin like a juggernaut, Detachment A troops would melt into the population to foment a covert underground war. To pull this off, these iron-willed studs had a 10,000-weapon stash of military firearms hidden for distribution to would-be partisans. Thank the Good Lord it never came to pass.

There were never more than about a hundred Special Forces operators assigned to Detachment A. Given the unique nature of their mission they were authorized some comparably unique weapons. One of those unique firearms was the Walther MP submachine gun.

The Vagaries Of Fate

The HK MP5 got all the serious press, but it was an iffy thing. The Walther MP was used by West German police during the 1972 Munich Massacre of Israeli athletes by Palestinian Black September terrorists. It was also carried by U.S. Army Delta Force operators during Operation Eagle Claw, the failed attempt to rescue the American hostages held in Iran in 1979. By contrast, the British SAS wielded MP5s in 1980 as they successfully stormed the Iranian embassy at Princes Gate in London live on international television.

Munich was a massacre and Eagle Claw came up dry, while the SAS Operation Nimrod was lyrically successful. As a result, everybody with a badge wanted an MP5 in the trunk of his squad car and the Walther MP died a natural death. However, with the benefit of hindsight and a lot of trigger time on both weapons, I’m not so sure the best gun won.

How Does She Run?

The Walther MPL is my personal favorite submachine gun. The ergonomics complement the human form nicely, and the controls are well-engineered and handy. Additionally, the slow rate of fire lends itself to easy burst control without profligate ammunition expenditure. The wire stock is not the most comfortable ever designed but it is stable, rigid, and easily deployed in a rush.
There will be inevitable comparisons to the HK MP5. Call me a heretic if you wish but the MP5 always seemed a bit overly complex to me, kind of like driving nails with some complicated mechanical contraption when a good old-fashioned hammer might do just as well. Additionally, at 700 rounds per minute the rate of fire of the MP5 is just a bit spunky for my tastes. An experienced operator can indeed write his name with the thing but I find the Walther gun to be a bit more forgiving.

The open bolt design does offer a tiny little jar every time you touch it off, but this effect is minimal with attention to technique. Running both guns side by side I shoot about the same with each while enjoying the MPL a bit more — and my magazines last longer as well.

Had fate intervened these various operations might have gone a different way — it might have been the overly complex MP5 going the way of the dodo while the pressed steel Walther endured. Regardless, the Walther MPL remains a simply superb Cold War-era subgun.

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