Heinrich Vollmer

Heinrich Vollmer was a man who made tools. He made many kinds of guns. He found new ways to make them work. He made a tool that held many bullets. It was a round shape. It sat on a soldier's hip. A hose connected it to the gun. He also made a new spring. This spring helped the gun work better. It also made the gun easy to fix. He worked on many new ideas. His work helped change how tools were made.

Heinrich Vollmer was a designer of small guns. He was born in 1885. He began his work by making parts for guns. During the First World War, he made parts for the Maxim gun. He found new ways to feed bullets into guns. One way used a round spool. This spool sat on a soldier's hip. A flexible hose connected it to the gun.

In the 1920s, Vollmer made his own submachine guns. These were small guns that fire fast. He made many models like the VMP1925. He also made the VMP1928. This model used a box magazine. A magazine is a part that holds bullets.

His most important idea came in 1930. He made a new kind of spring. This was a telescoping main spring assembly. It helped the gun work well. It also made the gun easy to take apart. He got a patent for this in 1933.

Vollmer also worked on machine guns. He worked with a company called Mauser. He even made ideas for new rifles. He worked on these from 1935 to 1938. His work helped shape how guns were made.

Heinrich Vollmer was a German designer of small arms. Small arms are tools like pistols and machine guns. He was born in 1885 in Altdorf. He lived until 1961 in Tübingen. Vollmer spent his life finding new ways to make guns work better. His early work helped change how soldiers used these tools. He began his career making parts for the Maxim gun. This happened during the First World War.

Vollmer was very good at finding new ways to feed bullets into guns. One of his first ideas was for the MG08/15 gun. He created a way to feed bullets without using a belt. Later, he designed a part for the MP/18/I submachine gun. This used a large, round spool called a magazine. The magazine held 60 rounds of ammunition. A soldier carried this spool on his hip. A flexible hose connected the spool to the gun.

In the 1920s, Vollmer began making his own submachine guns. He created several models like the VPG and VPF. He also made the VMP1925. This model had a wooden handgrip. It used a small drum magazine that held 25 rounds. The German military tested this gun in secret. This was because a treaty called the Versailles Treaty limited their guns. Vollmer received secret money to keep working. This led to the VMP1926 and the VMP1928.

Vollmer made a very important discovery in 1930. He created a telescoping main spring assembly. A spring is a metal part that pushes things back into place. This new spring made his VMP1930 gun very reliable. It also made the gun easier to take apart in the field. He applied for a patent for this idea in 1930. The patent was granted in 1933 as DRP# 580620. His company, Vollmer Werke, sold about 400 of these guns. Most of them went to Bulgaria.

Later in his life, Vollmer worked on even bigger projects. He worked with a company called Mauser to make the MV 31 gun. He also helped develop the MG 34 machine gun. This gun was based on the Solothurn S2-100 design. Between 1935 and 1938, he worked on prototype assault rifles. These were called the Vollmer M35. He worked with a company named GECO to make special cartridges for them. His many designs helped shape the history of engineering.

Heinrich Vollmer was a prominent German designer of small arms. Small arms include tools like pistols and machine guns. Vollmer was born in 1885 in Altdorf. He lived until 1961 in Tübingen. He spent his career improving the mechanical efficiency of weaponry. His early work focused on manufacturing components for the German copies of the Maxim gun. This occurred during the First World War.

Vollmer was an expert at solving problems related to ammunition feeding. He first created a beltless feed system for the MG08/15. This changed how the gun received its ammunition. He later designed a unique system for the MP/18/I submachine gun. This design used a 60-round circular spool magazine. A soldier would carry this spool on a loop on his hip. A flexible hose connected the hip-mounted spool to the gun itself.

During the early 1920s, Vollmer began designing his own submachine guns. His early models included the VPG, VPGa, VPF, and VMP1925. The VMP1925 featured a wooden handgrip and a 25-round drum magazine. This magazine connected directly to the firearm. The Reichswehr, which was the German military, tested the VMP1925 in secret. The Versailles Treaty prohibited the Reichswehr from having submachine guns in service. However, the German police were allowed to carry a small number.

Vollmer received secret funding to continue his research and development. This led to the VMP1926, which lacked a cooling jacket. He then created the VMP1928, which used a 32-round box magazine on the left side. His final model in this series was the VMP1930. This model featured a major mechanical innovation. He designed a telescoping main spring assembly. This assembly made the firearm more reliable. It also made the gun easier to assemble and disassemble in the field.

Vollmer applied for a patent for this telescoping spring in 1930. The patent was granted in 1933 as DRP# 580620. His company, Vollmer Werke, produced approximately 400 of these units. Most of these guns were sold to Bulgaria. In late 1930, the Reichswehr stopped providing financial support to Vollmer. Because of this, he sold his design rights to the Erfurter Maschinenfabrik, also known as ERMA. ERMA continued to develop his designs, specifically the EMP.

Vollmer also worked on larger machine guns. His work in this area began as early as 1916. In 1927, he designed the VMG 1927. He later worked with Mauser to develop the MV 31, or Mauser-Vollmer 1931. This specific model was not adopted for official service. However, Vollmer contributed to the development of the MG 34 general-purpose machine gun. The MG 34 was based on the Solothurn S2-100, also known as the MG 30. The MG 34 eventually equipped the German military in very large numbers.

Between 1935 and 1938, Vollmer worked on a series of prototype assault rifles. These were known as the Vollmer M35. These rifles used an intermediate cartridge. He co-developed this cartridge with Gustav Genschow & Company, or GECO. His career shows how mechanical innovations can change the way technology is used. His work on springs and feeding systems influenced many future designs. He remains a significant figure in the history of small arms engineering.