Following WWII, Allied countries closely regulated West Germany’s military development. The west German border guard (Bundesgrenzschutz; BSG) was looking for a new submachine gun in 1951, and it selected the Italian-made Beretta Model 38/49. The official designation for the gun was the MP1. In order to respond the ongoing military actions by the Soviet and East-Germany, the West Germany defense force (Bundeswehr) was built up and the country became the member of NATO ate then same year. A new purchase of new submachine gun was on the table by the West German director of defense department, to solve the situation which still using a collection of WWII surplus (like the M3 “Grease Gun” which runs the ammunition of .45 ACP).
Under the pressure of the expansion from Communist International, many western countries, such as UK, Sweden, Italy, Israel, with their next level submachineguns and Germany joined this campaign. The Swedish made submachinegun Carl Gustav M/45 earned the highest scores in a serial of tests. However, the very next day after the announcement of the result, IMI representatives met with the German defense minister, it’s not known what was discussed. After 2 weeks, the next new submachinegun of German Bundeswehr was declared, the prize went to Israel. There were two probable factors that influenced the sudden change in Germany’s plan. The first was delivery time frame can meet the expectation of Bundeswehr. The second probable factor that influenced the decision was tried to send a good will and establish the formal diplomatic relationship with Israel.
Based on the agreement, it would be known as the MP2 for the wooden fixed-stock version and the MP2A1 for the folding-stock version. It also specified the unique selector switch markings, D(Dauerfeuer; Continuous Fire)、E(Einzelfeuer; Single fire)、S(Sicher; Safe). In the 1960, changed the safety design of the breech block cannot be cocked when the selector is on safe, by Bundeswehr’s safety regulation. July of the same year, the issues of the small cocking knob for a gloved hand and the accidentally bolt releasing before it’s fully cocked were solved by increasing the size of cocking knob and designing a new ratchet safety built into the top cover. The 25-round magazines were fully replaced by 32-round magazines by the late ‘60s.
After the service of 60 years, it had served widely in Bundeswehr. By 2006, the German Army was phasing it out and replacing it with MP7. Some units in the armoured corps, artillery, and mechanized infantry still use it as standard equipment on their armoured vehicles. As 2006, the German Army reported that only about 3,000 were in active service. It was spotted that tank crew operators handing it in the exercise in 2018.

Specifications:
Length: 470mm (stock collapsed); 640mm (stock extended)
Weight: 3160g
Color: Black
Material: Steel, Aluminum and Plastic
Hop-up: Adjustable
Shooting Mode: Semi/ Fully Automatic
Magazine Capacity: 32 Rounds
Bullet Type: 6mm BB
Gas:  12KG (Green Gas)
Power(Muzzle Velocity):  FPS (0.2g BB, Green Gas)
Manufacturer: Northeast