Assault Rifle has other meanings. See Assault Rifle (disambiguation) for other uses.

The MP43 (Maschinenpistole 1943 (lit:Submachine Gun 1943)) is an assault rifle available in Wolfenstein. The MP43 is comparable to the Venom Gun, Thompson Submachine Gun, and the FG 42 rifle. It is the second most common weapon in the game.

A similar weapon, the Assault Rifle (Model 1946), is available in the Wolfenstein: The New Order and Wolfenstein: The Old Blood.

Overview

The MP-43 was the earliest production version of the world's first mass-produced assault rifle. The MP-43 is the first version of the STG-44 (Sturmgewehr or Storm Rifle 1944) with some differences like a different stock pad, muzzle nut, shape of the front sight base or with a unstepped barrel, all only visible with close inspection. In game it uses more powerful rounds than the common MP40 submachine gun. It is less common than the MP40, but in the later parts of the game, it tends to be used enough to be a reliable weapon.

Locations

The first MP43 in the game is found in the hands of a soldier guarding the Thule Portal near the end of the mission Dig Site. It is possible to miss this pickup, as while he usually drops it right in the doorway to the portal, if he has taken cover it will be off to one side. Further MP43s can be found fairly regularly in the hands of SS soldiers and officers.

MP43 ammo is dropped by SS officers or found in boxes very similar in appearance to those containing ammunition for the MP 40. Ammunition is at first scarce when first discovered, but becomes gradually more common as the campaign progresses and the player faces greater numbers of elite SS soldiers, you will find that ammo for the MP43 becomes almost as abundant as its predecessor. Due to the MP43's higher damage input, you can use the MP43 if you don't have time to pull out your Kar 98k, especially with the Scope attachment.

Almost all boss arenas include an endlessly respawning source of MP43 ammo. This is not deactivated when the boss dies, allowing the player to completely replenish their stock if they are patient. An example is in Hospital mission, where a lot of SS soldiers will appear during boss fight. This applies even to Viktor Zetta's boss arena, which appears to explode after he is defeated; the explosions are purely for show, and deal no damage to the player.

Characteristics

Like its predecessor, the MP40, the MP43 is an excellent weapon to use for most combat scenarios. It has a higher rate of fire and inflicts significantly higher damage (12.5 points) than its predecessor, but the recoil is comparatively higher, and therefore less accurate without upgrades. Early in the game ammunition is in short supply, but later as the MP43 starts to be carried by larger numbers of enemies it can practically replace the MP40 as the player's primary weapon. While it is the most expensive weapon in the game to fully upgrade (and also has the most expensive single upgrade, the tactical scope), when fully upgraded and paired with Empower it is able to take down foes at anything but extreme ranges. Big Bore lets it do 19.1 points of damage. With Empower, the MP43 is capable of killing mid-level enemies like Scribes or Elite Guards very quickly, or killing a large number of weaker enemies rapidly. In general, both the MP40 and the MP43 are virtually identical in terms of range, accuracy, and their purpose in combat.

Upgrades

There are a total of 6 upgrades for the MP43, with a total cost of $7,250. They are:

• Improved Rifling. Unlock: complete Hospital. Cost: $500. Upgrades the weapon with tighter rifling which produces more spin on the bullet, significantly improving basic accuracy.
• Drum Magazine. Unlock: complete Dig Site. Cost: $500. Replaces the standard stick magazine with a compact drum style clip that holds twice as many rounds as the common version.
• Ammo Pouch. Unlock: get 4 Intel. Cost: $750. Provides a carrying pouch designed for the weapon’s ammunition, keeping it ready at hand and allowing you to carry significantly more.
• Big Bore. Unlock: complete Dig Site. Cost: $1,500. Refits the barrel and firing mechanisms of the weapon to support heavier slugs and larger powder charges, greatly increasing damage.
• Tactical Scope. Unlock: complete Cannery. Cost: $3,000. Fits the weapon with a medium power telescopic scope, providing good magnification without impairing the ability to aim at closer targets.
• Recoil Compensator. Unlock: complete Hospital. Cost: $1,000. Adds a muzzle break and gas venting system in order to reduce the recoil and muzzle climb experienced with each shot.

Trivia

• Like the Kar98, aiming down the tactical scope will often make enemies shout that there is a sniper attacking them. This seems to be a development oversight in the case of this weapon as the MP-43 is hardly a sniper rifle when firing in burst or single shot to the enemies.
• One intel, which is a concept art "blueprint" of the MP-43 with annotations by the artist, features a suggestion that instead of option B (a fast reload upgrade which is not in the final game) the MP-43 be equipped with a silencer like the other bullet-firing guns. This illustration, as with the other silencer illustrations, shows the silencer as a Gewehrgranatengerät rifle grenade launching cup.
• The drum magazine is actually a modified drum magazine used by the MG-34 and MG-42. The double-drum magazine layout is actually in use today, known as Beta-C magazines. Typically with a 100 round capacity, there are Beta-C magazines available for most common types of rounds, including 5.56x45mm and 9x19mm, and are designed to fit in the common NATO STANAG standard magazine well.
• The blueprint states the scope is the real scope used by the MP-43; this is not quite accurate, as the MP43 could not mount a scope at all and the MP-43/1 used a special scope which fitted over the rear sight. The scope shown in the game is the Zeiss ZF4 scope used by the later MP-44 / StG-44.
• The Maschinepistole 1943 has different names, like Maschinepistole 1944 which was the name of it before Hitler re-branded it the StG-44 or Sturmgewehr 1944 (Storm Rifle 1944). This was the first assault rifle in the world to ever be fielded by an army.

See also

• StG 44

Gallery

MP43 without any upgrades.

Iron sights.

Reload

MP43 Equipped with a scope.

Looking through the MP43's scope.