Steyr TMP

History

The international security situation of the 1970s and 1980s created a market need for more portable firepower to arm various special forces, law enforcement agencies and private companies. With its Steyr TMP ("Tactical Machine Pistol") line, Steyr delivered a line developed as a "machine gun" that combined the firepower of a machine gun with the convenient shape of a pistol.

The gun is loaded with the ubiquitous German 9x19mm Parabellum pistol cartridge and fires from a 15, 20 or 30 round detachable magazine.

Before closing, Steyr TMP had only found customers in EKO Cobra from Austria and Gruppo di Intervento Speciale from Italy - both representing national special forces. Its rights were subsequently sold in 2001 to Brugger & Thomet, who continued to design the MP9 submachine gun (described elsewhere on this site) from 2004. The Steyr SPP ("Special Pistol") became an offshoot of the TMP, adding semi-automatic fire to the mixer and a long barrel and front end to the receiver.

The SPP also lost forward control of the TMP.

The TMP weighs 3 pounds empty and has an 11" barrel that's just over 5" long. The focus of the action is a short recoil system with a locking rotary drive based on the delayed recoil principle. The rate of fire is up to 900 rounds per minute, and the rate of fire is operator-selectable, with a muzzle velocity of approximately 1,315 feet per second, and an effective range of up to 100 yards. A foregrip was added to control muzzle rise, which in turn required the addition of a small solid protrusion in front of the foregrip to protect the shooter's hands from crossing in front of the active muzzle.

Iron sights are traditionally mounted on top of the receiver, with the magazine at the bottom of the pistol grip.

Specification

Roles

Dimensions

Performance

Changes