compact handgun

A machine pistol is typically a handgun-style submachine gun, capable of fully automatic or burst fire. The term is a calque of the German word Maschinenpistole. They were developed during World War I, and originally issued to German artillery crews who needed a self-defense weapon, lighter than a rifle but more effective than a standard pistol. Today, machine pistols are considered a special purpose weapon with limited utility, and difficult for all but the best shooters to control.
During World War I, the Austrians introduced the world's first machine pistol the Steyr Repetierpistole M1912/P16. The Germans also experimented with machine pistols, by converting various types of semi-automatic pistols to full-auto, leading to the development of the first practical submachine gun. During World War II, machine pistol development was more or less ignored as the major powers were focused on mass-producing submachine guns. After the war, machine pistols development was limited and only a handful of manufacturers would develop new designs, with varying degrees of success.

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