THE STEYR SOLOTHURN MODEL 30
   
The picture shows the Steyr Solothurn Model 30. It was adopted by the Austrian police in 1930 and received the model designation M1930 the same year. This was the first Steyr Solothurn submachinegun ever adopted by any nation. The production started in 1931 and is supposed to have ended in 1935. the actual wepon in the photo is produced in 1934 and hav the serial number 55xx and this fits well to the total amount produced and the year the manufacturing was ended.

This weapon was manufactured by the Steyr Daimler Puch, located in Steyr Austria. This was the same plant that produced the well known Krag Jorgensen rifle licensed by the Kongeberg Armory in Norway. The license holder was Solothurn and all models were produced at the Steyr plant in Austria. The weapon was offered to the world marked thorugh the joint venture company Steyr Solothurn. the headquarters of this firm was in another country. It was placed in Switzerland in the city of Zurich.

As it was the first model produced it is also unique to the other models produced.

The Model1930 uses the rare 9mm Mauser Export cartridge. It is often mistaken for the 9mm Steyr cartridge. The 9mm steyr is a 9x23mm cartridge but the 9mm mauser Export is a 9x25mm cartridge. Measurment of original WW2 cartridges shows the difference between the two. the pictures shows original 9mm mauser export cartridges in "ladestreifen". It is assumed to have been repacked. The picture most to the right has the text: "daten un pulverlieferung unnbekannt". The date of manufacture and the powder used is not known by the company that has produced the box.
Ammunition to this weapon is very scarce and is not commercially made today. The surplus is very rare and collectors collect this cartridge. Reloadable brass is not to be found either. The solution to this is to use 9x33mm Winmag cases and shorten them down to 9x25mm and reload with standard 9mm dies.

The picture shows a 9mm winmag case to the left and a shortened version at the right.
The main difference between the M30 and the other models, besides the caliber, is the buttstock. It has a more "gothic" style than the others. The quality of the craftmanship is clearly visible. The wood is well made.
This picture shows the buttstock. It is distinctive as it has a knurled slotted springstop. This is used for easy removal of the spring.
This shows the extreme quality of the craftmanship of this weapon. It is high polished steel overall. This created a very expensive weapon. the rod pointing backwards connects the mechanism to the spring. the opening of the lid is similirar to those found on the russian PPsh41. the weapon has a cyclic rate of fire of 500 round/minute.
The weapon has selective fire. The picture shows the selector located at front left of the weapon.
The picture shows a distinctive feature that was not further used with the german machineguns produced during the war. Otherwise the similarity of blowback  operation also found in the Mp38/40 is visible. The weapon had a integradet magloader in the magazine housing. The mag was placed as shown in the picture and locked with a mechanism underneath the magrelease button.
The picture shows one of the few markings found on the weapon. it is located at the maghousing and shows the last two digits in the year of manufacture. This particular weapon was made in 1934 as the markings indicate '34'.
The weapon also came with an bayonet. The attachment device is shown in this picture. Also note the front fastening for the weapons strap. The barrel had a fluted housing around it and was aircooled.
Picture showing the maghusing. The ribbed lever seen on the picture is the release for the magloading device.

All in all this is a very wellmade weapon with a far better firepower than the MP40 using the regular 9mm parabellum. More information on reloading and making cases in 9x35mm export will be published.