Strictly speaking, the in the Star Trek episodes featured MP40s – often, but incorrectly, nicknamed the "Schmeisser" by the Allies – could also as easily have been its immediate predecessor, the MP38 (itself a further development from the similarly designed MP36), which was also produced and used by the German armed forces. Both models were visually near-indistinguishable from each other, already from a short distance. However, the internally simplified, and therefore cheaper to produce, MP-40 was produced in far larger quantities (1,1 million units), dwarfing that of the MP38.
The distinctive MP-38/40 has for the general public become the quintessential German weapon, having been featured in countless Hollywood productions. Its no less quintessential American counterpart, has been the military version of the Thompson submachine gun, which likewise had been featured in several Star Trek productions.
