Machine pistol

A machine pistol is a handgun that is capable of fully automatic fire, including stockless handgun-style submachine guns. The Austrians introduced the world's first machine pistol to be used in combat, the Steyr Repetierpistole M1912/P16, during World War I. 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 guns. During World War II, machine pistol development was widely disregarded in favor of submachine gun mass-production. After the war, machine pistol development was limited and only a handful of manufacturers would develop new designs, with varying degrees of success. This concept would eventually lead to the development of the personal defense weapon or PDW. Machine pistols today are not as commonly used as they were once were, owing to the fact that their defining ability was simply replaced by more modern firearms.