The FBI Had 10MM Version Of Classic Submachine Gun

FBI badge and gun (Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

The Heckler and Koch MP5 is arguably one of the best submachine guns ever made, however, the FBI asked for a version with more punch, leading to a version that picked up some visibility due to a Monday post on social media.

The firearm recently resurfaced on social media, with some MP5/10s used by police in Alaska becoming the subject of a social media post by Mrgunsandgear, an influencer. Self-defense attorney Andrew Branca described his experience shooting an FBI MP5/10 as “great fun” in a comment.

“I had the good fortune to fire one of those two or three decades ago, when an FBI Special Agent was carrying one around in his trunk. It was great fun. Apologies to the taxpayers for burning up your ammo like that–sorry, not sorry,” Branca said.

The origins of this gun stem from the April 11, 1986, shootout between FBI agents and two men suspected of taking part in multiple bank robberies. Two agents, Jerry Dove and Benjamin Grogan, were fatally shot and five others wounded by one of the gunmen who had taken a gunshot wound from a 9mm pistol that would have ultimately been fatal, Second Amendment Foundation President Massad Ayoob, an expert firearms trainer and self-defense instructor, noted in the January/February 1989 issue of American Handgunner’s installment of the “Ayoob Files” that focused on the firefight.

The FBI ultimately chose to go with a new semiautomatic pistol, the Smith and Wesson 1076, firing a reduced-velocity version of the 10mm Auto round that had been popularized in “Miami Vice” via the Bren Ten Don Johnson’s character carried. In addition to the pistol, they added a submachine gun that fired the same round, asking Heckler and Koch to design the new gun, according to the American Rifleman.

The MP5/10 replaced the FBI’s modified Thompson submachine guns in the early 1990s. Like the classic MP5 chambered in 9x19mm NATO, the MP5/10 used a detachable magazine holding thirty rounds and was capable of not only firing the reduced-velocity 10mm Auto round the FBI chose, but also the full-power 10mm Auto loads with the replacement of a single part, according to an armorer’s manual from Heckler and Koch.

The MP5/10 was soon supplemented by other long guns, including the AR-15 carbines. In December 2003, the DOJ signed a five-year contract with Rock River Arms for a DEA/FBI Tactical Carbine, and the MP5/10 was soon on its way out.