Sturmgewehr 44
As you can guess, I am in the process of clearing out My Pictures folder & I have had these kicking around, waiting for a post for some time now.
So, here it is ... when we talk about assault rifles, the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44) or Maschinenpistole 43, Maschinenpistole 44 (MP43 and MP44, respectively) is generally considered to be where it all started.
At the start of the Second World War German infantry was equipped with similar weapons to most other military forces. A typical infantry unit was equipped with a mix of bolt action rifles and some form of light or medium machine guns. One difference from other armies was the emphasis on the machine gun as the primary infantry weapon, as opposed to it being thought of mostly in the support role. German units tended to be machine gun "heavy", carrying more ammunition for the machine gun than for the rifles, using belt ammunition for their more modern section-level weapons to maintain a higher rate of fire, and generally thinking of the rifle as a support weapon. Although newer rifle designs had been studied on several occasions, these designs were never considered very important.
One problem with this mix was that the standard rifles were too large to be effectively used by mechanized and armored forces, where they were difficult to maneuver in the cramped spaces of an armored vehicle. Submachine guns such as the MP28, MP38, and MP40 were issued to augment infantry rifle use and increase individual firepower, but suffered from a distinct lack of range and accuracy for ranges beyond 100 meters. A small fast-firing weapon would be useful in this role as well, but again the need did not seem pressing.
The issue arose once again during the invasion of the Soviet Union. The Red Army had been in the process of replacing its own bolt action rifles in the immediate pre–war era. Increasing numbers of semi-automatic Tokarev SVT38 and SVT40s were reaching Red Army units, though issue was generally restricted to elite units and non-commissioned officers. Submachine guns were extremely widespread, and issued on a far larger scale; some Soviet rifle companies were completely equipped with fast-firing PPSh-41 submachine guns.
This experience with high volumes of hand-held automatic 'assault' fire forced German commanders to rethink their small arms requirements. The German army had been attempting to introduce semi-automatic weapons of their own, notably the Gewehr 41, but these early rifles proved troublesome in service, and production was insufficient to meet forecast requirements. Several attempts had been made to introduce lightweight machine guns or automatic rifles for these roles, but invariably recoil from the powerful 7.92 mm Mauser round made them too difficult to control in automatic fire.
The German solution was to use a round of intermediate power, between that of a full-power rifle cartridge and pistol ammunition. Experiments with several such intermediate rounds had been going on since the 1930s, but had been constantly rejected for use by the army. By 1941, it was becoming clear that action needed to be taken, and one of the experimental rounds, the Polte 7.92 x 33 mm Kurzpatrone (short cartridge) was selected. To minimize logistical problems, the Mauser 7.92 mm rifle cartridge was used as the basis for the final 7.92 mm Kurz intermediate round, which also utilized an aerodynamic spitzer rifle bullet design.
& as Kim comments
When Hitler saw the new battle rifle demonstrated, he gave it a better name: SturmGewehr 44 (Assault Rifle 44), thus providing future generations of gun-fearing wussies with a cool name with which to frighten the ignorant and the gullible.
Now, there are some semi-functioning replicas around, but what really prompted this post, was the discovery of this company that is producing fully functioning repros.
Now I am not going to do the modern v repro v original thing at just this moment, rather I am going to bow out, happy in the knowledge that some of you that live in sensible parts of the world can buy a piece of firearms history, even if it is ersatz
Comments
Dear Santa
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PS. If you could include a thousand rounds I'd appreciate it.
Posted by: nbc | July 31, 2007 3:01 PM
When you give up on that socialist hellhole and move to the US, you can just buy the real thing.
http://www.valley-gun.com/NFAweapons.html
10th and 11th pictures from the bottom.
Price is about the same as a new car ... take out a loan.
Posted by: Kristopher | July 31, 2007 4:50 PM
Doesn't it strikingly resemble AK' 47?
Posted by: Raider | January 25, 2010 2:56 PM