Throughout the history of mankind, many samples of firearms have been created. According to military experts, among the wide variety of such products, such models as the German STG 44 assault rifle and the Kalashnikov assault rifle stand in a special place. This weapon was widely used by the warring parties in the Great Patriotic War. There are many similarities between the German STG 44 assault rifle and the AK. All the design features of both models are mostly known to professionals. Not everyone knows that the predecessor of the Belgian FN FAL development, which was adopted by NATO and became the main competitor to many modern firearms, including the AK-47, is the German STG 44 assault rifle.
This fact gives reason to show greater interest in the weapons of the Wehrmacht soldiers. Informationabout the history of creation, device and technical characteristics of the German STG 44 assault rifle is presented in the article.
Introduction to weapons
Assault rifle STG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44) is a German assault rifle created during World War II. In total, 450 thousand units were produced by the German industry. According to experts, the German STG 44 assault rifle is the first mass-produced model of machine guns. Compared to the submachine guns used during the war years, the rifle is characterized by an improved rate of effective shooting. This became possible due to the use of more powerful ammunition in the German STG 44 assault rifle (a photo of the weapon is presented in the article). Such a cartridge is also called "intermediate". Unlike pistol cartridges used in pistols and submachine guns, rifle ammunition has improved ballistic properties.
About the history of the German assault rifle STG 44
The development of intermediate cartridges, carried out in 1935 by the Magdeburg arms company Polte, marked the beginning of the creation of the German rifle. The ammunition caliber of 7.92 mm made it possible to fire effectively at distances of no more than a thousand meters. This indicator met the requirements for cartridges from the Wehrmacht's Ordnance Department. The situation changed in 1937. Now, after numerous studies conducted by German gunsmiths, the leadership of the Office came to the conclusion that a more effective cartridge was needed. Since structurally available weaponsturned out to be unsuitable for the tactical and technical capabilities of the new ammunition, in 1938 a concept was formulated according to which the main emphasis was placed on light automatic rifle models that would become a worthy replacement for submachine guns, repeating rifles and light machine guns.
Begin production
The history of the production of the German STG 44 assault rifle begins with the conclusion of an agreement between the Armaments Directorate and C. G. Heanel, owned by Hugo Schmeisser. According to the contract, the arms company had to manufacture an automatic carbine for a new intermediate cartridge. The MKb rifle became such a weapon. In 1940, the first samples were handed over to the customer. W alther also received a similar order. Two years later, both firms submitted their samples - the MKbH and MKbW models - to Hitler for consideration. The latter (MKbW rifle), according to experts, turned out to be too complicated and “capricious”. Device provided by C. G. Heanel, was recognized as the best. This type of rifle is characterized by: solid construction and high performance characteristics. In addition, the reliability, durability of weapons and ease of disassembly were appreciated. In the documentation, this model is listed as MKb.42. The Wehrmacht's Arms Department Minister Albert Speer put forward a proposal to send several such samples to the Eastern Front after some design changes.
What was improved in MKb.42?
- USM was replaced by the W alter trigger system. According to experts, such a replacementwill have a beneficial effect on the accuracy of the battle in single shooting.
- Changes affected the design of the sear.
- The rifle was equipped with a safety lever.
- Shortened the tube of the gas chamber and equipped it with 7 mm holes designed to exit the remaining powder gases. Thanks to this, difficult weather conditions have ceased to be an obstacle to the use of a rifle.
- The guide sleeve was removed from the recoil spring.
- The lug for mounting the bayonet has been abolished.
- Simplified stock design.
1943-1944
The modified model in the documentation was already listed as MP-43A. Soon she entered service with the German army and was delivered to the Eastern Front for the military personnel of the 5th SS Panzer Division "Viking". In 1943, the German industry produced over 14 thousand units of such weapons. In 1944, a new abbreviation was provided for the model - MP-44. Some historians suggest that it was Hitler who renamed the MP-44 to the Stumgever STG 44.
The characteristics of the first German assault rifle were appreciated by the Nazis. The use of such weapons had a positive effect on the firepower of the German infantry. German assault rifles (Sturmgewehr) STG 44 were armed with selected units of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS. By the end of the war, Germany had produced at least 400,000 weapons. However, these models began to be widely used in the final phase of World War II. The reason for this was the lack of ammunitionfor the German assault rifle STG 44. A photo of the cartridges is presented in the article. According to military experts, the lack of ammunition did not allow weapons to have a big impact on the course of World War II.
Post-war
The theme of the German assault rifle STG 44 was given a lot of attention in their memoirs by Nazi generals. Despite the lack of ammunition, the weapon showed its best side. Even at the end of World War II, the first German assault rifle STG 44 is not forgotten. Until 1970, the model was in service with the police and the army of both Germany itself and several other Western states. According to some information sources, German STG 44 assault rifles were used by both warring parties during the conflict in Syria.
Device Description
For the rifle, a gas-operated type of automation is provided. Powder gases are discharged through special holes in the barrel. The barrel channel is locked by tilting the shutter. The rifle is equipped with an unregulated gas chamber. If necessary, clean the machine, the chamber plugs and the auxiliary rod are unscrewed. For this procedure, a special punch is provided. The German assault rifle STG 44 is equipped with a trigger-type trigger. The weapon is adapted for firing single and in a series. The mode is regulated by a special translator, the location of which was the trigger guard. The ends of the translator are displayed on both sides of the receiver and are designed in the form of buttons with a corrugated surface. To outGerman assault rifle STG 44 to fire in bursts, the translator should be installed in position D. A single fire is possible in position E. In order to protect the owner from unplanned shots, the designers equipped the weapon with a safety lever, which is located on the receiver below the translator. The trigger lever is blocked if the fuse is set to position F. The inside of the butt has become the place for the return spring. This design feature of the rifle excludes any possibility of designing modifications with a folding stock.
About ammunition supply
Cartridges of 30 pieces are contained in a detachable sector two-row magazine. Wehrmacht soldiers equipped rifles with 25 rounds. This was due to the presence of weak springs in the stores, unable to provide a high-quality supply of ammunition. In 1945, a batch of 25-round magazines was made. In the same year, German designers invented special locking devices that limited the equipment to 25 rounds of standard magazines.
About sights
The German rifle is equipped with a sector sight, which provides effective shooting at distances of no more than 800 m. The aiming bar is equipped with special divisions, each of which is equal to a distance of 50 m. Rifles with optical and infrared sights were not excluded.
About accessories
Included with the rifle were:
- Six stores.
- A special machine with which magazines were equipped with ammunition.
- Belt.
- Three receiver cases.
- A special tool used to unscrew the gas chamber. In addition, this device was used to remove trigger guards.
- Pencil case. It housed a brush for cleaning the barrel bore.
- User's manual.
About grenade launchers
The Wehrmacht's Weapons Department formulated a requirement that an assault rifle must be suitable for firing grenades. The first models of weapons were characterized by the presence of a special thread on which flame arresters were mounted. They decided to use the threaded mount to install grenade launchers on German STG 44 assault rifles. The characteristics of the weapon for this were not reliable enough. It turned out that such a design is unpromising. In order to adapt the grenade launcher to the assault model, a batch of rifles (MP 43) was developed, in which the front of the barrel contained a special ledge. In addition, the pedestals for the flies had to be redone.
Installation of grenade launchers became possible only after the implementation of these design improvements. Since ammunition for grenade launchers, unlike rifle grenade launchers, was presented in a wide range, the designers faced a problem due to the lack of specialexpelling cartridge. Since during the use of automatic weapons, powder gases are consumed when ammunition is supplied, the required pressure was not enough to fire a grenade from a rifle. The designers should have developed a special device.
In 1944, two expelling cartridges were created: one with a charge of 1.5 g was intended for firing fragmentation grenades, and the second with a charge of 1.9 g was armor-piercing-cumulative. In 1945, the weapon was successfully tested. Nevertheless, according to experts, special sights should also have been developed for rifles that shoot grenades, which was never done.
About curved devices
Assault rifles were adapted to fire from trenches and from behind tanks. Such firing became possible due to the presence of special curved nozzles. The resource of such devices did not exceed 250 shots. It was originally planned to use rifle ammunition 7, 92x57 mm. But during testing, it turned out that the power of such cartridges was too high for curved nozzles, which failed after a hundred shots. Gunsmiths decided to use cartridges 7, 92x33 mm.
1944 was the year of the introduction of the first curved device for an assault rifle. The nozzle was presented in the form of a 90-degree curved rifled barrel. Special holes were provided for the product through which powder gases escaped. Nozzle resource, compared with the firstsamples, the designers managed to increase up to 2 thousand shots. A bevel angle of 90 degrees was provided. However, this indicator of curvature did not suit the German infantrymen. The designers had to change the angle to 45 degrees. However, after testing, it turned out that such a bevel angle entails rapid wear of the nozzles. As a result, the curvature index had to be reduced to 30 degrees. With the help of these devices, German soldiers could also fire grenades. Especially for this purpose, the holes in the nozzles were sheathed, since a large amount of gases was required for the launch of a grenade. The firing range of the rifle grenade launcher was 250 m.
In 1945, the Deckungszielgerat45 was made. With the help of this device, the German soldier had the opportunity to shoot grenades from a full-fledged shelter. The device was a frame to which a rifle was attached with the help of special latches. The lower part of the frame was equipped with an additional metal stock and a wooden pistol grip. With its trigger mechanism, it was connected to the trigger of the rifle. Aiming was carried out using two mirrors set at an angle of 45 degrees.
TTX
- STG 44 refers to automatic weapons.
- Weight - 5.2 kg.
- The size of the entire rifle is 94 cm, the barrel is 419 mm.
- Shoots weapons with 7, 92x33 mm ammunition. Caliber 7, 92 mm.
- The projectile weighs 8.1 g.
- The fired bullet has a speed of 685 m/s.
- Automationuses the principle of removal of powder gases.
- The bore is locked by tilting the shutter.
- The indicator of the range of aimed fire is 600 m.
- Ammunition supply sector shop.
- Up to 500-600 shots can be fired within one minute.
- Producing country - Third Reich.
- The rifle was created by designer Hugo Schmeisser.
- The rifle entered service in 1942.
- The total number of issued rifle units is 466 thousand
About the advantages and disadvantages
According to experts, STG 44 is a revolutionary example of automatic small arms. The rifle has the following perks:
- Excellent accuracy of hits when firing at close and medium range.
- Compactness. The rifle was very comfortable to use.
- Excellent rate of fire.
- Good ammo performance.
- Versatility.
Despite the presence of undeniable advantages, STG 44 is not without some drawbacks. Weaknesses of the rifle include:
- The presence of a weak magazine spring.
- Unlike other models of rifles, the STG 44 has a large mass.
- The presence of a fragile receiver and unsuccessful sights.
- German assault rifle missing handguard.
According to military experts, these shortcomings were not critical. By carrying out a small modernization, the weaknesses of the German rifle could be easily eliminated. However, for thisno time left for the Nazis.
About the German rifle and the Soviet Kalash
According to military experts, the German assault rifle STG 44 and AK are very similar. In 1945, the Americans occupied the city of Syl. It was in this city that the firm of H. Schmeisser was located. Convinced that the merchant was not a Nazi, the Americans did not detain him, and showed absolutely no interest in STG 44. US soldiers were convinced that their M1 automatic carbines were better than German rifles.
In the Soviet Union, work on the creation of an intermediate cartridge has been carried out since 1943. The impetus for this was the appearance of captured rifle models among Soviet designers. In 1945, all the technical documentation for the assault rifle was removed from Schmeisser's enterprises in the USSR.
In 1946, 62-year-old Hugo Schmeisser went with his family to the Soviet Union, namely to Izhevsk. In this city, Soviet designers were working on the creation of a new machine gun. A German gunsmith was invited to the enterprise as an expert. Soviet designers used the technical documentation for the German Schmeisser assault rifle. It is for this reason that among specialists and lovers of automatic small arms, disputes about the origin of the Soviet "Kalash" still do not subside. Some argue that AK is a good copy of STG 44.
In conclusion
Using captured samples of German rifles, Soviet soldiers stormed Berlin. STG 44 had a huge impact on the further post-war development of automaticweapons.
Besides Kalashnikov, Belgian designers used the scheme of the German rifle during the creation of the FN FAL rifle. Experts do not exclude that the STG 44 also became the prototype for the American M4 carbine, since both models are structurally very similar. In the ranking of the best small arms automatic weapons, the German rifle ranks 9th.
