Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44); Maschinenpistole 43 (MP43); Maschinenpistole 44 (MP44);
Sturmgewehr 44
Type	Light automatic rifle/assault rifle
Place of origin	Nazi Germany
Service history
In service	July 1944–May 1945 (Nazi Germany)
Used by	Nazi Germany, German Democratic Republic
Wars	World War II
Production history
Designed	1943
Produced	July 1944–May 1945
Number built	425,977
Specifications
Weight	5.22 kg (11.5 lb)
Length	940 mm (37 in)
Barrel length	419 mm (16.5 in)
Cartridge	7.92 x 33 mm (7.92 mm Kurz)
Action	Gas-operated, tilting bolt
Rate of fire	500-600 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	685 m/s (2,247 ft/s)
Effective range	300 meters
Feed system	30-round detachable box magazine
Sights	adjustable 800meter sights with Rear: V-notch; front: ring with vertical post

Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44) was an assault rifle developed in Nazi Germany during World War II and was the first of its kind to see major deployment. It is also known by the designations Maschinenpistole 43, Maschinenpistole 44 (MP43 and MP44, respectively) which denotes earlier versions of the same weapon. Download high resolution version (907x382, 52 KB) Greg Kihn Bands File links The following pages link to this file: Sturmgewehr 44 ... Heckler & Koch G41 automatic rifles are legal in asutralia an america with lisence An automatic rifle is a term generally used to describe a self-loading rifle capable of firing either semi or fully-automatically from a magazine or belt of ammunition. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Germany_1933. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... “East Germany” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... “Kg” redirects here. ... The pound or pound-mass (abbreviations: lb, lbm, or sometimes in the United States, #) is a unit of mass (sometimes called weight in everyday parlance) in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... To help compare different orders of magnitude this page lists lengths between 10-3 m and 10-2 m (1 mm and 1 cm). ... An inch (plural: inches; symbol or abbreviation: in or, sometimes, ″ - a double prime) is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including English units, Imperial units, and United States customary units. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... 7. ... In firearms terminology, an action is the system of operation that the firearm employs to seal the breech (in a breech-loading firearm), and to load consecutive rounds. ... The gas-operated system for implementing automatic reloading of a firearm is one of five such systems, the others being recoil-operated, gatling, chain, and blowback. ... (for paintball markers also)Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. ... A guns muzzle velocity is the speed at which the projectile leaves the muzzle of the gun. ... Metre per second (U.S. spelling: meter per second) is an SI derived unit of both speed (scalar) and velocity (vector), defined by distance in metres divided by time in seconds. ... Feet per second is a unit of speed; it expressses the number of feet traveled in one second. ... A 30-round STANAG magazine. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ... Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

Description

MP43, MP44, and StG44 were different designations for what was essentially the same rifle, with minor updates in production. The variety in nomenclatures resulted from complicated circumstances in Nazi Germany. Developed from the Mkb 42(H) "machine carbine", the 'StG44' combined traits of carbines, submachine guns and automatic rifles. StG is an abbreviation of Sturmgewehr. The name was chosen for propaganda reasons and literally means storm rifle as in "to storm a bunker." After the adoption of the StG44, the English translation "assault rifle" became the accepted designation for this type of infantry small arm. A carbine is a firearm similar to, but generally shorter and less powerful than, a rifle or musket of a given period. ... The MP5 is a third-generation submachine gun that is widely used by law enforcement tactical teams and military forces. ... Heckler & Koch G41 automatic rifles are legal in asutralia an america with lisence An automatic rifle is a term generally used to describe a self-loading rifle capable of firing either semi or fully-automatically from a magazine or belt of ammunition. ... Soviet Propaganda Poster during World War II. The text reads Red Army Fighter, SAVE US! Chinese propaganda poster from the time of the Cultural Revolution. ... The AK-47 is the worlds most common assault rifle. ...

The rifle was chambered for the 7.92 x 33 mm cartridge, also known as 7.92 mm Kurz (German for "short"). This shorter version of the German standard (7.92 x 57 mm) rifle round, in combination with the weapon's selective-fire design, provided a compromise between the controllable firepower of a submachine gun at close quarters with the accuracy and power of a Karabiner 98k bolt action rifle at intermediate ranges. While the StG44 had less range and power than the more powerful infantry rifles of the day, Wehrmacht studies had shown that most combat engagements occurred at less than 300 meters with the majority within 200 meters. Full-power rifle cartridges were overpowered for the vast majority of uses for the average soldier. 7. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Rifle (disambiguation). ... The Karabiner 98 Kurz (often abbreviated Kar98k or K98k) was a bolt-action rifle adopted as the standard infantry rifle in 1935 by the Wehrmacht,[3] and was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles. ... A bolt-action firearm is one that is manually operated (i. ... The straight-armed Balkenkreuz, a stylized version of the Iron Cross, the emblem of the Wehrmacht. ...

The StG44's receiver was made of heavy stamped and welded steel as were other contermporary arms such as the MP40 and MG42. This made for a fairly heavy rifle, especially one firing an intermediate-power cartridge. Difficulties with fabrication, the need to use available non-priority steels, and the exigencies of war resulted in a heavy receiver. U.S. military intelligence criticized the weight of the weapon along with the inclusion of the full automatic feature which it considered "ineffectual for all practical purposes." ^[1] The British were also critical saying that the receiver could be bent and the bolt locked up by the mere act of knocking a leaning rifle onto a hard floor. ^[2] Criticisms of the StG44 can largely be dismissed out of hand as propaganda by a simple comparison. The American Thompson submachine gun weighed only one pound less and the M3 submachine gun was equally if not more fragile than the Sturmgewehr. Soviet Propaganda Poster during World War II. The text reads Red Army Fighter, SAVE US! Chinese propaganda poster from the time of the Cultural Revolution. ... For the Clash song, see Tommy Gun (song). ... The M3 Grease Gun (more formally United States Submachine Gun, Cal. ...

To its credit, it was the first weapon of its class, and the concept had a major impact on modern infantry small arms development. By all accounts, the StG44 fulfilled its role admirably, particularly on the Eastern Front offering a greatly increased volume of fire compared to standard infantry rifles. In the end, it came too late to have a significant effect on the tide of the war. Combatants Soviet Union,[1] Poland, Tannu Tuva (until 1944 incorporation with USSR), Mongolia Germany,[2] Italy (to 1943), Romania (to 1944), Finland (to 1944), Hungary, Slovakia, Croatia, Spain (to 1943, unofficial) Commanders Joseph Stalin, Aleksei Antonov, Ivan Konev, Rodion Malinovsky, Ivan Bagramyan, Kirill Meretskov, Ivan Petrov, Alexander Rodimtsev, Konstantin Rokossovsky...

Background

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. A bolt-action firearm is one that is manually operated (i. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

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 MP18 was a submachine gun used by the German Army during World War I. Produced from 1916 to 1945, it and its derivatives were also later used in World War II. History In 1915 the German Rifle Testing Commission at Spandau decided to develop a new weapon for trench... The MP40 (Maschinenpistole 40, literally machine pistol 40) was a submachine gun developed in Germany and used extensively by paratroopers and platoon and squad leaders, and other troops during World War II. The MP40 had a relatively lower rate of fire and low recoil, which made it more manageable than...

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. ^[3] For other organizations known as the Red Army, see Red Army (disambiguation). ... Walther P99, a semi-automatic pistol from the late 1990s A semi-automatic firearm is a gun that requires only a trigger pull for each round that is fired, unlike a single-action revolver, a pump-action firearm, a bolt-action firearm, or a lever-action firearm, which require the... Fedor (Fyodor) Vasilievich Tokarev (1871-1968) was a Russian weapons designer and deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR from 1941 to 1950. ... The Samozaryadnaya Vintovka Tokareva 40 is a Soviet semi-automatic rifle, which saw widespread service in World War II. It was the first self-loading battle rifle which was issued to service in large numbers. ... The Samozaryadnaya Vintovka Tokareva 40 is a Soviet semi-automatic rifle that proceeded from the SVT-38. ... The PPSh-41 (Pistolet-Pulemet Shpagina, Russian: , nicknamed Phe-phe-sha, Shpagin and Burp Gun) submachine gun was one of the most simplisticly produced weapons of World War II. It was designed by Georgi Shpagin, as an inexpensive alternative to the PPD-40, which was expensive and time consuming to...

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 Gewehr 41 (G 41) was a German World War II semi-automatic rifle design. ... Mauser is the common name of a German arms manufacturer, maker of a line of bolt-action rifles from the 1870s to present. ... M2 machine gun An automatic firearm is a firearm that uses the energy of firing to extract and eject the fired cartridge case, and load a new case. ...

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. Look up spitz in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

MKb 42

Contracts for rifles firing the Kurz round were sent to both Walther and Haenel (whose design group was headed by Hugo Schmeisser), who were asked to submit prototype weapons under the name Maschinenkarabiner 1942 (MKb 42, literally "machine carbine"). Both designs were similar, using a gas-operated action, with both semi-automatic and fully-automatic firing modes. Carl Walther GmbH Sportwaffen is a German arms manufacturer. ... Hugo Schmeisser (born 24 September 1884; died 12 September 1953) was one of the most important developers of infantry weapons in the 20th Century. ... The gas-operated system for implementing automatic reloading of a firearm is one of five such systems, the others being recoil-operated, gatling, chain, and blowback. ... M2 machine gun An automatic firearm is a firearm that will continue to load and fire rounds of ammunition as long as the trigger (or equivalent) is activated or until it runs out of ammunition. ...

The original prototypes of Haenel's design, the MKb 42(H), fired from an open bolt and used a striker for firing (the mechanism is based on the Czechoslovak ZB vz.26). The receiver and trigger housing with pistol grip were made from steel stampings, which were attached to the barrel assembly on a hinge, allowing the weapon to be "folded open" for quick disassembly and cleaning. The Haenel design proved superior to Walther's MKb 42(W), and the army then asked Haenel for another version incorporating a list of minor changes designated MKb 42(H). One was to include lugs for mounting a standard bayonet, another to change the pitch of the rifling. A production run of these modified versions was sent to the field in November 1942, and the users appreciated it with a few reservations. Another set of modifications added a hinged cover over the ejection port to keep it clean in combat, and rails to mount a telescopic sight. A run of these modified MKb 42(H)s in late 1942 and early 1943 produced 11,833 guns for field trials. A semi or fully-automatic firearm which is said to fire from an open bolt is one where, when ready to fire, the bolt and working parts are held to the rear. ... Czechoslovakia (Czech: Československo, Slovak: Česko-Slovensko/before 1990 Československo) was a country in Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1992 (except for the World War II period). ... The ZB vz. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see bayonet (disambiguation). ...

Ultimately it was recommended that a hammer firing system operating from a closed bolt similar to Walther's be incorporated. The gas expansion chamber over the barrel was deemed unnecessary, and was deleted from successive designs.

MP43

While the new version was under development in late 1942, administrative infighting within the Third Reich was in full swing. Hitler was increasingly concerned with this, and after Hermann Göring had created the FG 42 in a separate program from the army's similar Gewehr 41 efforts, Hitler cancelled all new rifle projects completely. This included the production of the MKb 42(H). One concern was that the new weapon used a new ammunition type which would further hamper an already daunting logistics problem. Nazi Germany, or the Third Reich, commonly refers to Germany in the years 1933–1945, when it was under the firm control of the totalitarian and fascist ideology of the Nazi Party, with the Führer Adolf Hitler as dictator. ... Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (April 20, 1889 – April 30, 1945, standard German pronunciation in the IPA) was the Führer (leader) of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party) and of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. ... Hermann Wilhelm Göring ( ) (also Goering in English) (January 12, 1893 – October 15, 1946) was a German politician and military leader, a leading member of the Nazi Party, second in command of the Third Reich, and commander of the Luftwaffe. ... The Fallschirmjagergewehr 42, shown with magazine and detachable bayonet. ... Look up Logistics in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

In order to preserve the weapons development, a new project at Gustloff was started to produce a similar weapon using the original Mauser round, the Mkb 43(G). Whenever Hitler asked about the progress of the rifle, he was always shown one of these prototypes, although there was no intention of producing them. Meanwhile the newest version of the original Mkb 42(H) was called the Maschinenpistole 43 (MP43) to disguise it as an upgrade to existing submachine guns. Another change fitted a rifle grenade launcher attachment from the earlier MKb 42(H) to the MP43/1. A rifle grenade is a form of grenade that utilizes a rifle as a launch mechanism to increase the effective range of the grenade. ...

Eventually the truth surfaced and Hitler ordered the project stopped once again. However in March 1943 he allowed the run to continue for evaluation purposes, which then continued until September. Due to the positive combat reports, it was then allowed to continue.

MP44, StG44

On 6 April 1944, Adolf Hitler issued the following decree: is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1944 (MCMXLIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

a) The former MG42 is to retain the same designation

b) The former self-loading rifle, known as the Gewehr 43, shall receive the designation Karabiner 43 (K43).

c) The former new MP, known as the MP43, shall receive the designation MP44.

In July 1944 at a meeting of the various army heads about the Eastern Front, when Hitler asked what they needed, a general blurted out "More of these new rifles!" This caused some confusion, but once Hitler was given a chance to test fire the MP44, he was impressed and gave it the title Sturmgewehr. Seeing the possibility of a propaganda gain, the rifle was again renamed as the StG44, to highlight the new class of weapon it represented, translated "assault rifle, model 1944", thereby introducing the term.[1] The MG42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42, or Machine Gun 42) was a machine gun that was developed for and entered service with Nazi Germany in 1942, during World War II. The 7. ... The Gewehr 43 or Karabiner 43 (G43, K43, Gew 43, Kar 43) is a 7. ... The Eastern Front was the theatre of combat between Nazi Germany and its allies against the Soviet Union during World War II. It was somewhat separate from the other theatres of the war, not only geographically, but also for its scale and ferocity. ... Soviet Propaganda Poster during World War II. The text reads Red Army Fighter, SAVE US! Chinese propaganda poster from the time of the Cultural Revolution. ...

By the end of the war, some 425,977 StG44 variants of all types were produced. The assault rifle proved a valuable weapon, especially on the Eastern front, where it was first deployed. A properly trained soldier with an StG44 had an improved tactical repertoire, in that he could effectively engage targets at longer ranges than with an MP40, but be much more useful than the Kar98k in close combat, as well as provide light cover fire like a light machine gun. The MP40 (Maschinenpistole 40, literally machine pistol 40) was a submachine gun developed in Germany and used extensively by paratroopers and platoon and squad leaders, and other troops during World War II. The MP40 had a relatively lower rate of fire and low recoil, which made it more manageable than...

The StG44 was an intermediate weapon for the period; the muzzle velocity from its 42 cm barrel was 647 m/s, compared to 880 m/s (K98k), 744 m/s (Bren), 600 m/s (M2 Carbine), and 365 m/s (MP40).

One unusual addition to the design was the Krummlauf, a bent-barrel attachment for rifles with a periscope sighting device for shooting around corners from a safe position. It was produced in several variants, an "I"-version for infantry use, a "P" version for use in tanks (to cover the dead areas in the close range around the tank, to defend against assaulting infantry), versions with 30°, 45°, 60° and 90° bends, a version for the StG44 and one for the MG 42. Only the 30° "I" version for the StG44 was produced in any numbers. The bent barrel attachments had very short lifespans - 300 rounds for the 30° version, and 160 for the 45° variant. The 30° model was able to achieve a 35X35 cm grouping at 100m.^[4]

A primary use of the MP44/StG44 was to counter the Soviet PPS and PPSh submachine guns, which used a 7.62 x 25 mm round. These cheap mass-produced weapons used a 71-round drum magazine or 35-round "box" magazine and though shorter-ranged than the Kar98k rifle were more effective weapons in close quarter combat. The StG44, while also lacking the range of the Kar98k, had a longer range than the PPS/PPSh submachine guns and a comparable rate of fire. Also, while they could fire fully automatic, they were designed to default to semi-auto fire. They were surprisingly accurate, and their slow rate of fire gave them controllability even on full-auto. While the design details are quite different, the concept of the StG44 was obviously carried on in the most famous and most numerously manufactured assault rifle, the AK-47. Designed by Aleksei Sudaev and first issued during the Siege of Leningrad, PPS-43 (Pistolet-Pulemet Sudaeva, Russian: Пистолет-пулемёт Судаева) was a result of further simplification of the PPSh-41, and it is often considered the best submachine gun of World War II. It was initially produced as PPS-42, but soon... The PPSh-41 (Pistolet-Pulemet Shpagina, Russian: , nicknamed Phe-phe-sha, Shpagin and Burp Gun) submachine gun was one of the most simplisticly produced weapons of World War II. It was designed by Georgi Shpagin, as an inexpensive alternative to the PPD-40, which was expensive and time consuming to... Side-by-side comparison to other cartridges. ... Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947 g. ...

Late prototypes

Mauser developed several prototype Sturmgewehr 45 assault rifles, first with the Gerät 06 (Device 6) using a roller-delayed blowback mechanism originally adapted from the roller-locked recoil operation of the MG42 machine gun but with a fixed barrel and gas system. It was realized that with careful attention to the mechanical ratios, the gas system could be omitted. The resultant weapon, the Gerät 06(H) was supposedly slated for adoption by the Wehrmacht as the StG45. This mechanism would later be developed by former Mauser engineers in Spain and used on the post-war CETME and Heckler & Koch's G3 assault rifle and MP5 submachine gun. Mauser is the common name of a German arms manufacturer, maker of a line of bolt-action rifles from the 1870s to present. ... The Mauser Sturmgewehr 45 (aka StG45(M), literally Assault Rifle 1945) was a prototype assault rifle developed by Mauser for the Wehrmacht at the end of World War II, using a roller-delayed blowback mechanism. ... Blowback is a system in which automatic or semi-automatic firearms operate through the energy created by combustion in the chamber and bore acting directly on the bolt face through the cartridge. ... Recoil operation is a type of locked-breech firearm actions used in automatic firearms. ... The MG42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42, or Machine Gun 42) was a machine gun that was developed for and entered service with Nazi Germany in 1942, during World War II. The 7. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... The Mauser Sturmgewehr 45 (aka StG45(M), literally Assault Rifle 1945) was a prototype assault rifle developed by Mauser for the Wehrmacht at the end of World War II, using a roller-delayed blowback mechanism. ... The name CETME is an acronym for Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales, a Spanish government design and development establishment. ... Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) (pronounced [1]) is a German weapons manufacturing company famous for various series of small firearms, notably the MP5 submachine gun, the MP7 personal defense weapon, USP series of handguns, high-precision PSG1 sniper rifle, and the G3 and G36 assault rifles. ... The G3 is a 7. ... “MP5” redirects here. ...

Towards the end of the war, there were last-ditch efforts to develop cheap so-called Volksgewehr rifles in the 7.92 x 33 mm caliber. One of these Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 (the VG 1-5) used a gas-delayed blowback action based on the Barnitzke system, whereby gas bled from the barrel near the chamber creates resistance to the rearward impulse of the operating parts, which ceases when the projectile leaves the muzzle, allowing the operating parts to be forced rearward by the residual pressure of the cartridge case. This principle has been used most successfully in the Heckler & Koch PSP or P7 pistol. The Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 is a 7. ... Blowback is a system in which automatic or semi-automatic firearms operate through the energy created by combustion in the chamber and bore acting directly on the bolt face through the cartridge. ... The Heckler & Koch P7 is a compact semi-automatic pistol normally chambered in 9 x 19 mm Luger manufactured by the German company of Heckler & Koch. ...

Post-war

Generally accepted as the world's first assault rifle, the StG44's effect on post-war arms design was wide-ranging, as evidenced by Mikhail Kalashnikov's famous AK-47, and later in the U.S. M16 and its variants. Mikhail Kalashnikov, circa 2000 Lieutenant General Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov (Russian: , Mihail Timofeevič Kalašnikov) (born November 10, 1919) is a famous Russian gun designer, most famous for his AK-47, frequently called the Kalashnikov. ... Avtomat Kalashnikova model 1947 g. ... M16 (more formally United States Rifle, Caliber 5. ...

The Soviet Union was quick to adapt the assault rifle concept. The AK-47 used a similar-sized round and followed the design concept, but was mechanically very different.

Many of the other Western countries continued using their existing weapons. The 7.62 x 51 mm NATO round that was adopted post-war was still a full power cartridge with slightly smaller dimensions, however even in the West the adoption of less powerful rounds had been a pre-existing trend. For example, the M1 Garand, had initially been developed for the .276 (7 mm), a cartridge less powerful that the 30-06 in use at the time. The U.S Army's adoption of the M1 Carbine in 1941 proved the utility of a small, handy, low powered rifle that required little training to use effectively. The selective fire M2 Carbine is generally not considered an assault rifle due to its second-line role, though it technically fits all of the requirements. NATO 7. ... The M1 Garand (more formally the United States Rifle, Caliber . ... En-Block clip loaded with 10 rounds of . ... The M1 Carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber . ...

America and, later, NATO developed assault rifles along a roughly similar path as the Soviet Union by at first adding selective-fire capability in a reduced power, full-caliber cartridge. The Soviet Union quickly lightened the AK-47 and introduced the AKM. America developed the concept of small-caliber, high-velocity (SCHV) bullets and further reduced the weight of their firearms with the introduction of the M16. The Soviets followed suits by introducing the SCHV AK-74 rifle. This article is about the military alliance. ... AK74 assault rifle The AK-74 assault rifle is the modernized version of the AK-47 developed in 1974, chambered in a smaller cartridge (5. ...

As for the Sturmgewehr itself, it remained in use with the East German Nationale Volksarmee until it was eventually replaced with variants of the AK-47 assault rifle. Argentina manufactured their own trial versions of the StG44 in the late 1940s and early 1950s ^[5], but made the decision to adopt the FN FAL instead in 1955 ^[6]. Examples of the StG44 are used by Lebanese Forces^[7], along with limited numbers by irregular forces in some countries in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East. Examples have been confiscated in Iraq. For the historical eastern German provinces, see Historical Eastern Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR), German Deutsche Demokratische Republik (DDR), was a Communist Party-led state that existed from 1949 to 1990 in the former Soviet occupation zone of Germany. ... Categories: Stub | East Germany ... The Fusil Automatique Leger, or Light Automatic Rifle (LAR). ... Year 1955 (MCMLV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays the 1955 Gregorian calendar). ... Lebanese Forces (LF) (Arabic: القوات اللبنانية al-quwat al-lubnāniyya) is a Lebanese political party and a former militia, which fought on the Christian side during the civil war that ravaged Lebanon from 1975 to 1990. ... The Horn of Africa. ... A map showing countries commonly considered to be part of the Middle East The Middle East is a region comprising the lands around the southern and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, a territory that extends from the eastern Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. ...

New, semi-automatic reproductions of the MKB42, MP43, and MP44 assault rifles are being manufactured in Germany today by Sport-Systeme Dittrich.

Further reading

• Senich, P. (1987). German Assault Rifle: 1935-1945. Paladin Press. ISBN 0-87364-400-X

• Handrich, H. D. (2004). Sturmgewehr! From Firepower to Striking Power. Collector Grade Publications. ISBN 0-88935-356-5

See also

• List of World War II firearms of Germany
• List of firearms
• Zielgerät 1229 (Vampir)

// MP 18 I (WWI Bergmann) MP 28 II (improved MP 18 I) MP 30(ö) (ex-Austrian S1-100 variant) MP 34(ö) (ex-Austrian Steyr Solothurn) MP 34 Bgm (Bergmann) MP 35 (Bergmann version of the MP.34 Bgm. ... This is an extensive list of small arms — pistol, machine gun, grenade launcher, anti-tank rifle — that includes variants. ... Developed for the Wehrmacht, the Zielgerät 1229 (ZG 1229), also known in its code name Vampir, was an active infra-red device for the Sturmgewehr 44 assault rifle intended primarily for night use. ...

External links

• Photograph of a Krummlauf

References