Online Encyclopedia Search Tool

Your Online Encyclopedia

 

Online Encylopedia and Dictionary Research Site

Online Encyclopedia Free Search Online Encyclopedia Search    Online Encyclopedia Browse    welcome to our free dictionary for your research of every kind

Online Encyclopedia



Sturmgewehr 44

(Redirected from MP44)
SG44
Enlarge
SG44

The Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44, MP 44/43) was the world's first weapon called an assault rifle or Sturmgewehr, a class that combines traits of submachine guns and automatic rifles. It went into service with the German army in WWII, and if the war had continued another year, the StG44 would have replaced every other rifle and submachine gun in the Wehrmacht, including the antique Karabiner 98k and the MP40.

It chambered in a shorter version of the standard 7.92 mm rifle round, thus filling the space between the weaker pistol/machine pistol/submachine gun round and the higher powered rifle/machinegun rounds. The StG44 was very successful as an intermediary infantry weapon that fired less powerful rounds than the rifles or machineguns, but with longer range than submachine guns. This resulted in a fully-automatic firearm lighter than a light machine gun (which was too heavy for infantrymen to carry) and with longer range and more power than submachine guns. Earlier attempts to solve this problem such as the US M1 Carbine (too weak) or the FG42 (too much recoil), amongst others, often had drawbacks that limited their usefulness.

In 1946 Mikhail Kalashnikov examined a captured StG44 and used key features of the design to produce the AK-47 assault rifle which in turn was extremely influential (see history of the AK-47 for more information).

Contents

Background

In the early stages of the war, the German army had considered the rifle to be a "support" weapon only. The primary weapon of the infantry was the machine gun, and in a typical squad the soldiers carried considerably more ammunition for their MG34 than they did for their own rifles. The MG34 could pour out considerably more fire than all of the rifles put together, so they were almost an afterthought.

In combat things were never so simple. The machine gun proved to be far too large to be operated on the move, meaning that the troops often had to use their rifles while moving up. Of course the defenders they were moving up on were in fixed positions, and therefore had no limitations in the use of their own machine guns. For an army depending on the fast-moving blitzkrieg strategy, they found themselves outgunned almost constantly. These problems were magnified in the cities and towns, where the weapon could not be brought to bear on their targets before they disappeared into the next building.

For this reason the troops started making increased use of submachine guns, forming squads known as assault troops which could keep up a high rate of fire while on the move. Unfortunately the submachine gun's use of pistol-sized rounds made for poor range, and the assault troops were really only useful in urban settings. Once out in the country it was back to the rifles again.

Adding to the confusion was the fact that the Red Army had been in the process of replacing their own rifles in the immediate pre-war era. Increasing numbers of semi-automatic Tokarev SVT38 and SVT40's were reaching the units, meaning that they outgunned their German counterparts considerably. The army had been attempting to introduce semi-automatic weapons of their own, notably the Gewehr 41, but these were proving rather problematic in service, and were therefore being delivered at a trickle while the problems were being worked out.

Several attempts had been made to introduce very light weight machine guns for these roles, but invariably the recoil from the fairly heavy standard German 7.92 mm Mauser round made them too difficult to control. The solution was to use a round of "intermediate" power, somewhere between that of the full rifle cartridge, and the pistol rounds. 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 there actually was a problem to solve, and one of the experimental rounds, the Polte 7.92 x 33 mm Kurzpatrone (short cartridge), was eventually selected as the basis for future development.

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), a new designation indicating a "short machine gun". Both designs were largely similar, using a gas-actuated action, with both semi-automatic and fully-automatic firing modes.

The original versions of Haenel's design, the MKb 42(H), fired from the open bolt and used a striker for firing. The receiver and trigger housing with pistol grip are made from steel stampings, which are attached to the barrel assembly on a hinge, allowing the weapon to be "folded open" for quick disassembly and cleaning. The Haenel MKb 42(H) design proved superior to the Walther MKb 42(W), and the army then asked Haenel for another version incorporating a list of minor changes. One was to include lugs for mounting a standard bayonette, 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 loved it with a few reservations. Another set of modifications added a hinged cover over the ejection port to keep it clean while on the move, and rails to mount a sighting scope. A run of these modified MKb 42(H)'s in late 1942 and early 1943 produced 11,833 guns for field trials.

MP43

While the new version was under development in late 1942, the infighting within the Third Reich was in full swing. Hitler was increasingly upset by this, and after Hermann Göring had created the FG-42 simply to one-up the army's G41 efforts, Hitler gave up and cancelled all new rifle projects completely. This included the production of the MKb 42(H), which was still underway, which he was particularly upset about because it used a new ammunition type which would further confuse the already daunting logistics problems the army was having.

In order to protect what was clearly a war-winning weapon, 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 ever producing them.

Meanwhile the changed 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 was introduced to allow the fitting of the grenade launcher attachments from the earlier MKb 42(H) led to the MP43/1, as opposed to fittings for the launcher from the Kar 98k on the original MP43.

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. That month the first service reports of the gun started to filter in, and Hitler allowed for continued production.

MP44/StG44

On April 6, 1944, Hitler issued the following decree:

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, the universal answer to "what do you need" was "more of the new rifles". This caused some confusion, but once Hitler realized what was going on he agreed to allow its full production. Seeing the possibility of a propaganda win, the rifle was again renamed as the StG44, to highlight the new class of weapon it represented, literally "assault rifle, model 1944", thereby introducing the term.

By the end of the war, some 425,977 StG44 variants of all types were produced. The assault rifle proved an invaluable weapon, especially on the Eastern front, where it was first deployed. A properly trained soldier with an StG44 had a greatly improved tactical repertoire, in that he could effectively engage targets at long range across open terrain, or in close range urban fighting, as well as provide cover fire in all situations in a machine gun role.

An intriguing addition was the Krummer Lauf, a bent barrel with a persicope sighting device for shooting around corners. It was produced in several variants, an "I"-version for infantry use, and 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°, and a version for the StGw 44 and one for the MG 42. Only the 30° "I" - version for the StG44 was produced in any numbers.

The wisdom of the assault rifle concept has been borne out in that, with the exception of a few specialized positions such as the sniper, virtually every soldier in every army today carries a descendant of the StG44.

Specifications


image:SG44.jpg
Sturmgewehr 44

Production Details
Weapon Name Sturmgewehr 44
Production Name Assault Rifle, Model 1944
Available 1944
Inventor
Origin Germany
Weapon Characteristics
Calibre 7.92 by 33 mm Kurz Patrone
Muzzle velocity 685 m/s (2,250 ft/s)
Operational Action Tilting Bolt, Gas Operated
Overall length 940 mm (37 in)
Barrel length 419 mm (16.5 in)
Mass, unloaded 5.22 kg (11.51 lb)
Firing Rate 500–600 rpm
Viewing sights Blade front, tangent U-notch rear
Effective Range 300 m
Standard Magazine Capacity 30 rounds

Late prototypes

Mauser developed a prototype StG45(M) using the roller-delayed blowback mechanism later used in the CETME and Heckler und Koch's HK G3 and HK MP5.

Towards the end of the war, there were also last-ditch efforts to develop cheap so-called Volksgewehr rifles, some of which used a gas-delayed blowback action.


See Also



Last updated: 02-01-2005 11:12:33
Last updated: 02-19-2005 10:29:06