STG44 In Combat

You'd be surprised at the accuracy the Germans found acceptable for the StG44. The appeal of the system was the use of burst fire. If you send a 3-4 rounds burst downrange the odds of hitting are better than 1 out of the K98. As I stated earlier, Sturmgewehr! has all the info you could ever want.


As to the name game post, this has already been addressed in another thread. Why bring it up here?? BTW the StG44 wasn't the only weapon that could be rendered useless by a ding in the receiver. The MkB42 (W) was immediately ruled out because of this possibility. Any Allied or Axis sheet metal weapon could be ruined by a ding. Today, H&K weapons can suffer the same demise. I've bought many cheap SP-89s because the receivers were damaged by people attempting to stamp info per NFA regs.

 

So how did you fix something like that? And if you have to stamp the receiver with some letters or numbers, whats the proper way to do it?

 

H&K makes a tool to repair it. The original marking is either done on a jig or during stamping. As for later markings, you can engrave the info or find a trophy shop that uses a laser.

ADDED:
There were many reasons for the move to sheet metal weapons. The main reason was to keep costs down. Every army expects to lose every weapon in its arsenal (battle damage, capture, loss,etc). Therefore the cheaper the weapon the better. That's why the trigger pack of the StG44 was riveted-- if the hammer broke they'd junk the whole rifle for parts. US NFA owners don't have that luxury and must find ways to "revive" an otherwise disposable item.

 

This Sturmgewehr! book seems very well-researched and informative. Does it cover field performance, which is my main interest? Even if it doesn't it still seems like an interesting read.

 

The ak is worth a whole discussion of its own but its WW2 influences are worth a discussion on the same subject i think - the influence of the MP44 on the AK is obvious to anyone looking at the two. Kalashnikov always denied the MP 44 had ANY influence on his design work, although in reality this seems very unlikely.

The similarities between the two weapons seem to weigh more heavily than the differences:
Similarities between AK and MP-44:
30 round curved mag,
intermediate sized round.
Selective fire.
Gas operated.
Differences:
Trigger mechanism is completely different (the trigger on the ak seems to have been lifted directly from the M1 garand). Caliber slightly smaller on AK. Original AK-47 (the real one) used a milled receiver, Mp 44 used only stamped steel. (Later models of the AK however, use a stamped steel receiver as well. These later models are actually denoted by Kalashnikov and Russian ordnance, as the AKM, not ak-47 - although the weapon seems stuck with the name forever.)

 

None of the similarities mentioned are unique to both, and in the case of appearences, I still hold that the functional differences far out weight the "looks" of the weapons. This is a superb case of "form follows function".

 

There's also the fact that Hugo Schmeisser was relocated from East Germany to Russia to assist some guy named Kalashnikov.

 

Keep in mind that the stg44 was the father of ALL assault rifles the ak came next of course but it was the whole idea of the assault rifle rather than all the technical specs that was copied. I've seen some heated forum debates where people have been eaten alive just for using the words ak and stg44 in the same sentence, many people feel strongly that the ak was a design of its own and not to be compared to the stg44. I have to agree to a certain extent, because some elements were implemented into the ak but overall it is quite different.

 

Well, if you want to start splitting hairs, the Russians actually fielded the first assault rifle: the Fedorov Avtomat. It wasn't made in large numbers and thus gets swept aside by "historians". The true technological advances the Germans made in small arms design were the use of stamped components and roller-locked bolts. Everything else was done following existing designs. The FG42 is a perfect example. Most of its major components were based on weapons dating from WW1.

 

The German Army was the final product of almost a century devoted continuously to a nation wide study of all aspects of the science of war. The German weapons were the best that its accomplished scientific and military minds could devise and which the country’s economy could produce.

One of the finest examples of success is the Sturmgewehr 44 - StG44 assault rifle. After the war the StG44 served as the model and inspiration for all assault gun designs including the Russian [SIZE=-1]Kalashnikov [/SIZE]AK-47. By the end of the war, over 400,000 StG44 variants of all types were produced.

The German Army determine that most firefights took place at short ranges, around 400 meters. This conclusion resulted from a detail analysis of engagements during the years of 1939 and 1940. The primary German weapon of the time, the bolt-action Kar98K rifle, was ill-suited for the mission. It was designed for longer-range precision fire between the ranges of 800 -1000 meters. On the other side, the existing sub-machine guns like the MP40 lacked the range or stopping power with the 9mm ammunition. The solution: first design compact ammunition, ideal for a new automatic weapon, with the proper balance between range and power. The cartridge designed was the 7.92x33 Kurtz cartridge, which provided an excellent balance between hitting power and control.

Next came the rifle design. Carbine submachine gun specifications were issued to the firms of Haenel and Walther in 1942. Limited numbers of trail weapons were produced and tested on the Eastern Front. The Maschinkarabiner 42 (H) or MKb42(H) came from Haenel while the Walther weapon designation was Maschinkarabiner 42 (W) or MKb42(W). Trials for both proved quite successful. Troops embraced these first ever assault guns. Yet Hitler decided that these development programs should be stopped. Haenel did not comply with the order and resorted to subterfuge to be able to continue development. The Haenel weapon was renamed to hide its true identity, now the carbine designation changed to a sub-machine gun, the Maschinenpistole 43 or sub-machine gun 43, or MP43. With further modification and improvement, came the first production version, the Maschinenpistole 44 or MP44. Limited numbers reached the troops. His generals raved about its capabilities and boldly demanded more. Hitler decided to support the weapon, giving it the new designation, the Sturmgewehr 44 (StG44) or Storm Assault Rifle 44.

First deployed in 1944, it proved to be a revolutionary weapon. A StG44 equipped solider 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 as a machine gun role. Most gun parts were constructed from steel stampings, but the weapon was very serviceable with reliable operation and accuracy.

German weapons innovated extended itself into the design of StG 44 accessories. One was the first night small-arms infra-red sight, called the Vampir. In the realm of the bizarre came the infamous 'Krummlauf.' This 'curved barrel' attachment was intended to allow the StG packing soldier to shoot around corners at angles between 30 to 45 degrees. Even a special mirrored sight provided an aiming point. The 'Krummlauf' never worked correctly.

The Sturmgewehr was, at first, distributed almost exclusivly to the German elite forces. Units like the Waffen SS formations Leibstandarte, SS-Panzer-Division Das Reich, 3rd Totenkopf, 5th "Wiking", the 12th "Hitler Jugend" and Grossdeutschland held priority in all matters including access to the new war potential winning weapons like the StG44. When production volumes improved around December 1944, the StG44 saw widespread distribution in all types of units in the German military including the newly formed Volksgrenadier divisions.

 

Wow, that was informative-- not! When will people learn to not rely on a web site for real info?

 

Were there any german regiments supplied with stg-44s in number before the war's end? Enough to replace the k-98k? I know the stg-44 was very limited issue, but I heard that a few certain regiments were given the priority in being issued them. (dont worry i plan on buying the Sturmgewehr! book, but until then I'm still very curious.) I would imagine this would influence the tide of battle in those particular regiments particular location, even while in the region as a whole they would be getting beaten back in these last days of the war?

 

LOL, you are cut off! Buy the damn book already!! Short answer-- no. They found StG44s employed at BN strength was enough.

 

Dont worry I will its just that I'm sort of impatient...

 

I hope you are a speed reader. It's 552 pages...

 

No thats good though, I meant that I'm just impatient until I get this pricey book. The more pages the better once I've got it.