Sturmgewehr 44

Almost half a million STG rifles were produced and they appeared in many German formations late war ( volksgrenader and grenadier divisions particularly).

I've read that the problem wasn't so much the availability of the weapon (as in many grenadier/volksgrenadier sections late war had maybe a gun or two per section) but the limited availability of the special kurtz ammo.

German infantry MG-42 teams carried spare barrels (maybe 2 for a LMG and more for a HMG). This overheating problem could be solved with a ten second barrel change.

 

yeah but you want something you can carry around an shoot at the same time

 

One or two bipod-equipped MG-42s were attached to every german infantry section.

 

but thats just those what about the mp-40

 

MP40s were generally given to officers and NCOs. Section leaders and maybe 0-2 other men in the section carried them. Late in the war, there were assault platoons built that were composed of men armed mainly with this weapon (in volkgrenadier divisions) or the StG rifle.

 

well if you think about it thompsons some how made there way into the hands of lower ranks same thing with the mp-40

 

German (probably sturm) platoon (probably volksgrenadier) operating in Aachen, Dec. 1944. Note the numerous STG (3) rifles in the section.

 

There was often a submachinegun "pool" in German/US units. Basically, they were issued for special situations like close combat, recon, raids, etc.

 

Sweet pic.

Below you mentiioned the ammo, so im assuming far fewer than 500,000 made it into the hands of the soldiers.

Interesting. What was so special about the ammunition exactly ?
I would have assumed that ammo is ammo yeh ? Put a bit of lead in a brass jacket an shazzam you got yourself a 25 cent killer, lol.

 

The ammunition is a shortened version of the ~8mm round. The STG rifle was the only weapon in the german arsenal that used it, and the logistics of proper distribution was often haphazard in the last year of the war.

There is a German account I read that talks about the STG rifle in his grenadier division in the Eastern Front. They often had insufficient kurtz rounds for sustained combat operations and the rifles were sometimes put away.

Unlike the MP40 smgs (which were widely used and issued but were only effective barely over 50 meters), the STG could be used to engage targets at most ranges so its ammunition expenditure rate was high.

 

For the most part you don't get to pick your weapon during military service, it depends on your MOS or similar requirement of your arm of service, there have been many instances of soldiers obtaining unauthorised weapons -most often pistols which are easily concealed -with tragic results.

"Woofy" has already explained weapon pools and there are instances of unit commanders allowing unofficial use of enemy weapons to stiffen up firepower in combat operations but those allowed to do this are generally the most experienced soldiers. Most armies are disciplined (even the German Army in 1945 was- for the most part) and if you turn out with a weapon other than that you were issued your squad commander will want to know why.

With regard to the Stg 44 many people think it is good because of what amounts to weaponry equivelent of sex appeal. If you look at the weapon parameters, which short of firing it, is the only way to form an opinion, you may change your mind. The Stg series are tilting bolt weapons which means the weapon tends to jump as the action is abrupt, it can be prone to jamming and extraction problems if the ammunition is not very best quality, it would probably require a good standard of cleaning and maintenance and it is rather heavy but much more useful in range and fexiblity than any sub machine gun- in effect it was a precursor for the modern weapon type.

It is surprising that Stg44 is still manufactured as a semi-automatic as a "trophy weapon" with a very high price, ownership would of course depend on national laws it was advertised as available from a Canadian gun supplier a few weeks ago.