The 'krummerlauf' - always a subject of fascination !
After years of painstaking development work ( in fact, from August, 1941 ) the concept was considered satisfactory for procurement in June 1944. The final weapon considered suitable was the MP43/44 due to the reduced power of the cartridge. Work is also believed to have been carried out on the MP38/40 but no concrete evidence has survived in the form of actual weapons or documentation.
Actually getting the barrels into production together with a suitable sight also proved problematical ( Rheinmetall were granted a contract in late 1944 to produce 20,000 per month ), and it is believed that around 500 units had been produced by and delivered by the end of the war.
Whether they were actually issued and used remains open to conjecture. As far as I'm aware, no photos or reports have ever been discovered.
However, the Allied armies captured several unused examples and the curved-barrel concept caused great interest, especially with the Americans who set up a complete Ordnance Technical Intelligence Team ( OTIT3 ) to evaluate it.
The 90-degree barrel was found to be impractical, the 30-degree slightly less so - main problems being lack of velocity and very high barrel wear. The concept was not pursued further.
The design was originally intended for armoured-vehicle protection, later developments intended to give infantry an additional 'close-in' weapon.
Overall, the project cannot be considered worth the time and resources expended on it. Firing around corners ? Easier and cheaper to use a grenade....
Der große Stoß Büstenhalter auf Ihrem Kopf!!
