does anyone know the official names for the stg44 sniper varient and the stg44 infra red varient?

Vampir?

Later

Vampir was the infra red kit but I don't think there was a sniper variant.

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There's no honorable way to kill, no gentle way to destroy. There is nothing good in war. Except its ending.

There was no sniper variant as such.

However, extensive tests were carried out using the MP43/1 at the Infantry School at Doberitz-Elsgrund during October 1943 in order to evaluate the sharpshooting capability of the weapon.

It was fitted with a Gw ZF 4 scope. At the conclusion of the tests, the Infantry School reported that '..the MP43/1 with telescopic sight is unsuitable for sharpshooting purposes due to excessive shot dispersion'.

Various MP43s can be found with with a machined bracket welded to the right-hand side of the receiver to take the scope. Later MP44s do not feature this.

The above information is extracted from Peter R Senich's book, 'The German Assault Rifle 1935-1945'.

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"Stand by to pull me out of the seat if I get hit" - Guy Gibson