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, literally "machine carbine"). Both designs were similar, using a gas-operated action, with both semi-automatic and fully-automatic firing modes.
The original prototypes of Haenel's design, the MKb 42
, fired from an open bolt and used a striker for firing (the mechanism is based on the Czechoslovak ZB vz.26). The receiver and trigger housing with pistol grip were made from steel stampings, which were attached to the barrel assembly on a hinge, allowing the weapon to be "folded open" for quick disassembly and cleaning. The Haenel design proved superior to Walther's MKb 42(W), and the army then asked Haenel for another version incorporating a list of minor changes designated MKb 42
. One was to include lugs for mounting a standard bayonet, 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 appreciated it with a few reservations. Another set of modifications added a hinged cover over the ejection port to keep it clean in combat, and rails to mount a telescopic sight. A run of these modified MKb 42
s in late 1942 and early 1943 produced 11,833 guns for field trials.
Ultimately it was recommended that a hammer firing system operating from a closed bolt similar to Walther's be incorporated. The gas expansion chamber over the barrel was deemed unnecessary, and was deleted from successive designs.
MP43
While the new version was under development in late 1942, infighting within the Third Reich was in full swing. Hitler was increasingly concerned with this, and after Hermann Göring had created the FG 42 in a separate program from the army's similar Gewehr 41 efforts, Hitler cancelled all new rifle projects completely. This included the production of the MKb 42
. One concern was that the new weapon used a new ammunition type which would further hamper an already daunting logistics problem.
In order to preserve the weapons development, 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 producing them. Meanwhile the newest version of the original Mkb 42
was called the Maschinenpistole 43 (MP43) to disguise it as an upgrade to existing submachine guns. Another change fit a rifle grenade launcher attachment from the earlier MKb 42
to the MP43/1.
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, and due to the positive combat reports it was allowed to continue.
MP44, StG44 On 6 April 1944, Adolf 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, when Hitler asked what they needed, a general blurted out "More of these new rifles!" This caused some confusion, but once Hitler was given a chance to test fire the MP44, he was impressed and gave it the title Sturmgewehr. Seeing the possibility of a propaganda gain, 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 longer ranges than with an MP40, but be much more useful than the Kar98k in close range urban fighting, as well as provide light cover fire like a light machine gun.
The StG44 was an intermediate weapon for the period; the muzzle velocity from its 42 cm barrel was 647 m/s, compared to 880 m/s (K98k), 744 m/s (Bren), 600 m/s (M2 Carbine), and 365 m/s (MP40).
One unusual addition to the design was the Krummlauf, a bent barrel with a periscope sighting device attached for shooting around corners from a safe position. It was produced in several variants, an "I"-version for infantry use, 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° bends, a version for the StG44 and one for the MG 42. Only the 30° "I" version for the StG44 was produced in any numbers.
A primary use of the MP44/StG44 was to counter the Soviet PPS and PPSh submachine guns, which used a 7.62 x 25 mm round. These cheap mass-produced weapons used a 71-round drum magazine or 35-round "box" magazine and though shorter-ranged than the Kar98k rifle were more effective weapons in close quarter combat. The StG44, while also lacking the range of the Kar98k, had a longer range than the PPS/PPSh submachine guns and a comparable rate of fire. Also, while they could fire fully automatic, they were designed to default to semi-auto fire. They were surprisingly accurate, and their slow rate of fire gave them controllability even on full-auto. While the design details are quite different, the concept of the StG44 was obviously carried on in the most famous and most numerously manufactured assault rifle, the AK-47.
Late prototypes
Mauser developed several prototype StG45(M) assault rifles, first with the Gerät 06 (Device 6) using a roller-delayed blowback mechanism originally adapted from the roller-locked recoil operation of the MG42 machine gun but with a fixed barrel and gas system. It was realized that with careful attention to the mechanical ratios, the gas system could be omitted. The resultant weapon, the Gerät 06
was supposedly slated for adoption by the Wehrmacht as the StG45. This mechanism would later be developed by former Mauser engineers in Spain and used on the post-war CETME and Heckler & Koch's G3 assault rifle and MP5 submachine gun.
Towards the end of the war, there were last-ditch efforts to develop cheap so-called Volksgewehr rifles in the 7.92 x 33 mm caliber. One of these Volkssturmgewehr 1-5 (the VG 1-5) used a gas-delayed blowback action based on the Barnitzke system, whereby gas bled from the barrel near the chamber creates resistance to the rearward impulse of the operating parts, which ceases when the projectile leaves the muzzle, allowing the operating parts to be forced rearward by the residual pressure of the cartridge case. This principle has been used most successfully in the Heckler & Koch PSP or P7 pistol.
Post-war Generally accepted as the world's first assault rifle, the StG44's effect on post-war arms design was wide-ranging, as evidenced by Mikhail Kalashnikov's famous AK-47, and ultimately in the U.S. M16 and its variants.
The Soviet Union, who also had lacked large number of deployed light machine guns like the BAR, was quick to adapt the assault rifle concept.
The AK-47 used a similar-sized round and followed the design concept, but was mechanically much different.
Many of the other Western countries continued using their existing weapons. The 7.62 x 51 mm NATO round that was adopted was no smaller, though the adoption of smaller rounds had been a pre-existing trend. For example, the M1 Garand, which was initially developed for the .276 (about 7 mm), was changed at the direction of General MacArthur to use the previously existing .30-06 Springfield cartridge to be common with existing ammunition stocks and weapons. Some modification was made, using a lighter 150-grain (9.7 g) bullet for the Garand, rather than a heavier 172-grain (11 g) bullet intended to be optimized for the M1917 Browning machine gun.
Eventually, NATO moved from the 7.62 x 51 mm to another intermediate cartridge, the 5.56 x 45 mm, but the weapons that were adopted varied significantly and marked a different interpretation of what was needed in an intermediate weapon than the AK-47 and StG44. They used an even smaller higher velocity round, and the weapons themselves were lighter. In terms of size and weight, they were closer to the M2 Carbine (a fully-automatic version of the M1), and the cartridge design itself had a history dating back before the 1900s. The USSR noted the advance and incorporated these differences in the improved AK-74, which was lighter and used a 5.45 x 39 mm round similar to NATO's version.
As for the Sturmgewehr itself, it remained in use with the East German Nationale Volksarmee until it was eventually
replaced with variants of the AK-47 assault rifle. Argentina manufactured their own trial versions of the StG44 in the late 1940s and early 1950s [3], but made the decision to adopt the FN FAL instead in 1955 [4].
The StG44 is currently in service with the Lebanese Forces [5]. It is also used in limited numbers by irregular forces in some countries in the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.