The GDR industry produced small arms of all main classes, but submachine guns of their own design were not produced until a certain time. In the mid-sixties, an attempt was made to create such a weapon with limited success. The resulting WG-66 submachine gun showed acceptable characteristics, but could not win the competition and lost to the foreign model.
Free niche
The decision to develop a new submachine gun was made by the Ministry of Defense of the GDR in 1966. At that time, the National People's Army (NPA) was armed with licensed copies of the Soviet Kalashnikov assault rifle and Makarov pistol. The command considered that the NPA needed a new weapon capable of occupying an intermediate niche between these products.
Earlier, the military had time to get acquainted with the Czechoslovakian submachine gun Šcorpion vz. 61 and became interested in him. As a result, the terms of reference for their own sample were drawn up taking into account the peculiarities of foreign weapons. The new product was supposed to have similar dimensions and weight, and also show similar fire characteristics.
In June 1966, a competition started, involving several arms manufacturers. As expected, the Czechoslovakian "Scorpion" took part in the competition. The Polish PM-63 RAK was also tested. The German Democratic Republic was to be represented in the competition by the company VEB Geräte- und Werkzeugbau Wiesa (GWB) from Visa (Saxony).
Small machine
Until the beginning of 1967, GWB was engaged in preliminary research and technical solutions. After that, the design of the finished submachine gun began. At this stage, the weapon received the WG-66 index - according to the name of the developer and the year of the start of work. At first it was designated as a "rapid-fire pistol" (schnellfeuerpistole), and later transferred to the category of "small" submachine guns - MPi or Klein-MPi.
R&D began with the search for a cartridge capable of providing all the required characteristics. Of the several ammunition in service with the NNA of the GDR, the Soviet 7, 62x25 mm TT was chosen. Its energy and ballistics provided the desired combat qualities, and its small size allowed the magazine and the weapon itself to be reduced. Finally, the army had large stocks of such cartridges, although their production had ceased back in 1959.
A course for simplicity
One of the objectives of the project was to reduce the cost and complexity of production. As a result, the design of the WG-66 was based on the simplest and most common ideas, although it was not without some original proposals. At the level of basic ideas, it was a submachine gun with an automatic mechanism based on a free shutter with several modes of fire and a folding stock.
The WG-66 was assembled on the basis of a receiver with a top cover and a removable trigger casing. A 7, 62-mm rifled barrel was rigidly fixed in the box; a slotted flame arrester was screwed onto it from the outside. To reduce the length of the weapon, an L-shaped bolt with a massive front part was used. At the back, the shutter was propped up by a return spring. Shooting was carried out from an open bolt. Technical rate of fire - 860 rds / min.
A trigger-type firing mechanism was placed in its own casing. Its design was based on the trigger of a Kalashnikov assault rifle and had minor differences. In particular, the choice of the fire mode was carried out using a flag on the left side of the weapon, above the pistol grip.
Stores were placed in the receiving shaft in front of the trigger guard. For the WG-66, we created two of our own magazines for 10 and 35 rounds. The design of the store provided for a protrusion for the slide lag. In the working position, the store was held by a rear latch.
There was a front sight on the front cut of the receiver cover. In the central part of the cover there is an open sight in the form of a drum with slots. By turning the drum, the firing range of 50, 100, 150 or 200 m was set.
The submachine gun received a plastic pistol grip pad. A folding metal stock was attached to the rear of the trigger casing. If necessary, it was folded by turning right and forward, after which the shoulder rest could be used as a front handle.
Product WG-66 with folded stock had a length of 410 mm, total length - 665 mm. Height with magazine - 243 mm. The own weight of the weapon did not exceed 2.2 kg; with a magazine for 35 rounds - 2, 56 kg.
Product under test
Experienced "rapid-fire pistols" WG-66 were sent for testing in November 1967. The first firing ended with mixed results. The technical characteristics were at an acceptable level, although there were some difficulties. Much more problems have arisen with ergonomics. The controls turned out to be inconvenient, the stock wobbled and interfered with aimed shooting. The front of the receiver was heated from the barrel and could burn the shooter. Thus, the submachine gun needed to be refined part of the units.
At that time, the Ministry of Defense had determined approximate plans for future purchases. NPA required about 50 thousand units of new weapons. It soon became clear that the real number of submachine guns would be greater - other power structures were interested in the WG-66 project and the army competition as a whole. They needed about 3-5 thousand "small machines".
WG-66 in competition
In November 1968, the modified and improved WG-66 was again sent to the test site. Comparative tests of three submachine guns began - one domestic and two foreign. Army specialists fired in all modes from different ranges and at different targets, which made it possible to determine all the technical and operational characteristics of the weapon.
The testers' conclusions turned out to be very interesting. The East German Klein-MPi WG-66 was inferior to its competitors in size and weight - the Czechoslovakian "Scorpion" with an unfolded stock had a length of only 522 mm and even with a magazine weighed less than 1.5 kg. The Polish PM-63 was slightly larger and heavier than the Scorpion, but still turned out to be smaller and lighter than the WG-66.
However, in terms of combat characteristics, the WG-66 was superior to other samples. Cartridge 7, 62x25 mm provided an initial bullet speed of 487 m / s and a muzzle energy of 680 J. For comparison, competitors accelerated bullets to 300-320 m / s with an energy of no more than 310 J. Due to this, the WG-66 hit further and more accurately, and also showed more penetrating action, especially at considerable distances.
The NPA began to study other parameters, and at this stage, WG-66 found new problems, this time of an economic nature. It turned out that a serial submachine gun of this model would cost no less than 410 marks. Imported Šcorpions could be purchased at a price of 290-300 marks apiece.
Calculations showed that the preparation and launch of the production of WG-66 would be advisable only with a series of at least 300 thousand products in time until 1975. This was about six times more than the plans of the Ministry of Defense and other structures, which became a new cause for criticism. The “surplus” products could have been sold to foreign countries, but entering the international market was a separate problem, and its success was not guaranteed.
In addition, in the long run, there would be problems in the production line. The GWB plant could cope with an order for 50 thousand submachine guns - but not 300 thousand. The existing production facilities were already loaded with the release of products of strategic importance: Kalashnikov assault rifles and washing machines.
Expensive improvement
Having considered the results of comparative tests, the Ministry of Defense of the GDR carried out additional research work comparing the cartridges 7, 62x25 mm TT and 9x18 mm PM and determining the most successful and promising. Based on the results of this study, a 9x18 mm cartridge was recommended for further use. In this regard, there was a proposal to transfer the WG-66 submachine gun to a new ammunition.
Calculations showed that the WG-66 chambered for the PM will have acceptable combat characteristics, but it will be 300 g lighter than the base version. In addition, such a product in the series would cost about 330 marks - against the original 410. However, the proposal for modernization did not receive much support. The customer was already disappointed in the basic WG-66, and his new version was not seriously considered.
At the beginning of 1970, the issue of the prospects for WG-66 was finally closed. The military department ordered to stop all work on this model. For the armament of the NNA, it was now planned to purchase foreign products. Following the army, other structures made such a decision. This was the end of the history of the curious project, and the Polish PM-63 RAK and the Czechoslovakian Šcorpion vz. 61 entered service.
