They say that this particular weapon is a real German "Schmeiser", and not the MP 38/40 submachine gun developed by Heinrich Vollmer, which is often shown to us in films about the Great Patriotic War. It was this rifle that became the prototype of the legendary Kalashnikov assault rifle and the equally famous FN FAL, the Belgian assault rifle. It was on it that there was already a regular place for an optical sight, an underbarrel grenade launcher and other attachments. Thanks to this weapon, the designations "intermediate cartridge" and "assault rifle" appeared in modern military terminology. All these statements are pure truth!
The history of the creation of this weapon dates back to World War II, from the moment the 7.92x33-mm "intermediate cartridge" (7.92mm Kurz) was developed in the 30s of the last century. This cartridge was average in power between the pistol cartridge (9x19mm "parabellum") and the rifle cartridge (7, 92x57mm).
This cartridge was developed at the initiative of the German arms company Polte, and not by order of the German military department. In 1942, the German Armaments Directorate HWaA gave an order for the development of weapons for this cartridge to the firms Walter and Henele.
As a result, samples of automatic weapons were created, which were named MaschinenKarabiner (from German - automatic carbine). The sample, which was created by Henel, was designated MKb.42 (H), and the sample from Walter, respectively, Mkb.42 (W).
Based on the results of the tests, it was decided to develop the design, which was developed by the Henel company. The development was carried out under the leadership of the legendary German gunsmith Hugo Schmeisser. Significant transformations were made to the design, for example, the USM design was taken from the Walter model.
Further work on the development of an automatic carbine took place under the designation MP 43 (MaschinenPistole, from German - a submachine gun). The change in the name of the development occurred due to the fact that Hitler was against the mass production of automatic weapons, referring to the fact that then millions of cartridges for rifles in warehouses would remain unused. The demonstration of the capabilities of the automatic carbine did not change Hitler's bad attitude towards new models of automatic weapons. Further development of this weapon was carried out under the personal control of the German Reich Minister of Armaments Albert Speer, secretly from the Fuhrer.
Yet the latest weapons were badly needed in Germany. The firepower of the Wehrmacht infantry by the middle of the war is already significantly less than the firepower of the infantry of the Soviet army, which is armed mainly with the Shpagin submachine gun. This fact required either the production of a large number of bulky and inconvenient light machine guns, or the start of the serial production of automatic carbines, in which the effective firing range was up to 500 m versus 150 m for the PPSh. This also led to a change in the attitude of Hitler and the entire top of the Third Reich to automatic weapons. Already at the beginning of the 44th year, the serial production of a new type of small arms began, which received the name MP 44. The elite units of the Wehrmacht were primarily armed with these weapons. At the same time, the ammunition for the MP 44 is being modernized: “Pistolen-Part.43m. E”- the cartridge of the 1943 model has already become very similar to the current submachine gun cartridge, in the bullet of which there was a steel core.
In October 44, the sample received the designation chosen personally by Hitler, StG.44 (Sturmgewehr. 44, from German - assault rifle of the 1944 model). The designation "assault rifle" has become so accustomed to this type of small arms that at present all models of small arms that have similar characteristics are called assault rifles.
StG.44 (Sturmgewehr. 44, from German - assault rifle, model 1944)
Automatic carbine Sturmgewehr.44 was an individual small arms, which is built on the principle of automatic upper discharge of a part of the powder gases that set the gas piston in motion. The barrel bore was locked by tilting the bolt downward, behind the protrusion in the receiver. The receiver was made of stamped steel sheet. The trigger mechanism with a pistol grip was attached to the receiver and, if disassembled incompletely, folds forward and downward. The stock was made of wood, attached to the receiver and removed during disassembly. A return spring was located inside the butt.
The trigger mechanism of the rifle made it possible to conduct automatic and single fire. The StG.44 had a sector sight, an independent translator of fire modes and a fuse, the bolt handle was located on the left and when firing moved in conjunction with the bolt carrier. To attach a rifle grenade launcher, a thread is made on the muzzle of the barrel. In addition, the Stg. 44 could be equipped with a special curved device, which was intended for firing from trenches, tanks or other shelters.
Sturmgewehr.44 had the following performance characteristics
The caliber of the weapon is 7, 92 mm.
Rifle length - 940 mm.
Barrel length - 419 mm.
The mass of the Sturmgewehr. 44 without cartridges is 4.1 kg, or 5.22 kg with a full magazine for 30 rounds.
The rate of fire is about 500 rpm.
The magazine capacity was 15, 20 and 30 rounds.
The muzzle velocity of the bullet is about 650 m / s.
Merits of the Sturmgewehr. 44. The rifle effectively fires bursts at a range of up to 300 m and single shots at a range of up to 600 m. This is more than twice as high as that of the PPSh. For snipers, an MP-43/1 rifle was built, which made it possible to conduct aimed fire up to 800 meters. On the milled mount it was possible to mount a four-time optical sight or a night infrared sight ZG.1229 "Vampire". When firing, the recoil was almost 2 times lower than that of the Mauser-98K carbine. This increased the accuracy and comfort of shooting.
Her flaws. Firstly, it is a large mass. The rifle was almost a kilogram heavier than the Mauser-98K carbine. The wooden butt often broke during hand-to-hand combat. The flame that burst out of the barrel when firing very strongly unmasked the shooter. A long magazine and high sights when shooting while lying down made the shooter raise his head high, this significantly increased his profile. In order to reduce the height of the weapon, magazines with a capacity of 15 or 20 rounds were made.
In total, more than 400 thousand Stg.44, MP43, MP 44 automatic carbines were manufactured during World War II.
The machine gun was an expensive trophy not only for the Soviet troops, but also for the Allies. There is documentary evidence of the use of this weapon by soldiers of the Soviet army during the storming of Berlin.
At the end of the war, the Sturmgewehr.44 assault rifles were used by the GDR police and the Czechoslovak army. In Yugoslavia, rifles held out in service with the Airborne Forces until the 70s of the last century.
In addition, the assault rifle that Hugo Schmeiser created had a great impact on the post-war development of small arms. So, the design of the Belgian FN FAL and the Kalashnikov assault rifle were, if not copied, then made according to a scheme that is very similar to the Stg.44. Also very similar to the Sturmgewehr. 44 modern state-of-the-art M4 automatic carbine.
The American TV channel "Military", which ranked the 10 best rifles of the last century, put the Sturmgewehr.44 assault rifle in the honorable 9th place.
