Well, to start the story about this original type of small arms should be with the preamble that … there is such a book "The Adventures of Inventions" written by Alexander Ivich, and here it is very interesting to tell about how and as a result of which zigzags of fate appeared certain inventions and what a difficult fate they sometimes had. However, their creators too.
But if you turned to the fate of military inventions and developments, then … you would certainly note that the ways of military inventions were often more dramatic at times and why, it is also understandable, without invented murder weapons. And sometimes what was created in one country found its application in another, and the money spent in this country on development, in fact, went down the drain. And some developments, having begun their history in one country, later became the property of many countries, and few people were interested in where they came from and how.
And with the spread of the Internet system around the world, a completely unusual problem arose, since the same information was now not only presented every time in its own way, but was also replicated in hitherto incredible volumes. By the way, I will note that there has already been an article about the Czech machine gun vz.58 on the Voennoye Obozreniye website. I visited the Czech Republic like this, drank a lot of real Czech beer there, looked at the changing of the guard at the presidential palace, then wrote a material about the vz.52 rifle and thought that, most likely, you could present your own vision of this topic. Well, having thought so, I just sat down and wrote a new material about this machine, and then checked the level of its novelty according to the Advego Antiplagiat system, and when, in my opinion, it became quite sufficient (99% novelty in terms of phrases and 100% novelty according to), then posted it here for everyone to see …
Automatic machine ZK412.
And again, I will have to start my story about vz.58 from afar. Because I managed to find such a text on the Internet, which I quote, albeit verbatim, but in my own presentation. Its author reports that in February 1942, the Czechoslovakian enterprise "Skoda Factories" presented to the Wehrmacht court, most likely, the world's first sample of weapons for an intermediate cartridge specially designed for the army - the ZK412 submachine gun. Moreover, this cartridge was originally created for the ZK 423 light machine gun. Czech engineers created it on their own before, other powers and Germany, for example, began experiments with weapons for intermediate cartridges. The characteristics of the cartridge were generally similar to the German intermediate cartridge, but the author of the text informs us that they exceeded the level of that time. The designers of the machine were the Koucki brothers, although Czech sources report that there was only one developer - Josef Koucki. The automation system worked by evacuating gases. The sight is adjustable, from 100 to 300 meters. The assault rifle was designed for firing an 8x35 Rapid cartridge and had a total length of 980 mm, a barrel length of 418 mm, four right-hand rifling in the barrel, a total weight with cartridges of 4, 8 kg and a magazine capacity of 30 rounds. Outwardly, it looked like a Kalashnikov assault rifle, with the same horn magazine, but without the pistol grip. Interesting information, isn't it? But its content is exactly 50% untrue. Although the presence of the clause "most likely", the negative impression of the abundance of inaccuracies somewhat reduces …
It is known about the Czech patron itself that he really was in many ways better than his counterparts. So, in comparative tests with Mauser cartridges 7, 92-mm (10 g) and 9-mm Parabellum cartridges, it turned out that the bullet of the 8-mm Rapid cartridge had, on average, at a distance of 400 meters (derivation), a deviation of 15 cm, bullet "Parabellum" - 80 cm, and 79, 2-mm bullet of the Mauser rifle - 7 cm. At 800 meters, the bullet 8-mm Rapid had a deflection of 104 cm, 9-mm "Parabellum" - 546 cm and 500 cm - bullet "Mauser". In addition, at 400 meters, this bullet pierced an army helmet. This wonderful cartridge was created by August 1941 by Alois Farlik at the Česká Zbroevka factory in Brno, and although it didn’t go further than prototypes with this cartridge, the Czechs can certainly be congratulated on it.
German Kurz-cartridge 7, 92x33 mm.
As for the German cartridge 7, 92 Kurz, or the "intermediate cartridge" (7, 92x33 mm), it was developed on its own initiative by the German company "Polte", back in the late 30s (that is, the German priority in this case is obvious !), as it is also obvious that the need for just such a patron in Germany was already realized by specialists of at least some firms. But the German Armaments Directorate was not asleep either, and already in 1938 issued an order for the development of weapons for this cartridge: first to Haenel, and then in 1940, Walter joined the work.
The Walther MKb.42 (W) assault rifle with a grenade launcher at the end of the barrel.
The Walther MKb.42 (W) assault rifle worked due to the pressure of the powder gases on the annular gas piston put on the barrel. The piston moved back and forth inside the barrel casing and pushed the tube put on the barrel, which, in turn, acted with two protrusions on the U-shaped bolt carrier, inside which there was a bolt that locked the barrel as a result of skewing. Well, the skew itself was carried out due to the fact that the lugs of the bolt slid in the grooves of the receiver, which is why it swayed in a vertical plane up and down. The bolt handle was on the left, which became characteristic of all machines developed in Germany during the war.
Automatic MP44. (Army Museum in Stockholm)
The famous designer Hugo Schmeisser was engaged in the development of the machine at the Haenel firm, who already in 1940 created a prototype of a new type of weapon: the “automatic carbine” or MaschinenKarabiner (MKb.) - since this is how the Germans classified this type of weapon from the very beginning. His machine gun had a different design of a gas engine, also with a piston, but on a long rod that pushed the breech that tilted during movement. In this, both machines were similar. And, by the way, it is precisely by this that both the one and the other sample are unlike the Kalashnikov assault rifle, where the principle of locking the breech by the bolt is completely different, and this is a very important, one might say, the main difference.
Automatic MKb. 42 (H). (Archive of the US Springfield Arsenal)
By July 1942, Haenel had prepared 50 pre-production models of its machine gun, and from November 1942 to April 1943, about 8,000 copies of the new machine were delivered to participate in military trials on the Eastern Front. It turned out that the MKb.42 (H) is a promising design, although it needs improvement, which was then carried out under the codes MP-43 and MP-44 assigned to it. Moreover, it turned out that his competitor, that is, the Walther machine gun, is better balanced and shoots more accurately, but … the Hugo Schmeisser machine is more technologically advanced, and that then decided the whole thing - it was his development that went into series and entered service under the designation StG 44 In total, about 420 thousand such machine guns were produced, which after the defeat of Nazi Germany in the armies of many countries of the world and, in particular, in the People's Police and the army of the GDR, the army and police of the FRG, and in Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, he was in service with the airborne troops … And it is clear that the same Czechoslovak military and engineers of military factories could familiarize themselves well with its design and learn all the strengths and weaknesses.
Automatic MKb. 42 (H). Incomplete disassembly. (Archive of the US Springfield Arsenal)
However, there was also a third model of an assault rifle proposed by the Mauser firm, and it was he who eventually bypassed his more famous competitor - the Hugo Schmeisser assault rifle!
Parade of the People's Police of the GDR, armed with StG 44.
Well, it all started with the fact that Dr. Mayer, who worked in the mathematical department of this company, proposed to abandon what he believed to be a complex automation system based on a gas vent mechanism, and go from rigid locking of the barrel to a semi-free bolt. Mauser Werke began work on a new assault rifle based on this principle and chambered for the intermediate cartridge 7, 92x33 Kurz in 1939. It was developed by engineer Ludwig Forgrimler, and the project itself was codenamed "Gerät 06" ("Device 06").
StG 45 assault rifle (M). (Museum in Münster) By the way, why such a short shop? Because due to the direct location of the butt on this machine, as well as on the Schmeisser and Walter assault rifles, the sights had to be raised, which, together with the 30-round magazine, forced the shooter to rise very much above the ground and substitute himself for bullets. With a short magazine for 10 rounds, it was no longer necessary to rise high.
In the spring of 1943, 6,000 rounds were fired from a new machine gun, designated Mkb.43 (M), without a single delay, after which the German Ground Forces Armaments Directorate decided to conduct field tests of this machine. By the end of 1944, they were completed, and it was then that it became clear that the StG 44 that had just entered mass production was significantly inferior in all respects to the new model! It was immediately accepted into service under the designation StG 45 (M), but only 30 sets of parts were released for assembling an experimental batch.
