Sturmgewehr 44 Assault Rifle

[cyberia]

With a loaded weight of 5.2 kg, the German 7.92 mm (short round) Stg. 44 was the world's first mass produced assault rifle. Partnered with a 30 round magazine and 500 rpm rate of fire, this dual automatic/semi-automatic weapon was light, lethal and years ahead of its time.

At first rejected by Hitler, then secretly rushed into production by a general staff desperate for the weapon, Sturmgewehr 44 wound up being hailed by the nazis as a wonder weapon.
A wonder that was too little and too late to change the course of a lost war.
The Stg. 44 did not enter production until the final months of the war and, due to an industry severely hampered by Allied bombing, less than 120,000 entered service.

[Klaus]

It is a beautiful weapon. I f you can call a weapon beautiful. There is always some controversy how much influence the Sturmgewehr 44 had on the AK-47. I don't think they've come up with a solution yet. Maybe we can find it.

[McCoy]

The StG. 44 was produced from late '43 n' destignated as MP43. During the first half of '44 it was produces as MP44 n' later on redestignated as StG.44.

'bout the controversy of StG.44 vs. AK-47. Those who often claim that the AK-47 is a copy of the StG.44 don't know anything n' think so due to some similaritys in the design of the weapons. The two weapons differ a lot internaly as they're two complete different designs. Mikhail Kalashnikov hadn't even seen a MP43 when he started drawin' his design while he was layin wonded in his sickbed in '43. The 7.62 x 39mm M1943 Ball round is a lot more powerful than the 7.92 x 33mm Kurz when it comes to the different rounds.

[Klaus]

I've read something similar on an other forum. But there are alwys those who don't wanna believe it.

[temujin77]

Here's a photo I took of this weapon:

WW2DB: [Photo] Mkb-42(H) assault rifle on display at the West Point Museum, United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, United States, 22 Sep 2007

It is currently on display at the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, NY. This particular variant is the Mkb-42(H).

[lufttiger]

We have sort of speak the 3rd largest private gun collection in the nation.
No one knows cuz you can't see it, unless you get a golden pass. Its
kept behind a big locked metal door. Anyway i've been in it twice, and the
first gun i picked up was Stg 44. The frist thing that came to my mind was
man this is a real heavy gun, it would be a pain to haul this arround.

[Pirate-Drakk]

Originally Posted by McCoy

'bout the controversy of StG.44 vs. AK-47. Those who often claim that the AK-47 is a copy of the StG.44 don't know anything n' think so due to some similaritys in the design of the weapons. The two weapons differ a lot internaly as they're two complete different designs. Mikhail Kalashnikov hadn't even seen a MP43 when he started drawin' his design while he was layin wonded in his sickbed in '43. The 7.62 x 39mm M1943 Ball round is a lot more powerful than the 7.92 x 33mm Kurz when it comes to the different rounds.

This is in agreement with my understanding of the StG.44/AK-47 relationship. Basicly, both weapons are designed to fullfill the same role, but the insides are much different. I'm sure the StG.44 was a lot more accurate then the AK-47.

The AK-47 is really a crappy weapon in my opinion. The AK-47 is the Budwieser of assault rifles. Very popular, but weak and tasteless.

[cyberia]

Originally Posted by Pirate-Drakk

The AK-47 is the Budwieser of assault rifles. Very popular, but weak and tasteless.

[Tom Houlihan]

Originally Posted by Pirate-Drakk

The AK-47 is really a crappy weapon in my opinion. The AK-47 is the Budwieser of assault rifles. Very popular, but weak and tasteless.

While I can understand the Budweiser comparison, I will argue against the 'crappy' part.

Is it a finely tooled piece of machinery? Absolutely not. It's cheaply made, at best.

However, any moron can use it. My 4-yr old could pick one up right now, and he'd have rounds going downrange (wherever he decided downrange was!) in short order.
At relatively close ranges (as compared to some our finer Western counterparts) it's accurate enough to hit the poor SOB you're aiming at. Its cartridge packs a decent wollop. It'll knock your ass down, and if the first one misses, there are probably one or two behind it.
If it breaks, you can pull a component off one of those ones in the broken pile over there, and it'll be firing again as soon as you put it back together.
Playing in dirt/mud/snow/water/piss? Who cares? Shake the big lumps off, and it'll shoot just fine.

Sorry, to me that makes it a damned good weapon. Yes, I've fired one. I'd carry one in the field, willingly.

[lufttiger]

Saw a program about comparing the AK to the M-16. The points they
made were the M-16 was much more accurate, but the AK had more
penatrating power, go thru trees & walls. And like Tom says, it will take
alot of abuse, but thats Russian tradition, making things that will take alot
of abuse but arn't real good in away.