World War II Database

1.  Bill says:
12 Jun 2012 05:29:24 PM

THE MP43/44 WAS THE "GRAND-DADDY" OF ALL POST WAS MILITARY ASSAULT RIFLES. BOTH THE
USA AND THE USSR HAD THEIR M-16s AND AK-47s
FOLLOWED BY OTHER NATIONS DEVELOPING ASSAULT RIFLES AS WELL.
THE AWE-INSPIRING NAME FOR THIS WEAPON WAS THE STURMGEWEHR, NAMED BY ADOLF HITLER HIMSELF OR ASSAULT RIFLE. FIRST PRODUCTION WEAPONS WERE MP43/1 AND WAS AN EXPERIMENTAL WEAPON ABOUT 40,000 TO 50,000 WERE PRODUCED.
THE GERMANS PRODUCED OVER 400,000 BEFORE THE END OF THE WAR.

THE MP43/44 WAS AN AIR-COOLED, GAS OPERATED,
SELECT-FIRE (SEMI-AUTO OR FULLY AUTOMATIC),
SHOULDER-WEAPON, THE MAGAZINE HELD 30 ROUNDS OF 7.92MM AMMO,

POST-WAR:

THE USSR CAPTURED LARGE AMOUNTS OF GERMAN WEAPONS, AMONG THEM WERE MP44s THAT WERE LATER ISSUED TO SOCIALIST/COMMUNIST CLIENT STATES IN EASTERN EUROPE.
EAST GERMANY, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, HUNGARY, YUGOSLAVIA USED THE MP44 INTO THE 1980s THE
WEAPON COULD BE FOUND IN ANY OF THE WORLD'S HOT SPOTS, SINCE THE END OF WWII, FROM THE MIDDLE-EAST, AFRICA TO ASIA.

2.  Bill says:
22 Jan 2015 07:31:14 PM

BEFORE THE STURMGEWEHR:

Development of an improved rife started before WWII for the German Army, enter the Vollmer Machinekarabiner M35 it a gas operated, air-cooled, magazine fed, selective fire weapon.
It was never adapted by the army and issued a report that it was too completed to manufacture, the Kurz (short) 7.92 round would have required extensive retooling of full power 7.92mm ammo used by the 98k bolt-action rifle.

CONTINUED DEVELOPMENT: BIZARRE KRUMMLAUF

This barrel attachment abled the soldier to just about shoot around corners to sight the weapon a special aiming mirror was attached. It did have a problem when fired most of the rounds broke up due to the stress of the bullet passing through the curved barrel and had a short service life.

VAMPIR: SEEING IN THE DARK

Another development used on the MP44 was the Vampir Infrared night scope enabled the soldier to see in the dark it was a large dish, and needed a battery carried in the soldiers gas mask container it had a limited time of about fifteen minutes. I'm not an expert or historian this is just general information. If anyone has more info post it here, I'd like to read it...

A GI REMEMBERS:

In Vietnam I carried a Chi-Com Type 56, 7.62x39mm this was the Communist Chinese version of the Soviet AK 47. It was easy to field strip, rugged
and dependable. This was when I was younger, much younger.

I THANK THE EDITOR/WW2DB FOR ALLOWING ME TO LEAVE MY COMMENTS.



The MP44 shared some of the same features as the Vollmer M35 it was gas operated, air-cooled, magazine fed selective fire weapon, in fact the magazine was curved to hold 20 rounds, while the MP44 magazine held thirty rounds.
Another innovation was the use of a pistol grip, raised adjustable rear sight and raised front sight. The MP44 was developed from the Mkb42(H),
improved Mkb42(w), MP43 renamed the MP44 better known as the Sturmgewehr.