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StG 44: Difference between revisions
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==Haenel MKb 42(H)== | ==Haenel MKb 42(H)== | ||
[[Image:German WW2 MP-44 copy Sport-Systeme Dittrich 'BD42(H)' designed from the MKB42(H).jpg|thumb|right|450px|Sport Systeme Dittrich reproduction of the Haenel MKb 42(H) - 7.92x33mm Kurz]] | [[Image:German WW2 MP-44 copy Sport-Systeme Dittrich 'BD42(H)' designed from the MKB42(H).jpg|thumb|right|450px|Sport Systeme Dittrich reproduction of the Haenel MKb 42(H) - 7.92x33mm Kurz]] | ||
A prototype, developed by C.G. Haenel in the framework of the competition for the creation of automatic weapons for the intermediate cartridge 7.92x33mm Kurtz. Another project for this assignment was the [[Walther]]-made MKb 42(W), but it was rejected on the early stage. By July 1942, 50 pre-production MKb 42(H) rifles had already been submitted for testing, and from November 1942 to April 1943, Haenel produced and supplied about 8,000 new assault rifles to the troops, which were tested in combat against Soviet army. Based on the results of these tests, it was decided that MKb.42 (H) deserves undoubted attention, but, however, and requires revision, which was carried out in the future under the codes MP43/MP44/StG-44. | |||
===Film=== | ===Film=== |
Revision as of 13:59, 6 February 2021
The Sturmgewehr 44 was a German automatic rifle developed during World War II, and generally considered the first mass produced assault rifle in the world. It was developed from the earlier Haenel MKb 42(H) "machine carbine" prototype. During development the project was hidden from Hitler, who had ordered it cancelled, by referring to it as a submachine gun (Maschinenpistole); during this time it was known as the MP43 and MP44. When the deception was discovered (supposedly due to an officer requesting "more of these new rifles") it was demonstrated to the German high command, and Hitler himself re-named it the "Sturmgewehr." This literally translates as "storm rifle;" this is storm as in "to storm a castle," hence the translation "assault rifle." The three versions were essentially minor updates for production purposes.
The claim that the StG-44 was the first assault rifle is a contentious one; other weapons which could be termed early assault rifles have existed before (for example, the Russian Fedorov Avtomat). Rather, the StG-44 was the first to be mass produced, and the first to be referred to as an assault rifle. While the StG-44 was well received by troops and is often depicted as some kind of superweapon in modern videogames, it suffered from a number of issues throughout production. The materials used in the mass-production StG-44 were of poor quality due to war expediency, and British analysts (who praised the earlier MP43) found the bolt could be totally immobilised by pinching the sides of the receiver with the fingers of one hand, while the rifle could be totally destroyed by the simple act of leaning it against a doorframe and then knocking it over. The stock was prone to breakages, and American analysts criticised the 11.5 pound weight of the loaded weapon as excessive considering the relatively small round used, comparing the StG-44 unfavourably to the M1 Carbine.
Because of its manufacturing costs, which prevented speedy wartime production, the StG 44 was scheduled to be replaced with the Sturmgewehr 45, but the war ended before the new rifle could be issued for field trials. Due to administrative errors and the chaos of the war, around one hundred thousand StG-44s were never delivered to the front lines and were seized by the Soviet army from depots and warehouses after the war ended, ultimately being provided to client states: this is why StG-44s are not an uncommon sight in conflict zones even today. These surplus StGs were sufficiently common that they were often visually modified to stand in for M16s in Soviet-era Russian movies.
In Russia, some surplus StG-44s have now been converted into civilian semi-auto rifles named the "MP44-O" ("O" stands for "охотничий"; okhotnichiy, i.e. "hunting"). Also, new semi-automatic civilian reproductions of the MKb 42(H), MP 43/1, and StG 44 are being manufactured in Germany today by Sport Systeme Dittrich.
Specifications
(1943 - 1945)
- Type: Assault Rifle
- Caliber: 7.92x33mm Kurz
- Weight: 10.2 lbs (4.6 kg) unloaded
- Length: 37 in (94 cm)
- Barrel length: 16.5 in (41.9 cm)
- Muzzle Velocity: 2,247 ft/s (685 m/s)
- Feed System: 30-round detachable box magazine
- Fire Modes: Semi-Auto/Full-Auto
The StG 44 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
Television
Show Title | Actor | Character | Note / Episode | Air Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Mission: Impossible | guards | "The Exchange" (S03E12) | 1968 | |
Born by Revolution: On the Night of the 20th (Rozhdyonnaya revolyutsiey: V noch na 20-e) | A Soviet soldier | Seen in documentary footage | 1976 | |
Mirage | Regimantas Adomaitis | Frank Morgan | Visually modified to resemble M16 | 1983 |
Ints Burans | Ed Black | |||
TASS Is Authorized to Declare... (TASS upolnomochen zayavit...) | Nagonian soldiers | Visually modified to resemble M16 | 1984 | |
Confrontation (Protivostoyanie) | A Soviet soldier | Seen in documentary footage | 1985 | |
Dead Man's Tale (Chto skazal pokoynik) | Evgeniy Voskresenskiy | "Lame" | Visually modified to resemble M16 | 2000 |
Aleksey Buldakov | "Ponytail" | |||
Gangsters | ||||
Band of Brothers | German soldiers | Seen on wall in "Curahee" (Ep.1), used in "The Breaking Point" (Ep.7) | 2001 | |
Ash (Pepel) | Farkhad Makhmudov | "Pepel"'s henchman | 2013 | |
A German soldier | ||||
Front | A German soldier | 2014 |
Video Games
Anime
Title | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade | Fuse | 1999 | |
Kerberos members | |||
Hellsing Ultimate | Vampire Nazis | 2006 - 2012 | |
Strike Witches: Operation Victory Arrow | Ursula Hartmann | with Krummlauf | 2014 - 2015 |
Brave Witches | Nikka Katajainen | 2016 - 2017 | |
Waltrud Krupinski |
Haenel MKb 42(H)
A prototype, developed by C.G. Haenel in the framework of the competition for the creation of automatic weapons for the intermediate cartridge 7.92x33mm Kurtz. Another project for this assignment was the Walther-made MKb 42(W), but it was rejected on the early stage. By July 1942, 50 pre-production MKb 42(H) rifles had already been submitted for testing, and from November 1942 to April 1943, Haenel produced and supplied about 8,000 new assault rifles to the troops, which were tested in combat against Soviet army. Based on the results of these tests, it was decided that MKb.42 (H) deserves undoubted attention, but, however, and requires revision, which was carried out in the future under the codes MP43/MP44/StG-44.
Film
Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ernst Thälmann - Leader of his Class | KZ prison guards | 1955 | ||
Higher Principle (Vyssí princip) | Jan Skopecek | SS man | 1960 | |
German soldiers | ||||
Death Is Called Engelchen | German soldiers, Partisans | 1963 | ||
On the way to Berlin (Na puti v Berlin) | German soldiers and officers | Converted to 7.62x39mm | 1969 |
Video Games
Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
Killing Floor | "MKb42" | Added in a patch in 2012 | 2009 | |
Red Orchestra 2: Heroes of Stalingrad | "MKb 42(H)" | 2011 | ||
Killing Floor 2 | "MKb42" | stocks removed and are fitted with bayonets | 2016 | |
Sniper Elite 4 | "MKb 42" | 2017 |
Anime
Title | Character | Note | Date |
---|---|---|---|
Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade | Kerberos members | 1998 |