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StG 44

From Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
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Sturmgewehr 44 - 7.92x33mm Kurz
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Sturmgewehr 44 with ZF4 scope - 7.92x33mm Kurz
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MP43/1 with ZF41 scope - 7.92x33mm Kurz

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. For still mysterious reasons, these mockups were actually not created in the likeness of the serial M16, but early AR-15 prototypes. So, the Mosfilm version was actually created in the likeness of variants with black furniture, a narrow forend, and the upper charging handle of the AR-10 pattern. The Lenfilm version was created according to the appearance of the slightly later version with familiar outlook but with bright furniture.

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

Title Actor Character Note Date
The White Darkness (Bílá tma) German soldiers 1948
Wolves' Lairs (Vlcie diery) German soldiers 1948
Little Partisan (Malý partyzán) Oldrich Vykypel Commander of partisans 1950
German soldiers
Action B (Akce B) UPA fighters 1952
The Tank Brigade German soldiers 1955
Ernst Thälmann - Leader of his Class German soldiers 1955
At That Time, at Christmas... (Tenkrát o vánocích) German soldiers 1958
A Time to Love and a Time to Die German soldiers 1958
The Bridge (Die Brücke) Frank Glaubrecht Jϋrgen Borchert Inexplicably switched with an MP40 during shooting scenes 1959
Battle of the Bulge Dana Andrews 1965
Where is the General? (Gdzie jest general?) German soldiers 1964
A Tale About Nipper-Pipper (Skazka o Malchishe-Kibalchishe) Enemy soldiers Magazines removed, some with Gewehr 98 bayonets 1965
The Adventures of Werner Holt (Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt) Klaus-Peter Thiele Werner Holt 1965
Manfred Karge Gilbert Wolzow
German soldiers
The Hunchback of Soho Seen in Gen. Perkins' "war room"; without buttstock and magazine 1966
Carriage to Vienna (Kocár do Vídne) Ladislav Jandoš Young partisan 1966
Funeral in Berlin East German Police & Border guards 1966
Zhenya, Zhenechka and "katyusha" German soldiers 1967
Billion Dollar Brain Midwinter's troops and Soviet soldier 1967
The Shield and the Sword (Shchit i mech) German and Soviet soldiers 1968
I Was Nineteen (Ich war neunzehn) Aleksey Eybozhenko Sr. Lt. Sascha Ziganjuk 1968
Jaecki Schwarz Lt. Gregor Hecker
Dieter Mann Unteroffizier Willi Lommer
German soldiers
Che! Cuban rebel 1969
The Eighth (Osmiyat) Georgi Georgiev-Getz "Osmiyat" 1969
Nikola Anastasov "Chaplin"
Treasures of the Flaming Cliffs (Sokrovishcha pylayushchikh skal) A mercenary 1969
Black Sun (Chyornoye solntse) Ambroise Mbia Robert Moussombe Heavily visually modified in two different versions 1970
Rein Aren Freddy "Africa"
Government troops, guerilla fighters, mercenaries
My Zero Hour (Meine Stunde Null) Manfred Krug Gefreiter Kurt Hartung 1970
Alfred Müller Gefreiter Blumhagen
The Stolen Train (Otkradnatiyat vlak) Dimitar Buynozov Damyan 1971
She No Longer Talks She Shoots Annie Girardot Rosemonde 1972
André Pousse Max
I Serve at the Border (Ya sluzhu na granitse) Border guards of unnamed state Visually modified to resemble M16 1974
They Fought for Their Country German soldiers 1975
Long Miles of War (Dolgie vyorsty voyny) German soldiers 1975
Poem of Kovpak: Carpathians, Carpathians... (Duma o Kovpake: Karpaty, Karpaty...) Soviet partisans 1976
Port German soldiers 1976
Mama, I'm Alive (Mama, ich lebe) Eberhard Kirchberg Karl Koralewski 1977
Uwe Zerbe Walter Pankonin
Mikhail Vaskov Sgt. Kolja
Escape to Athena Telly Savalas Zeno 1979
Pirates of the XXth Century (Piraty XX veka) Nikolai Yeryomenko, Jr. Sergey Sergeevich Visually modified to resemble M16 1979
Pavel Remezov Doctor
Viktor Gordeev Yura Mikosha
Viktor Zhiganov Stetsenko
Pirates
The Hijacking of Savoy (Pokhishchenie Savoi) Aleksandr Mikhajlov Gido Torstensen 1979
Leonid Bronevoy Jean Challot Standard and Visually modified to resemble M16
Scharf's henchmen
Personal Safety Not Guaranteed (Lichnoy bezopasnosti ne garantiruyu) A bandit 1980
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Rebel Alliance soldiers As the "BlasTech A295" 1980
From the Bug to the Vistula (Ot Buga do Visly) German soldiers 1980
The Professional African soldiers 1981
Incident at Map Grid 36-80 (Sluchay v kvadrate 36-80) US Navy sailor Visually modified to resemble M16 1982
Copper Angel (Medny angel) Policemen and gangsters Visually modified to resemble M16 1984
Until the End (Až do konce) Daniel Netušil Sigi 1984
The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission German soldiers 1985
Come and See (Idi i smotri) SS soldier 1985
The Detached Mission (Odinochnoye plavanye) Nikolay Lavrov SSG Eddie Griffith Visually modified to resemble M16 1985
Rogue American soldiers
The Battalions Request Fire (Batalyony prosyat ognya) German soldiers 1985
R Document (Dokument R), The Security guards Visually modified to resemble IMI Romat variant 1985
Secrets of Madame Wong (Tayny madam Vong) Hong Kong police Visually modified to resemble M16 1986
Interception (Perekhvat) US soldiers Visually modified to resemble M16 1986
Curse of Snakes Valley (Klatwa doliny wezy) Security guards 1987
Island of Lost Ships (Ostrov pogibshikh korabley) Islanders Original and visually modified to resemble M16A1 1987
The Russians Are Coming Gert Krause-Melzer Günter Walcher Movie was filmed in 1968 1987
German soldiers
Cargo 300 (Gruz 300) Afghan mujaheddins Visually modified to resemble M16 1989
Gangsters of the Ocean (Gangstery v okeane) Lev Durov Russian boatswain Visually modified to resemble M16 1991
Pirates
Road Hawks (Stervyatniki na dorogakh) Mafia member Custom "StG-44k" 1990
Sniper Criminal 1992
Casino Police officers Visually modified to resemble M16 1992
Deserter (Dezertir) A brigand 1997
Downfall German soldiers 2004
Joy Division Ricci Harnett Sgt. Harry Stone 2006
The Island (Ostrov) German soldiers 2006
The Bridge François Goeske Albert Mutz 2008
German soldiers
Brother's War Tino Struckmann Capt. Klaus Mueller 2009
What Men Talk About (O chyom govoryat muzhchiny) A German soldier 2010
Memorial Day German soldiers 2011
Iron Sky Moon Nazis With sci-fi embellishments 2012
Fury Brad Pitt Staff Sergeant Don "Wardaddy" Collier 2014
The Guy from Our Cemetery (Paren s nashego kladbishcha) at the gun shop 2015
1944 Estonian SS soldiers 2015
Battery Number One (Edinichka) A German soldier 2015
Overlord Mathilde Ollivier Chole 2018
Dominic Applewhite Private Rosenfeld
German soldiers
Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan Vietcong soldier 2019

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

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
Medal of Honor: Underground MP44 2000
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault StG-44 2002
Battlefield: 1942 StG-44 2002
BloodRayne ZZG33 2002
Rise of Nations Used by the Volksgrenadiers unit 2003
Commandos 3: Destination Berlin StG-44 2003
Call of Duty MP44 2003
Forgotten Hope With and without scope 2003
Hidden & Dangerous 2 2003
Call of Duty: United Offensive MP44 2004
Medal of Honor: Frontline StG-44 2004
Vietcong 2 StG-44 2005
Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 StG-44 2005
Day of Defeat: Source StG-44 2005
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood StG-44 2005
Call of Duty 2 MP44 2005
Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 2006
Red Orchestra: Ostfront 41-45 Stg44 2006
UberSoldier StG-44 2006
Company of Heroes StG-44 2006
Call of Duty 3 MP44 2006
Medal of Honor: Vanguard StG-44 2007
Medal of Honor: Airborne StG-44 Muzzle brake, tactical scope, and dual magazines 2007
Alliance of Valiant Arms As the "STG44" 2007
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare MP44 2007
Forgotten Hope 2 With or without ZF4 scope 2007
Cross Fire 2007
Call of Duty: World at War StG-44 Flash hider, aperture sight, telescopic sight 2008
Counter-Strike Online StG-44 2008
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway StG-44 2008
Operation Thunderstorm 2008
Velvet Assassin StG44 Assault Rifle 2009
Wolfenstein MP/StG-43 Recoil compensator, drum mag and tactical scope 2009
The Saboteur MP44 MG 2009
Death to Spies: Moment of Truth 2009
Call of Duty: Black Ops StG-44 2010
Singularity 2010
Karma Online 2011
Sniper Elite V2 MP44 2012
Counter-Strike Online StG44 2012
Warface Sturmgewehr 44 optional ZF-4 scope 2013
Enemy Front STG 44 2014
Sniper Elite III 2014
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare STG44 update on 21 July 2015 2014
World of Guns: Gun Disassembly Stg.44/MP44 Krummlauf barrel attachment 2014
Call of Duty: Black Ops III STG44 Added with Zombies Chronicles DLC (2017) 2015
Alekhine's Gun 2016
Heroes & Generals with and without ZF-4 scope 2016
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades 2016
Day of Infamy STG 44 w/ rifle sling 2017
RAID: World War II StG 44 2017
Call of Duty: WWII STG44 2017
Post Scriptum 2018
Battlefield V StG 44 2018

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)

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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

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

See also