German assault rifle Sturmgever: description, performance characteristics. Assault rifle Sturmgewehr (Stg.44) About sights

Among the variety of small arms created by designers in the last century, we can especially highlight the samples that had the greatest influence on the further development of arms making. The appearance of some of them can be called a real turning point in the history of the development of small arms. A striking example of this can be the history of the first assault rifle Sturmgewehr (Stg.44), which can be safely called the predecessor and inspiration for the appearance of such legendary weapons as the AK-47 assault rifle and the FN FAL rifle.

The German automatic rifle Sturmgewehr 44 was really good for its time: for the first time, this weapon had space for installing an under-barrel grenade launcher, an optical sight, and other attachments. According to legend, the name for this weapon (Sturmgewehr, which means “assault rifle”) was invented by Hitler himself. However, all of the above is nothing more than “cherries on the cake”, and the most important achievement of the Stg.44 was its ammunition, which caused a real revolution in the arms business.

The Sturmgever was truly a weapon of the elite. The world's first infrared night vision sight, the Zielgerät 1229 Vampir, was even developed for it. It consisted of the sight itself (weighing 2.25 kg) and a battery (13.5 kg), which the soldiers carried in a wooden box over their shoulders. The Vampire was actively used in the last year of the war, although its range did not exceed one hundred meters.

The history of the creation of this weapon began before World War II, in the mid-thirties of the last century.

A little history

After the Nazis came to power in Germany, the rapid rearmament of the German army began. It also affected small arms. The German army leadership wanted to have more advanced small arms than their potential opponents. The Germans considered the creation of an intermediate cartridge, as well as new weapon systems for it, to be one of the promising areas for the development of small arms.

At that time, the world's armies primarily used either pistol or rifle cartridges. The rifle ammunition had excellent accuracy and firing range, but was overly powerful. This led to an increase in the mass of the weapon, to the complication of its design, and to a decrease in the amount of portable ammunition. The flight range of a rifle bullet reached two kilometers, but most of the fire contacts occurred at distances of 400-500 meters (and in urban conditions even less). In addition, the production of such ammunition required more resources.

The rifle cartridge was not suitable for creating a new generation of automatic weapons.

The pistol cartridge was not powerful enough, and its ballistics can hardly be called ideal. It is effective at distances of up to 200 meters, which is clearly not enough for an infantryman’s main weapon. Numerous submachine guns made before and during the war were clear proof of this.

Work on the creation of intermediate ammunition has been carried out since the beginning of the twentieth century, but the Germans managed to create the first production model: in 1940, the Polte arms company introduced the 7.92x33 mm Kurz intermediate cartridge.

Even before the start of the war, Germany developed the concept of rearming the army with a system created for an intermediate cartridge. At that time, the German army had three main types of small arms: a submachine gun, a repeating rifle and a light machine gun. The new automatic weapon, made for an intermediate cartridge, was supposed to completely replace the submachine gun and repeating rifle, as well as partially replace the light machine gun. The German military hoped to significantly increase the firepower of rifle formations with the help of new weapons.

In 1938, the Wehrmacht Armament Directorate entered into an agreement with the arms company C.G. Haenel, owned by Hugo Schmeisser, contracted to create an automatic carbine chambered for a new intermediate cartridge. The new weapon received the abbreviation MKb.

At the beginning of 1940, Schmeisser handed over to his customers the first samples of a new weapon chambered for the 7.92x33 mm Kurz cartridge. In the same year, another well-known German arms company, Walther, received a similar task.

At the very beginning of 1942, both companies presented their modified MKb samples (MKbH and MKbW), they were shown to Hitler. Walther's weapons were considered too complex and capricious. Schmeisser's sample was distinguished by a simpler structure and robust design, and was more convenient to disassemble.

The new weapon was designated MKb.42 and was sent to the Eastern Front for further testing. Front-line tests finally confirmed the superiority of the model created by Haenel, but the military still demanded some changes be made to the design.

By mid-1943, the Schmeisser rifle was put into service and its name was once again changed. Now this weapon was designated by the abbreviation MP-43A (MP-431). More than 14 thousand units of this system were manufactured. This was followed by further minor modifications to the weapon, which eventually received the name MP-43 and remained virtually unchanged until the very end of the war. At the beginning of 1944, the rifle received a new abbreviation - MP-44.

In September 1943, the new rifle was subjected to large-scale military tests; it was armed with the 5th SS Viking Panzer Division on the Eastern Front. The rifle received the most flattering reviews; it significantly increased the firepower of infantry units.

The new weapon was demonstrated to Hitler. Prior to this, he received a large number of excellent reviews about him from the generals and the leadership of the German military-industrial complex. The fact is that Hitler was against the development and adoption of a new class of rifle. On the other hand, it is believed that the final name of this automatic rifle - “assault rifle” or StG.44 - was invented personally by the Fuhrer.

The Sturmgever entered service with the Waffen-SS and selected Wehrmacht units. In total, about 400 thousand units of this weapon were produced before the end of the war (for comparison, about 2 million MP-38/40 were produced during the entire war). These weapons began to appear only at the final stage of the war and did not have a significant impact on its course. The problem was not its quantity (it is quite impressive), but the lack of ammunition for the Stg.44.

The catastrophic situation with ammunition for the new assault rifle is also noted by German generals in their memoirs. However, in general, Stg.44 showed itself to be the best in terms of accuracy, simplicity of design, and manufacturability.

After the end of the war, the Sturmgever was used by the GDR police, the German army, and the armed forces of several other European countries. There is information that in Syria, warehouses containing several thousand units of these weapons were seized by the opposition and now these assault rifles are actively used by both sides of the conflict.

Device

The Stg.44 automation works by removing part of the powder gases from the barrel bore. The gases move the bolt frame and bolt back. The barrel bore is locked by tilting the bolt (as opposed to turning the bolt in a Kalashnikov assault rifle).

Trigger mechanism of hammer type. Stg.44 is capable of conducting both single fire and burst fire. The safety locks the trigger.

Food is supplied from a box-shaped double-row magazine with a capacity of 30 rounds. The sight is sectoral, it allows shooting at a distance of up to 800 meters.

The recoil spring is located inside the wooden stock, making it impossible to create a modification with a folding stock.

Advantages and disadvantages of Stg.44

"Sturmgever" can be called a revolutionary model of small arms. However, like any new weapon, Stg.44 had its “childhood illnesses”. The developers simply did not have enough time to eliminate them. In addition, we should not forget that the Stg.44 was the first weapon of its kind.

Flaws:

• too much weight compared to a conventional rifle;
• fragility of the receiver;
• unsuccessful aiming devices;
• weak spring in stores;
• lack of fore-end.

Advantages:

• excellent shooting accuracy at close and medium distances;
• convenience and compactness;
• excellent rate of fire;
• good ammunition characteristics;
• versatility in combat conditions.

As you can see, the shortcomings of the Stg.44 are not critical, and they could be easily eliminated with only a slight modernization of the weapon. But Germany no longer had time to correct mistakes.

In April 1945, the Americans occupied the town of Suhl in Thuringia, where Hugo Schmeisser's company was based. The gunsmith himself was arrested, but after the Americans were convinced that he was not a Nazi and had not committed crimes, the designer was released. The Americans were absolutely not interested in his weapons. They believed that their M1 carbine was much better than the Stg.44.

They thought completely differently in the Soviet Union. Work on the creation of weapons for the intermediate cartridge began in the USSR back in 1943, immediately after the appearance of the first German captured samples. After the city in Germany where Schmeisser’s plant was located fell into the Soviet zone of occupation, all technical documentation for Stg.44 was removed from the plant.

Further more. In 1946, serious people came to 62-year-old Schmeisser and made him an offer that they couldn’t refuse. He, as well as the employees of his company, together with their families, went to the USSR, and more specifically, to the city of Izhevsk, where at that time intense work was underway on the creation of a new machine gun.

Disputes about the relationship between the Kalashnikov assault rifle and Stg.44 are still going on and their intensity does not subside. Was the AK a copy of the German assault rifle? No, of course, they differ and very seriously. But to the question whether the experience of Stg.44 was taken into account when creating the Soviet machine gun, one can definitely answer in the affirmative. To do this, just look at their appearance and design. It is important to emphasize: when creating any successful scheme, all available results of its predecessors are used. “Sturmgever” was not a secret for Kalashnikov, but it is not a prototype of his assault rifle - but just one of the successful examples that turned out to be useful in creating a design that was fundamentally more advanced and universal.

Technical characteristics of Stg.44:

• weight, kg: 5.2;
• length, mm: 940;
• barrel length, mm: 419;
• muzzle velocity, m/s: 685 (bullet weight 8.1 g);
• caliber, mm: 7.92;
• cartridge: 7.92×33 mm;
• sighting range, m: 600;
• type of ammunition: sector magazine for 30 rounds;
• sight: sector;
• rate of fire, rounds/min: 500-600.

If you have any questions, leave them in the comments below the article. We or our visitors will be happy to answer them

German machine gun created during World War II. About 450 thousand pieces were produced. Among the modern-type machines, it was the first development to be mass-produced.

At the beginning of 1943, the name of the weapon MKb42(H) aufschiebend was changed to Maschinenpistole - MP 43A. By that time, Walter's design had been withdrawn from the competition, and Haenel's design had undergone quite significant changes in the bolt part. In April 1943, the MP 43B was created. In the summer of 1943, the designation was changed again, to MP 43/1 and MP 43/2, respectively. Serial production of the MP 43/1 assault rifles began in June 1943 and continued until December 1943, when priority was given to the production of the improved MP 43. In total, about 14 thousand copies of the MP 43/1 were produced.

By the fall of 1943, the design of the MP 43/1 had been slightly modified so that it could be equipped with a standard rifle grenade launcher designed for the Kar.98k carbine. The MP 43/1 is easily distinguishable by its “straight” barrel and square front sight base. During the modification, a ledge was made in the front part of the barrel and the shape of the front sight base was changed. The version with a “stepped” barrel became known as the MP 43. Subsequently, the design of the weapon remained almost unchanged until the end of World War II.

Thanks to Speer, the modernized machine gun was put into service in the fall of 1943 under the name MP 43 (German: Maschinenpistole 43 - submachine gun '43). This designation served as a kind of disguise, since Hitler did not want to produce a new class of weapons, fearing that millions of outdated cartridges for rifles and light machine guns would end up in military warehouses.

In September, on the Eastern Front, the 5th SS Wiking Panzer Division conducted the first full-scale military tests of the MP 43. The new carbine was found to be an effective replacement for submachine guns and repeating rifles, increasing the firepower of infantry units and reducing the need for light machine guns.

Hitler received many flattering reviews of the new weapon from the command of the SS, HWaA and Speer personally, as a result of which, at the end of September 1943, an order was issued to begin mass production of the MP 43 and put it into service. In December 1943, the Armament Directorate and the Henel company discussed the final design of the MP 43. As a result of the disputes, a number of changes were made to the design of the product, in particular, the gas chamber was strengthened and equipped with a cylindrical cap with a Grover washer at the end, which simplified the disassembly/assembly of the weapon . At the same time, they abandoned the guides for mounting the ZF41 optical sight. By the end of February 1944, only 22,900 MP 43/1 and MP 43 submachine guns were produced.

On April 6, 1944, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief issued an order where the name MP 43 was replaced by MP 44, and in October 1944 the weapon received a fourth and final name - “assault rifle”, sturmgewehr - StG 44. It is believed that Hitler himself invented this word as a sonorous name for the latest model, which could be exploited for propaganda purposes. However, no changes have been made to the design of the machine itself.

Assembly plants primarily used spare parts for the production of assault rifles, which is why weapons produced in 1945 are marked MP 44, although the designation had already been changed to StG 44. A total of 420,000-440,000 MP 43, MP 44 and StG 44 were produced .Besides C.G. Steyr-Daimler-Puch A.G. also took part in the production of Haenel StG 44. (English), Erfurter Maschinenfabrik (ERMA) (English) and Sauer & Sohn. The StG 44 entered service with selected units of the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS, and after the war they were in service with the barracks police of the GDR (1948-1956) and the Airborne Forces of the Yugoslav Army (1945-1950). The production of copies of this machine was launched in Argentina by the company FMAP-DM under the designation CAM 1, in addition, the CITEFA company created several prototypes of the machine based on the StG44. Also in 1950-1965, StG 44, supplied from Czechoslovakia, were in service with the Syrian army. In 2012, at least several thousand machine guns, once removed from the arsenal of regular troops, ended up in the hands of the Syrian opposition, which is actively using them.

Due to problems with mounting grenade launchers and optical sights, the assault rifle could not completely replace the Kar.98k. In addition, the shortage of shortened cartridges was felt throughout the war. Thus, in a report from the high command of the ground forces dated June 16, 1944, it was stated that the MP 44 would become the standard infantry weapon only if the problem with ammunition was resolved. Until the summer of 1944, assault rifles were found on the fronts in very small quantities (mainly in the Waffen-SS); such weapons were used en masse in the final stage of the war. Therefore, these machine guns did not play a significant role in containing the onslaught of the allied armies.

Design

Automation StG 44 is a gas vent type with removal of powder gases through a hole in the barrel wall. The barrel bore is locked by tilting the bolt in a vertical plane. The skew is carried out by the interaction of inclined planes on the bolt and bolt frame. Gas chamber - without the possibility of regulation. The gas chamber plug with the auxiliary rod is unscrewed with a special drift only when cleaning the machine. To throw rifle grenades it was necessary to use special equipment. cartridges with 1.5 g (for fragmentation grenades) or 1.9 g (for armor-piercing cumulative grenades) powder charge. The standard weight of gunpowder in the 7.92x33 Kurz cartridge is 1.57 g. A gas piston with a rod is connected to the bolt stem.

The trigger mechanism is trigger type. The trigger mechanism allows single and automatic fire. The fire selector is located in the trigger box, and its ends extend outward on the left and right sides in the form of a button with a corrugated surface. To conduct automatic fire, the translator must be moved from left to right to the letter “D”, and for single fire - from right to left to the letter “E”. The machine gun is equipped with a safety lock against accidental shots. This flag-type fuse is located below the fire selector and in the position at the letter “F” it blocks the trigger lever. The return spring is located inside the stock, thereby eliminating the possibility of simply creating a variant with a folding stock.

The machine is fed with ammunition from a detachable sector double-row magazine with a capacity of 30 rounds. Typically, 30-round magazines were equipped with 25 rounds due to the weakness of the springs, which did not always ensure a normal supply of cartridges when the magazine was fully loaded. In March 1945, a magazine with a capacity of 25 rounds was included in the list of accessories for the MP 44, but it is unlikely that such magazines were made in large quantities. Also in March 1945, at the infantry school in Döbritz, a stopper was created for a 30-round magazine, limiting its filling to 25 rounds.

The rifle's sector sight allows for targeted fire at a distance of up to 800 m. The sight divisions are marked on the sighting bar. Each division of the sight corresponds to a change in range by 50 m. The slot and front sight are triangular in shape. The rifle could also be equipped with optical and infrared sights. When firing in bursts at a target with a diameter of 11.5 cm at a distance of 100 m, more than half of the hits fit into a circle with a diameter of 5.4 cm. Thanks to the use of less powerful ammunition, the recoil force when fired was half that of the Mauser 98k rifle. One of the main disadvantages of the StG 44 was its relatively large weight - 5.2 kg for an assault rifle with ammunition, which is one kilogram more than the weight of the Mauser 98k with cartridges and bayonet. Also receiving unflattering reviews was the inconvenient sight and the flames that unmasked the shooter, escaping from the barrel when firing.

There were examples of MKb42(H) both with and without a bayonet mount. All MKb42 and most MP 43/1 were equipped with rails designed to mount an optical sight. Beginning with the MP 43/1, bayonet mounts were abandoned. The MP 43/1 differed from the MKb42(H) mainly in the design of the bolt, a shortened gas exhaust channel, a modified front sight, and a pistol grip with a safety on the left side above the firing mode switch selector. The last two differences are also characteristic of the MKb42(H) aufschie?end.

During serial production, the flame arrester was abandoned, but its attachment point was retained in case of installation of a muffler. In 1944, the sight was simplified. Some samples produced in 1945 did not have stiffening ribs on the body above the magazine.

Post-war development

In total, about 420,000 copies of the StG 44 were made before the end of the war. In the post-war period, it was used by the People's Police of the GDR, the army and police of Germany, France, Switzerland, the Scandinavian countries, the armed forces of Czechoslovakia, and the Airborne Forces of Yugoslavia. Contrary to frequent misconception, the StG 44 is not related to the AK, however, it served as the starting point and model for the creation of the latter. The concept of intermediate ammunition was subsequently adopted by many countries.

At the end of the summer of 1945, 50 copies of the StG 44 were manufactured from parts available in the assembly shops and, together with 10,785 sheets of technical documentation, were given to the Red Army for production in the USSR. In October 1945, Hugo Schmeisser was recruited to work on the so-called “technical commission” of the Red Army. The task of the commission was to collect information on the state of development of the latest German weapons in order to apply these developments in the production of Soviet weapons.

TTX

Weight, kg: 5.2
-Length, mm: 940
-Barrel length, mm: 419
-Cartridge: 7.92x33 mm
-Caliber, mm: 7.92
-Principles of operation: removal of powder gases, locking by tilting the bolt
-Rate of fire, rounds/min: 500-600
-Initial bullet speed, m/s: 685 (bullet weight 8.1 g)
-Sighting range, m: 600
-Maximum range, m: effective: 300 (bursts) 600 (single)
-Type of ammunition: sector magazine for 30 rounds
-Sight: sector

STG 44

Caliber: 7.92x33 mm (7.92mm Kurz)
Length: 940 mm
Barrel length: 419 mm
Weight: 5.22 kg
Magazine: 30 rounds

Automation

The Stg.44 assault rifle was a weapon built on the basis of an automatic weapon with a gas engine with a long stroke of a gas piston located above the barrel. The barrel was locked by tilting the bolt downwards, behind the liner in the receiver. The receiver is stamped from a steel sheet, and the stamped trigger block together with the pistol grip is hinged to the receiver and folds forward and down for disassembly. The butt is wooden, attached to the receiver with a transverse pin and removed during disassembly; a return spring is located inside the butt (thereby excluding the possibility of simply creating a variant with a folding butt). The sight is sectorial, the safety and fire mode selector are independent (the safety lever is on the left above the pistol grip and the transverse button for selecting the fire mode is located above it), the bolt handle is located on the left and moves with the bolt frame when firing. The muzzle of the barrel has a thread for attaching a rifle grenade launcher, usually covered with a protective sleeve. The Stg.44 could be equipped with an active Vampire IR sight, as well as a special Krummlauf Vorsatz J curved-barrel device, designed for firing from tanks (and other shelters) at the enemy in the dead zone near the tank.

Impact mechanism

Trigger-type impact mechanism. The trigger mechanism allows for single and automatic fire. The fire selector is located in the trigger box, and its ends extend outward on the left and right sides. To conduct automatic fire, the translator must be moved to the right to the letter “D”, and for single fire - to the left to the letter “E”. The rifle is equipped with a safety lock against accidental shots. This flag-type fuse is located below the fire selector and in the position at the letter “F” it blocks the trigger lever.

The assault rifle is fed with ammunition from a box magazine with a capacity of 30 rounds. The cartridges in the store are arranged in two rows.

The rifle's sector sight allows for targeted fire at a distance of up to 800 m. The sight divisions are marked on the sighting bar. Each division of the sight corresponds to a change in range by 50 m. The slot and front sight are triangular in shape. Optical and infrared sights could also be installed on the rifle.

The belated adoption of the StG-44 rifle did not have a significant impact on the course of hostilities. Of course, this type of automatic weapon had a great influence on the post-war development of this class of weapons, including the AK-47. In total, during the Second World War, more than 415 thousand StG-44, MP43 and Mkb 42 rifles were produced, as well as more than 690 million rounds of ammunition for them.

The development of hand-held automatic weapons chambered for a cartridge intermediate in power between pistol and rifle began in Germany even before the outbreak of World War II, in the mid-thirties. In 1939, the 7.92x33 mm intermediate cartridge (7.92mm Kurz), developed on the initiative of the German company Polte, was chosen as the new base ammunition. In 1942, by order of the German arms department HWaA, two companies began to develop weapons for this cartridge - C.G. Haenel and Karl Walther.

As a result, two samples were created, initially classified as automatic carbines - (MaschinenKarabiner, MKb). The Walter company sample was designated MKb.42(W), the Haenel company sample, developed under the leadership of Hugo Schmeisser, was designated Mkb.42(H). Based on the test results, it was decided to develop the Henel design, which included significant changes, primarily related to the trigger device. Due to Hitler's reluctance to begin production of a new class of weapons, development was carried out under the designation MP 43 (MaschinenPistole = submachine gun). The first samples of MP 43 were successfully tested on the Eastern Front against Soviet troops, and in 1944 more or less mass production of a new type of weapon began under the name MP 44. After the results of successful front-line tests were presented to Hitler and approved by him, the nomenclature of weapons There was betrayal again, and the sample received the final designation StG.44 (SturmGewehr 44, “assault rifle”) AK 47

Caliber:7.62x39
Type of automation: gas vent, locking by tilting the shutter
Length: 870 mm
Barrel length: 415 mm
Weight: 4.86

Automation

AK automatics work by removing powder gases through the upper hole in the wall of the barrel bore. The gas piston with a rod is rigidly connected to the bolt frame. After the bolt frame moves away to the required distance under the influence of gas pressure, the exhaust gases escape into the atmosphere through holes in the gas tube. The barrel bore is locked by turning the bolt, while the two lugs of the bolt fit into the corresponding grooves of the receiver. The shutter is rotated by bevelling the bolt frame. The bolt frame is the leading element of the automation: it sets the direction of movement of the moving parts, absorbs most shock loads, and a return spring is placed in the longitudinal channel of the bolt frame (by analogy with submachine guns, it is sometimes not entirely correctly called “return-combat”). The reloading handle is located on the right and is integral with the bolt frame. When the bolt is unlocked by the bolt frame moving backwards, the cartridge case in the chamber is pre-displaced (“disturbed”). This helps relieve pressure in the chamber and prevents the case from rupturing during subsequent removal, even if the chamber is very dirty. The ejection of the spent cartridge case to the right through the receiver window is ensured by a spring-loaded ejector mounted on the bolt and a rigid receiver reflector. The “hung” position of the moving parts in the receiver with relatively large gaps ensured reliable operation of the system even with heavy contamination.

Impact mechanism

The impact mechanism is a hammer type with a trigger rotating on an axis and a U-shaped mainspring made of double twisted wire. The trigger mechanism allows for continuous and single fire. A single rotary part performs the functions of a fire mode switch (translator) and a double-action safety lever: in the safety position, it locks the trigger, the sear of single and continuous fire and prevents the rear movement of the bolt frame, partially blocking the longitudinal groove between the receiver and its cover. In this case, the bolt can be pulled back to check the chamber, but its travel is not enough to chamber the next cartridge. All parts of the automation and trigger mechanism are compactly assembled in the receiver, thus playing the role of both the bolt box and the body of the trigger mechanism. The first batches of AKs had, in accordance with the specifications, a stamped receiver with a forged barrel insert. However, the available technology did not allow achieving the required rigidity of the box at that time, and in mass production cold stamping was replaced by milling the box from a solid forging, which caused an increase in the weight of the weapon. The rear stop of the return spring guide rod fits into the groove of the receiver and serves as a latch for the stamped receiver cover.

The machine gun has a traditional sector sight with an aiming block located in the middle part of the weapon and a front sight located at the muzzle of the barrel, on a triangular base. The front sight is adjustable in height, covered on the sides with “post wings”, the sight is graduated to 800 m. In subsequent modifications, the sight graduation reached 1000 m.Additional info

After the adoption of the 7.62-mm intermediate cartridge designed by N.M. Elizarov and B.V. Semin into service in 1943, work began on creating a new small arms system chambered for this cartridge. To replace submachine guns, a new individual automatic weapon was developed - a reliable machine gun with a replaceable magazine and a fire mode switch; repeating carbine - a self-loading carbine with a permanent magazine; rifle caliber light machine gun - a lightweight light machine gun with magazine or belt feed. Work on the machine gun was started by A.I. Sudaev, who created a number of original designs in 1944, then other designers joined the development.

In 1946, Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov presented his model of an assault rifle to the competition. The machine was based on an experimental Kalashnikov carbine, which had previously participated in a competition for a self-loading carbine. After significant modifications, the machine successfully passed the tests and showed good results, surpassing the samples of V. A. Degtyarev, S. G. Simonov, N. V. Rukavishnikov, K. A. Baryshev and other designers. After completion of military tests, the assault rifle was adopted by the Soviet Army and received the designation AK (“7.62-mm Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1947”). Participation of German specialists in the creation of the assault rifle It is widely believed that the AK is a modified copy of the German StG-44 assault rifle, based on on the external similarity between them, the work of Hugo Schmeiser in the Izhevsk Design Bureau, the study of StG-44 by Soviet specialists for borrowing (in August 1945, 50 Stg-44 pieces were assembled at the Henel plant and transferred to the USSR for technical evaluation).
However, it is worth noting that the similar outlines of the barrel, front sight and gas tube are due to the use of a similar gas engine, which could not have been borrowed by Kalashnikov from Schmeisser, since it was invented long before.
The design differences are quite large and consist in the barrel locking device (rotary bolt for the AK and skewed bolt for the MP-43), firing mechanism, differences in disassembling the weapon (for a Kalashnikov assault rifle, you need to remove the receiver cover for this, and for the StG- 44 - fold down the trigger box along with the fire control handle on the pin). It is also worth noting that the AK is lighter than the StG-44 (curb weights 4.8 and 5.22 kg, respectively).

According to some sources, Hugo Schmeisser's merit was the development of cold stamping technology, which he worked on until 1952, which played a role in the appearance of the stamped magazine and receiver of the AKM (since 1959). Meanwhile, similar technologies were used before Schmeiser, including in the USSR in the manufacture of PPSh and PPS-43 submachine guns, which had a predominantly stamped design before the advent of the StG-44, that is, by that time the Soviet side already had some experience in production of small arms parts by stamping. However, it should be noted that Hugo Schmeisser did not leave memoirs about the time spent in the USSR, so any other information about the participation of Schmeisser and other German specialists in the development of the Kalashnikov assault rifle is currently unavailable.

It is also worth adding that the design of the AK used elements of an experimental automatic carbine created by Kalashnikov back in 1944, and experimental samples of the new machine gun for field testing were ready before the appearance of German specialists in Izhevsk.

Thus, we can conclude with great confidence that the AK is Mikhail Kalashnikov’s own development.
http://www.berloga.net/view.php?id=69608

Fabrications that Kalashnikov tore off his AK-47 from the Nazi Sturmgewehr StG.44 have been circulating for a long time. In general, these fabrications have already been refuted by many people, but opinions about the direct relationship of these machines continue to emerge with enviable regularity. This topic is intended by me in order to give food for thought on the topic of the similarities and kinship of AK and StG. I won’t say anything new or supernatural here (it’s difficult to dig up anything new on this topic). I’ll just express a number of simple thoughts, and to illustrate them I’ll give a number of pictures collected together from different corners of the Internet.

At the first glance at the Kalash and the Sturmgewehr, their similarities are striking. Especially when you compare them with some other common assault rifle. For example, with M-16:

There are undoubtedly certain similarities. But for example: looking at photographs of the Mauser Kar98 (from DoD) and the Mosin rifle, you will notice at least no less similarities. Or compare again the DoDosky G.43 and SVT:

But it seems that we don’t really hear remarks about how the Mosinka was torn off from a Mauser, and the G.43 from a Tokarev self-loading gun. But in all the smart books written by smart and knowledgeable people (whom I, who don’t know, believe), AK clones are called, for example, the Israeli Galil and the South African Vector, which is completely different from its progenitor:

That is, smart people who write smart books believe that we can talk about the relationship between weapons, judging by its structure, and not by its external similarity. Speaking of external similarities. Are our patients really that similar to each other? For greater clarity, I did this: I traced the photographs along the contour with a line, brought the resulting image to a scale of 1 to 1 (length StG 940 mm, AK-47 870 mm) and superimposed the resulting images on each other:

As they say, find 10 differences... It can be seen that the Kalash is more compact than the Sturmgewehr. The most noticeable difference is in the back of the machines and in the gas outlet assembly. The compact receiver of the AK-47 ends just behind the pistol grip; in the Sturmgewehr it extends far. From which we can immediately conclude that the bolt has a longer stroke and a longer recoil spring. The greater distance between the pistol grip and the magazine suggests a less compact firing mechanism. The gas outlet assembly and forend are made in different designs; the rod protruding forward from the StG gas outlet tube is probably connected to the gas regulator. It's about appearance. Now let's look at the internal structure: the guts of the StG44 and AK-47:

Having examined the design, we see similarities in the design of the following components: the bolt frame is made as a single unit with a gas piston, the gas outlet is carried out into the gas tube (in the StG it is apparently not as easily removed as in the AK), the recoil spring is located behind the bolt frame in line gas piston.

Differences: the first thing that catches your eye is the absence of a rod on the return spring of the Sturmgewehr (probably why it is so long). Secondly, the basis for the spring in the StG is apparently the butt (the part installed in it). Thirdly, access to the trigger mechanism in the StG is probably from the rear (folded pistol grip). And the most important thing, in my opinion, is the shutter. In the StG, the bolt is locked by moving it vertically. The bolt moves quite a lot, about 5 millimeters, in my opinion. It is foolish to assume that in the process of creating his assault rifle, Kalashnikov did not get acquainted with the captured StG.44. I got acquainted. Indirect confirmation that Kalashnikov did not disdain to adopt other people’s experience (which I don’t see anything wrong with - a generally accepted world practice in any field of design activity) is a prototype submachine gun, apparently Kalashnikov’s first experience, after which they paid attention to it as a gunsmith:

The design is clearly ripped off from Thompson. But IMHO, familiarization with the Sturmgewehr gave Kalashnikov a benefit in the sense that he saw how NOT to make a machine gun. The similarity between the Kalash and the StG is determined by the ergonomics of the machine gun (which I wrote about here) and the classic layout. Well, maybe also the material and processing technology. No more. What could (and did) happen as a result of improving the StG.44 can be seen in the example of G.3 and subsequent HK developments, up to G.41:

And finally, some personal impressions. I saw StG live, in the Museum of the Great Patriotic War in Kyiv (which is under the Laurentian statue of the Motherland). The abundance of all sorts of stamped protrusions immediately caught my eye; apparently the machine gun contains more details than the AK. The machine gun is healthy, noticeably larger than the Kalash, especially in terms of the height of the receiver. The main thing is the shutter. Right in the cartridge case ejection window there was a gap between the bolt and the bolt frame - about 5 mm by eye, as I mentioned above. If it were clogged up, open to all winds, the machine gun wouldn’t fire...

Based on the results of military tests of automatic carbines from and carried out at the end of 1942 - beginning of 1943 on the Soviet-German front, it was decided to develop the design of the Haenel company, created under the leadership of Hugo Schmeisser. Significant changes were made to the original design of the MKb.42(H) assault rifle, primarily affecting the trigger device and gas release mechanism. Due to Hitler's reluctance to begin production of a new class of weapons, development was carried out under the designation MP 43 (Machinen Pistole - submachine gun).

The first samples of MP 43 were successfully tested in 1943 on the Eastern Front against Soviet troops, and in 1944 more or less mass production of a new type of weapon began, but under the new name MP 44. After the results of successful front-line tests were presented Hitler and approved by him, the nomenclature of the weapon was changed again, and the model received the final designation StG.44 (Sturm Gewehr-44, assault rifle). The name Sturm Gewehr had a purely propaganda meaning, however, as sometimes happens, it firmly stuck not only to this model, but also to the entire class of hand-held automatic weapons chambered for an intermediate cartridge.

In general, the MP 44 was a fairly successful model, providing effective fire with single shots at a range of up to 600 meters and automatic fire at a range of up to 300 meters. It was the first mass-produced model of a new class of weapons - assault rifles, and had an undoubted influence on all subsequent developments, including, of course, the Kalashnikov assault rifle. However, it is impossible to talk about Kalashnikov directly borrowing from the Schmeiser design - as follows from the above, the AK and MP 44 designs contain too many fundamentally different solutions (receiver layout, trigger device, barrel locking unit, etc.). The disadvantages of the MP 44 include the excessively large mass of the weapon, sights located too high, which is why the shooter had to raise his head too high when shooting prone, and shortened magazines for 15 and 20 rounds were even developed for the MP 44. In addition, the butt mount was not strong enough and could be destroyed when using the weapon in hand-to-hand combat.

In total, about 500,000 copies of the MP 44 / StG.44 were produced, and with the end of the Second World War its production ended, but it was in service with the GDR police until the mid-1950s. The airborne troops and a number of police forces of Yugoslavia used these machine guns until the early 1980s (officially withdrawn from service in 1983, replaced by copies of the locally produced AKM M64A and M70AV2) under the designation “Automat, padobranski, 7.9 mm M44 , nemacki". 7.92x33mm cartridges were produced in Yugoslavia until the 1970s.

The MP 44 was an automatic weapon built on the basis of an automatic weapon with a gas engine with a long stroke of the gas piston. The barrel was locked by tilting the bolt downwards, behind the receiver liner.
The receiver is stamped from a steel sheet, and the stamped housing of the trigger mechanism (trigger mechanism) together with the pistol grip is hinged to the receiver and folds down and forward when disassembling the weapon. The stock is wooden; during disassembly it was removed after removing the spring-loaded transverse pin.

The machine is fed from detachable box-shaped steel magazines with a capacity of 30 rounds. The magazine release is push-button, located on the side surface of the magazine receiver neck (a similar design was later used in the American M16 rifle).
The sight is sectoral, the safety and fire mode switch are independent, the switch is in the form of a transverse button above the pistol grip, the safety is in the form of a lever on the left of the trigger body, above the trigger guard. The bolt handle is located on the left and moves with the bolt frame when firing. The muzzle of the barrel has a thread for attaching a rifle grenade launcher, usually covered with a protective sleeve.

The MP 44 could be equipped with an active IR sight "Vampire" as well as a special Krummlauf Vorsatz J curved-barrel device, which was placed on the barrel of the weapon and was intended for the crew to fire from inside the tanks through hatches at the enemy in the dead zone near the tank. This device was an arc-shaped “extension” of the barrel, which had a number of holes on the outside of the curved barrel designed to discharge powder gases in order to avoid rupture of the barrel due to increased bullet friction. Because of this, the initial speed of the bullet, deflected 30 degrees down from the axis of the weapon, was reduced to approximately 300 m/s, which was quite enough, since this weapon was intended for very close combat - firing at infantry within a radius of 30-40 meters from the tank . To aim the weapon, a special mirror system was used, mounted on a curved barrel attachment. In total, about 10,000 Krummlauf Vorsatz J kits were produced. In addition, Krummlauf Vorsatz P and Krummlauf Vorsatz V kits were developed, but not mass-produced, providing a downward deviation of the bullet trajectory by 90 and 40 degrees, respectively.

The article is devoted to the hottest topic in the arms world about plagiarism of the Soviet assault rifle Mikhail Kalashnikov AK-47 from an assault rifle by Hugo SchmeisserStG-44(MP -43-Latin). For reference on Russian/domestic qualifications, automatic small arms using an intermediate cartridge are called “machine guns”; according to foreign classification, this type of weapon is called an “assault rifle”, so the article will focus on “machine guns”. The reason for the dispute is the poor education of people in this topic (technical and historical vacuum) and the unwillingness to look deeper into the essence of the dispute, plus a great desire to rewrite history based on arguments and distorted facts. Below in the article everything will be laid out on the “shelves” without “foaming around the mouth”, what comes from, when and why.

Proponents of plagiarism insist exclusively on:

• AK-47 visually similar in layout to StG-44, the use of an intermediate cartridge and gas-operated automation, which had no analogues
• Hugo Schmeisser was brought to the USSR to create a future AK-47
• Mikhail Kalashnikov could not create AK-47, since he had no technical education, no experience in creating firearms, and after its creation he did not create a single type of weapon. Simply put, there wouldn’t be enough “brains”

Visual similarity between AK-47 and STG -47

The design of the machines is similar in layout (visually) and there is nothing else in common between them. Technical similarities between AK-47 And STG-44, the same as that of an angle grinder and a hammer drill. If you look into the design of the machine guns, then the technical difference between them is HUGE, namely the HUGE similarity of the machine guns: top-mounted gas-operated automatics and an intermediate cartridge (7.62x41 mm for AK-47, to be more precise, after 1948, 7.62x39 mm and 7.92x33 mm for StG-44).

Technical differences between AK-47 and StG-44

Machine	StG-44	AK-47
Barrel caliber	7.92x33 mm	7.62x41/39 mm
Automation	Gas outlet, use of an upper receiver	Gas outlet, use of a guide rod
Shutter travel	longer, since it is necessary to remove the misalignment of the shutter, and then extract the sleeve	short, the cartridge case is extracted immediately
Locking the barrel	shutter skew	rotation of the cylinder with lugs
Fuse	flag	the fuse is combined with a fire translator in the flag switch
Fire translator	button
	The receiver is made by milling	The receiver is made by stamping
Magazine mount	high shaft for the magazine, push-button magazine fastening	the magazine shaft is located directly in the receiver, the magazine fastening is a latch
Recoil spring	larger, half fits in the bolt	smaller size, placed inside the receiver on the guide rod
Not complete disassembly	removing the butt and breaking the receiver into two parts	Removing the receiver cover
Protection of automation from dirt	folding window - opens after the start of shooting	protected directly by the bolt

From the table we can see that the technical approach to automatic machines is completely different. Complete and incomplete disassembly of machine guns have nothing in common. ShutterStG-44slides inside the upper receiver, atAK-47the bolt slides along grooves in the receiver. The difference is obvious in the recoil springs and the way they are located. Due to the large return springStG-44, which is necessary to return the shutter with a long stroke (remove the misalignment of the shutter and make extraction sleeves), so the machinecannot be produced with or without a folding stock. The triggers for the machines are different.

Let's compare the layout right away AK-46, which turned into AK-47. Here we are immediately struck by the familiar method of not completely disassembling an assault rifle by dividing the receiver into upper and lower parts. Which immediately hints at the similarity of assembly/disassembly with StG-44. But this method of disassembly and assembly has been familiar to Kalashnikov since the beginning of 1942, when he created the Kalashnikov submachine gun model 1942, and six months later he created the Kalashnikov machine gun 1942/43, the drawings of which were ready back in 1942. That is, a year and a half before the creation of MP-43 (future StG-44).

Hugo Schmeisser was not a “pioneer” in the creation of automatic small arms. Gas-operated automatic, barrel locking by skewed bolt, intermediate cartridges like StG-44 was used by John Garand when creating the M1 Garbine rifle in 1923. It should also be noted that the use of gas-operated automatics in small arms began in early 1940, when the USSR began producing small arms with gas-operated automatics in 1927 with the adoption of the DP-27 machine gun, and the first sample of the Degtyarev self-loading rifle was presented in 1917 .

Weapons with automatic gas release, rotary locking of the barrel and automatic firing, like a machine gun AK-47 was created back in 1883 by the Mexican gunsmith Manuel Mondragon when creating the M1883/M1908 automatic rifle. In 1923, this design was used by Isaac Lewis (photo-1, photo-2) when creating a machine gun. In the USSR, this design was used by Bulkin in 1944 when creating the AB-44 assault rifle.
How we see automatic circuits of machines AK-47 And STG-44 existed long before the Second World War. Logically, it turns out that Hugo Schmeiser himself plagiarized.

Hugo Schmeisser helped create the AK-47 with the USSR

This statement is not true, since Hugo Schmeisser was brought to Izhevsk by the USSR at the end of October 1946, he began work in November 1946, that is, two months before the final GAU competition. It turns out that Hugo Schmeisser arrived after Vasily Lyuty (leading GAU specialist on small arms and mortar weapons) gave an opinion on the correction and modernization of the competitive AK-46 to level AK-47. Mikhail Kalashnikov worked in Izhevsk, and Hugo Schmeisser in Kovrov; there are 1000 km between these cities. If there was a need for the knowledge of Hugo Schmeisser to create a machine gun, then he would have worked in Izhevsk. Also, remote work at that time was not possible due to the lack of modern technologies - graphic editors and analogues of the Internet. After returning home to Germany in June 1952, Hugo Schmeiser did not publish information about his involvement in the creation AK-47. Additionally, there is information that Werner Gruner, the creator of the German MG-38 machine gun, who was in the field of electric welding and stamping, helped produce the AK-47 using the stamping method. Then the question arises “why,” if the AK-47, before the adoption of the AKM in 1959, was manufactured with a milled receiver, and not by stamping, like the STG-44. Plus, the USSR had experience in manufacturing weapons using the stamping method in manufacturing PPSh and PPS.

There wouldn't be enough "brains"

At the time of creation AK-47 Kalashnikov had a technical education, which he received at the Moscow Aviation Institute (he was sent for training in mid-1942, after the introduction of his second submachine gun), which was evacuated to Samarkand (Kazakh SSR) at the end of 1941. In mid-1942, he had experience in creating two submachine guns with different automation systems. Before the war, Kalashnikov was a tank driver and created a device for more efficient shooting from TT through the viewing slots of tanks. The first experimental submachine gun had gas-operated automatics - samples and drawings have not been preserved. The second surviving experimental Klyushnikov submachine gun of the 1942 model with a semi-blowback was distinguished by a screw coupling to slow down the bolt; this semi-blowback was first used in the design of a weapon by Kalashnikov. In mid-1943, Kalashnikov presented a prototype of a machine gun, which began to be designed simultaneously with a submachine gun, but due to the busyness of work on the experimental Kalashnikov submachine gun of 1942. In October 1944, Kalashnikov presented the GAU with the Kalashnikov SKK-44 self-loading carbine, but preference was given to the Simonov SKS carbine, which was a famous weapons designer. So, experience and technical education at the time of creation AK-47 Kalashnikov had it. In 1943 he was transferred to the staff of the design bureau with a salary.

The second important point is that when creating AK-47 Kalashnikov worked in the team of Alexander Alekseevich Zaitsev and Vasily Ivanovich Solovyov. Also, when creating the machine, the designers had to communicate a lot with technologists, metallurgy specialists, and lathes.

The third important point is the big technical difference between the AK-46 and AK-47, which was announced for testing for the GAU in 1946, that according to the terms of the competition it was impossible to make serious technical modifications. Appearance of the usual design for testing in December 1946 AK-47 associated with Vasily Lyuty. Vasily Lyuty was at that time one of the main members of the GAU commission, who recommended that Kalashnikov make technical changes and technical solutions from other assault rifles that took part in the competition. The main technical solutions were borrowed from the Bulkin AB-46/TKB-415 assault rifle, which was in the lead throughout the competition. As we can see, Kalashnikov borrowed a bolt group with rotary locking of the barrel and receiver from the Bulkin assault rifle. Initially, the AK-46 had a different gas piston that did not have a rigid fastening with a bolt and a different receiver design. Lyuty’s task was to adopt modern weapons, which he did with the help of Kalashnikov.

Initially AK-47 could be called AKZ-47-according to the abbreviations of the main designers of the assault rifle—Avtomat Kalashnikov-Zaitsev model 1947. But one of the highest military officials considered that a modern and formidable weapon had been created, and the inclusion of Zaitsev’s surname was not appropriate, after which Zaitsev and Solovyov found themselves in the “shadow” of Kalashnikov:
“A machine gun is a formidable modern weapon. How can Zaitsev appear in its name? What does a bunny mean? It’s not serious. Here’s a Kalash - yes!”

Mikhail Kalashnikov did not know how to draw, yes, this is true, which is confirmed in his memoirs by Alexander Zaitsev, who was engaged in drawing work. But to be fair, many gunsmiths of that time did not know how to draw and did not have a technical education. Hugo Schmeisser also did not know how to draw and did not have a technical education. You can remember John Browning, who, without a technical education, became the most famous gunsmith in the World and created more than 50 types of small arms. Already at the age of 4, before he could read and write, he already knew the names of all parts of small arms. Among the domestic gunsmiths without technical education, we must highlight Mikhail Margolin, who, without education and being completely BLIND, from the age of 18 was able to create a small-caliber machine gun, a rifle, and a sports pistol MTs-1/MTsM. And creating more advanced weapons based on created weapon samples should not come as a surprise; none of the gunsmiths created anything from scratch or reinvented gunpowder. If you take any weapon, you can easily discern plagiarism in it. Plagiarism in the weapons world must be understood as a complete copying of a weapon, and not its individual components, and how you can create what has been created can only be modernized.
There is a rumor that Mikhail Kalashnikov is just a pseudo-designer who was promoted to gunsmiths and that after AK-47 they did not create anything. But then the question arises, who created the Saiga, AK-74, AKSU, APK, PK, PKM, PP "Bison", PKT, RPK

Conclusion

Machine designs AK-47 And StG-44 do not have common technical solutions, and plagiarism is out of the question. If we were talking about plagiarism, then there would be 100% copying of the machine. Stealing, copying, disassembling and creating an owl at that time was the norm/necessity and all countries of the World were doing this despite the moral standards of copyright. Hugo Schmeisser could not help in creating the AK-47, since he was 1000 km from Mikhail Kalashnikov, and technical shortcomings and recommendations for creating AK-47 Vasily Lyuty were drawn up 1 month before the arrival of Hugo Schmeisser in the USSR, that is, the technical specifications for the creation AK-47 have already been embodied in metal. At the time of its creation, Mikhail Kalashnikov had practical and theoretical experience in creating small arms, and also had a technical education, which he received in Samarkand (Kazakhstan) at the Moscow Aviation Institute, where he was sent by Anatoly Blagonravov, and a year later he was accepted into the design bureau in Kovrov. Mikhail Kalashnikov did not single-handedly create the AK-47; its creation was influenced by the design of the Bulkin AB-46 assault rifle and the supervision of Vasily Lyuty, who gave recommendations for improving the AK-46 and lobbied for Kalashnikov’s design. Do not forget about the help of Alexander Zaitsev and Vasily Solovyov, who found themselves in the “shadow” of Kalashnikov. The domestic design school of small arms had outstanding gunsmiths (Shpagin, Degtyarev, Bulkin, Lyuty, Tokarev, Simonov, Shpagin, Dementyev, Sudaev, ....) rich experience in creating successful models of small arms. Domestic gunsmiths did not need the help of German captured gunsmiths.
Well, a couple of questions for those who believe that the AK-47 is still a plagiarism of the STG-44:

• What prevented the military from sending Hugo Schmeisser to the same design bureau as Kalashnikov to help?
• If it is believed that the AK-46 is a copy of the StG-44, fine, so be it, but the AK-46 was not produced, and the AK-47 has little in common with the design of the AK-46.

P.S. For people who, after facts and arguments, continue to believe in Kalashnikov’s plagiarism, then this is their right...."
It's crap everywhere: the designs are crap, the competition is crap, the designer is crap... But how did the “candy” turn out?