Sturmgewehr 44 Assault Rifle

The following report on the German StG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44) assault rifle was published in Foreign Military Weapons and Equipment, Vol. III, Infantry Weapons, Pamphlet No. 30-7-4, Department of the Army, 1954.

 

7.92-mm Submachine Gun MP-44
(STURMGEWEHR M44) 

The German MP44 was developed in 1942 to provide an intermediate weapon between the rifle and the submachine gun. The standard 7.92-mm rifle cartridge was shortened and bottle-necked to take a 120-grain boattail bullet. With this cartridge the weapon provided better ballistic characteristics than those available with the standard German 9-mm submachine guns. It also had provisions for full automatic fire and thus a greater firepower capability.

Ease of mass production was achieved by the extensive use of steel stampings. The receiver, frame, gas cylinder, and barrel jacket are all made from stampings. The parts of the trigger mechanism are riveted in place; therefore, the trigger assembly cannot be disassembled, although a complete trigger mechanism can be quickly inserted into the weapon.

Despite its cheap construction, it is a very serviceable weapon. The various models of this weapon, including the MP43, MP43/1, and the MP44, were all designated the STURMGEWEHR 44 in 1944. They differ only in minor detail. Ballistically, they are identical.

This weapon can be recognized by: (1) The stamped receiver and barrel jacket; (2) the prominent front sight base; (3) the curved, stamped magazine; (4) the gas cylinder on top of the barrel; and (5) the short, bulky buttstock.

Large numbers of these weapons were captured by the Soviets during World War II, and many probably are still held in reserve stocks.

 

RECOGNITION FEATURES 

 

CHARACTERISTICS 

 

System of operation	Gas-operated, selective fire, air-cooled, magazine-fed
Caliber	7.92-mm (.312 in)
Weight:
With empty magazine	4.5 kg (10 lb aprx)
With loaded magazine	5.2 kg (11.2 lb aprx)
Length over-all	933-mm (36.7 in aprx)
Length of barrel	413-mm (16.2 in aprx)
Feeding device	30-rd curved magazine
Sights:
Front	Hooded blade
Rear	Tangent leaf and peep, 100 to 800 meters graduated in 100 meter increments
Muzzle velocity (aprx)	686 m/s (2,250 fps)
Effective rates of fire:
Automatic	100-120 rpm
Semiautomatic	40-50 rpm
Cyclic rate of fire (aprx)	800 rpm
Effective ranges:
Automatic	Up to 200 m (aprx 220 yd)
Semiautomatic	Up to 400 m (aprx 440 yd)
Ammunition	7.92-mm Pistolen Patronen, semi AP, M.P. 43. This is a shortened version of the 7.92-mm rifle cartridge used in the standard 7.92-mm Mauser rifles