Handrich, Hans-Dieter Sturmgewehr 44. Vorgänger, Entwicklung und Fertigung der revolutionärsten Infanteriewaffe

The new edition not only contains information about the MKb 42 (M), which was produced in small numbers by Mauser in Berlin-Borsigwalde in 1941, but also information about the hitherto unproven final production of the StG 44 there and at the Deutsche Kühl- und Kraftmaschinen GmbH in Zschopau at the end of the war. Furthermore, there is more information and illustrations of technical details and modifications and improvements to the StG 44 as well as, for the first time, photos of Gustloff's G 206, the first version of which was officially designated MKb 42 (G). Finally, the text is enlivened by additional photos of members of the propaganda companies of the time from various theatres of war.

The Sturmgewehr 44 fundamentally changed infantry tactics. The weapon significantly increased the firepower of the individual rifleman. The infantry equipped with this weapon thus gained the ability to hold down and effectively engage even numerically superior but poorly armed enemies at the decisive moment of attack or assault. This concept is still valid today and continues to have an effect on the development of Soviet and US weapons such as the "Automat Kalashnikov" or the M-16. This book describes the genesis of the weapon concept and the development of the weapon under difficult circumstances. The assault rifle itself came into being in the middle of the Second World War. However, the weapon concept is much older. Already in the First World War, there were considerations to increase the firepower of the individual infantryman in order to be able to act at the decisive moment. In the Weimar Republic, the small Reichswehr developed this idea further. The requirements for such a new weapon had already been laid down in the 1920s. It remained questionable whether a new weapon should use the previous strong infantry cartridge as a scaled-down machine gun or the weak pistol cartridge as an enlarged machine pistol. It remained an open question until the Second World War. Only the battles against the Red Army of the Soviet Union, an enemy equipped with self-loading weapons, forced a decision. The result was a short cartridge and a completely new weapon concept: the Sturmgewehr 44. Hitler was against such a weapon. The concept had to be pushed behind his back and against his will. For the first time, the weapon consisted almost exclusively of cold-formed sheet metal parts. The armament industry first had to learn this new technique. The production of the new short cartridge was slow to get off the ground. The book "Sturmgewehr 44" deals with these difficulties. For this purpose, the author conducted extensive source studies in domestic and foreign archives. He describes in detail the planning, the immature predecessors and the path via designs by Vollmer, Walther and Haenel, as well as the development of the cartridge and the extensive accessories. These include, for example, the attachments with which one could shoot around the corner.