The sound of light flak hitting the planes wings sounded like gravel thrown against a tin barn.
Yellow flames sparked outside the port cabin windows, and the jump light unexpectedly switched from red to green.
Ernest Feldman was out the door in an instant.
The stamped steel German StG44 laid the foundation for many of today’s top firearm designs.
He hit the ground moments after leaving the aircraft and was amazed he was still breathing.
It was going to be a long evening.
At dawn, Sgt.
Most of the StG44 could be produced cheaply on industrial stamping machines by semi-skilled workers.
Feldman struck out thusly to sow some chaos with that German Buck Rogers gun.
He found himself a proper M1 Garand rifle and discarded the weird German weapon in a handy brush pile.
The captured StG44 had been great company.
The StG44 was a fairly common feature among German military formations late in the war. Image: Bundesarchiv
However, the distinctive noise it made also earned him undue attention from his fellow paratroopers.
History and Development
I embellished a bit, but the aforementioned tale is true.
About 13,000 Allied paratroopers jumped into Normandy in the early morning hours ofD-Day.
Only a few components of the rifle, like the bolt and carrier, required complex machining operations.
This massive combat operation was the first acquaintance many Americans had with a radical new German rifle.
The StG44 changed absolutely everything.
Every modern assault rifle on the planet can trace its lineage back to this single common ancestor.
The StG44 was a radically advanced design for its era. Image: Bundesarchiv
The MP43 begat the MP44, and that became the StG44.
But arguably the most extraordinary example of German military technical prowess was the StG44 Assault Rifle.
Troop trials on the Eastern Front involved 7,800 copies of each rifle.
Pushing the StG44’s selector button right yields full-auto fire. Leftwas semi-auto.
The Walther gun was binned, and the Haenel variant was selected for further refinement.
Hugo Schmeisser developed the basic chassis into the MP43, MP43/I, MP44, and StG44.
The MP43 and MP43/I differed only in the manner of attachment of their grenade launchers.
The StG44 offered German troops a lot of firepower in a very portable package. Image: Bundesarchiv
The biggest difference separating the first MP43 from the last StG44 was the name.
StG was short for the German termSturmgewehr, or Storm Gun.
That title subsequently morphed into the now-ubiquitous Assault Rifle.
The rifle’s left-sided, non-reciprocating charging handle is easy to run both fast and well.
Hitler himself supposedly bestowed the moniker.
He felt combat rifles should fire long, heavy, full-sized rifle cartridges.
Now, hold that thought.
The curious ditzel located above the barrel of the StG44 is provided to facilitating stacking arms.
The resulting short cartridge weighed one third less and offered substantially milder recoil.
The Germans ultimately titled the new cartridge thePistolenpatrone M43(Pistol Cartridge Model 1943).
Youll recall Hitler was fairly intransigent about building infantry rifles firing anything but 7.92x57mm rounds.
From left to right are the American .30-06, German 7.92x57mm, Russian 7.62x39mm, German 7.92x33mm Kurz, American .30 Carbine, American .45 ACP, Russian 7.62x25mm and the ubiquitous 9mm.
The Fallshirmjagers FG42 chambered for that round was an excellent example.
The German Waffenamt therefore duplicitously decreed the new intermediate round to be fodder for machine pistols.
Thats the reason those earliest versions were called the MP43 and MP44.
The biggest difference between the earliest MP43 and the latest StG44 rifles was the receiver markings.
Hitler eventually saw these new weapons in action and was over the moon.
The gun was slapped with the new Sturmgewehr moniker and unleashed on the planet.
Warfare would never be the same.
The spring-loaded ejection port cover of the StG44 snaps upwards when the bolt is manipulated.
The concept of the intermediate cartridge eventually became the international standard.
Todays 7.62x39mm, 5.45x39mm, 5.56mm and .300 Blackout all spawned from that original 7.92x33mm Kurz rounds concept.
The left-sided thumb lever is the safety.
The ramp adjustable rear sight of the StG44 is calibrated out to 800 meters.
A crossbolt pushbutton serves as the fire selector.
Push left for semi-auto and right for rock and roll.
The magazine release is on the left side and easily accessed by the left thumb.
StG44 shown fitted with the compact 4X ZF-4 telescopic sight. Image: Bundesarchiv
The non-reciprocating charging handle is left-sided and easily manipulated.
Running the StG44 is a rare treat.
The guns modest recoil makes double taps positively recreational.
The sedate 500 rpm rate of fire lets you write your name with the thing on full-auto.
The last I read these old vintage guns were selling for about $50 apiece there.
Pretty good deal, right?
