MP44 scopes Two different scopes and mounts were tested for the MP44
series of guns but none of these were actually produced because these guns
had a shot dispersion which was so great that they couldn't replace the
G43 as a sniper rifle: MKb42, MP43/1: Had integral
scope mounting rails at each side of the rear sight. A scope mount like
the mount on a G41 was intended for use but was never produced. A
prototype MKb42 is seen with a ZF41 - see below. See also a MP43/1 with integral scope mount
(with a notch - the later models didn't have this notch)
MP43/1, MP43: A few had a scope rail spot-welded to the right side
of the main housing. The steel base was almost identical to the integral
G43 / K43 scope rail. The scope mount had an appearance very much like the
very first G43 slanted-strut telescope mounts. A special ZF4 was used
for the "kurz Patrone" (because of different trajectory).
The scope rail was later used with the "Vampir" infra
red setup. See two pictures below of a MP43 produced in
1944:
A ZF4 marked for use with kurz round. I am not sure about the origin of the mount.
MP43/1
Note the scope rail below the rear sight. The scope rail has no notch. Some MP43/1 (the first)
have scope rails with notch and the last didn't have scope rails at all. The MP43/1 has a special long muzzle nut.
MP44 magazine loader
The upper magazine loader is original. The lower is a
repro. Note it's bent incorrectly so it's impossible to press the ammo
down into the magazine.
The original loader to the left
Take down
tool The lower is original. It's difficult to tell
the difference.
Spare parts bag
Made of rubberized
fabric - original. Contains: firing pin, extractor, extractor pin and
extractor spring.
Another bag
presumed to be original
A MP43 made in 1945
Note here: no muzzle nut and no blueing at all. The
first Sturmgewehrs were completely blued. Later some parts weren't blued -
that depended on what the subcontractors delivered. The last weren't blued
at all. Instead a cellulose spray was used. In the beginning it was grey -
later transparent as on wood. This here has hardly any spray.
It's strange
it was designated MP43 because these guns were officially renamed from
MP43 to MP44, Apr. 25, 1944 and from MP44 to Stg44,
Oct. 22. 1944.
One of the last MP44 made
Three finishes: 1. Blueing, 2. Phosphorus, 3. Bare - nothing on the steel.
This weapon was taken from a German factory in the area of Aachen in 1945, from a crate with many others, it was never issued. Like new!!
A unique MP45
I have only heard of two MP45's - a misprint just as the
MP45 marked magazine you can see further down
Different stocks A MP43/1
to the left. A late MP44 to the right. The hole for the recoil spring is 1
cm deeper in the MP43/1 stock + the spring is longer and has 3 coils
more.
From left to right:
MP43/1, unknown model and late MP44. The "Einheitskolben" - on the right side -
was made as standard after the summer of 1944. The "Einheitskolben" maybe
fitted to the same hardware in vehicles as the normal Karabiner98. See at the right side a photo af late
war stocks - some without ribs; all these are laminated.
Stocks without spare parts compartment A few "Einheitskolben" are seen without the trapdoor. These
stocks have a number in the bottom (some say that such a S/N were added postwar in DDR) and the letters "JC" or "ac" - or more probable reversed "ce" on the left side in front
of the sling slot.
The right photo shows the normal stock with the small booklet and tool.
Improved
bolt The improved bolt - left - has a large diagonal
relief beneath the exactror (removed here) to accumulate residue.
A
StG44 magazine with an U-construction It's marked: STG44, qlw and
WaA892. The type is seen with Czech post war markings: E46 - in some
cases E46 overstamped the German marking but this here has only the
Wehrmacht codes. Note here the
U-construction instead of the normal pattern with two half
stampings.
Another special
magazine It's
marked MP45 to one side and gqm WaAA98 to the other. I guess such a
magazine is produced at the beginning of 1945. They have perhaps thought:
We have had MP43 magazines, last year we produced MP44 magazines; now we
are in 1945 - so this must be a MP45 magazine ? MP45 magazines are only
known with the code gqm.
A 10 round
magazine One would be inclined to think that a 10 round MP44
magazine with only a production code on the floor plate is a post war fake. But somethng
indicates that such a magazine was made in a limited quatity during the war - perhaps for the
Mauser made Stg45M (Gerät 06), which never came in production and always is pictured with a 10 round magazine
- (or the soldiers themself shortened 30 round
magazines to avoid a high shooting position).
I got the first 3 photos from a well-known MP44 magazine collector. He bought it in 1990
for 150 $. It was the only one in a batch of several hundred magazines. The only marking is
"CHN" on the floor plate.
The next photo is a "Bodenfunde" (grounddug) from Poland. It looks like it has been in the
earth for several decades.
Then you see two photos of 100 % relic from the battle of Bulge - found in a barn there.
Again next a complete MP44 with a short magazine.
The last photos are taken from a very "creative" eBay description of a 10 round magazine in the summer of 2006. (the magazine was produced
for the Stg45M - of which only 4 were made - Mauser tried to salvage the Stg45M, but they were bombed in a train in Austria the last days of the war etc. - etc.).
Note that the bottom of the magazine
isn't exactly the same as on the magazine on the top.
A MP44 flashider
Most probably made after the war (Etzel sold them in the early nineties for 150 DM). Some have nazi eagles and a WaA63.
A flashider seen on a Hungarian auction
The "kurz"
Patrone
The
"kurz" ammo was a vital part of the success of the
MP44 concept. The 15 rd. box was standard but at first "aux" used 20 rd.
boxes. "ak", "hla" and "wa" used at the beginning 14 rd. boxes.
At the top
a rare box with Mkb42 ammo. Above 3 boxes with stripper clips (in Ladestreifen).
The last production was without stripper clips and in many
cases without labels. On the right side a box with DDR ammo made in 1959. The kurz ammo was in a very short supply during the
war and is difficult to purchase today. German produced ammo
was later reboxed by: Czech Republic - see
below Greece Yugoslavia It was produceed
by: DDR: Factory 04 (VEB Königswartha) from 1958 to
1961. Brass DDR cases are known but are rare.
Czech
Republic -
see below Spain - see more below
Argentina - see below
Box for DDR produced kurz
Czech produced kurz ammo. Peter Senich doesn't
mention this variant but Daniel Kent has a note on it. (A strange thing:
the box itself is made in Dresden in 1944)
German technichians continued after the war their work in Spain with a rifle with delayed blowback. This Cetme
rifle was initially chambered for the kurz patrone. So the Spanish developed in 1951 (or earlier) different kurz cartridge types, for example full metal jacket
and tracer ammo. A few years later the Cetme rifle adopted the 7,62 mm Nato cartridge, so the kurz cartridges were
only made for tests and are consequently rare. The code FNP means "Fábrica Nacional de Palencia".
The Cetme rifle became later the G3 rifle. The FAL rifle flirted in the first versions also with the kurz. But again here was overruled by
a NATO decision.
A wooden box for the
kurz ammo The same type of box was used for 1500 rounds
8x57JS or 4120 rounds 9 mm
This label was placed
inside the lid
Differences between the 4 factories which
made the final assembly:
Haenel - code fxo, WaA37 Haenel developed the whole concept and produced all versions right
from the beginning - Mkb42(H), MP43/1, MP43, MP44 and Stg44. About 185,000 were produced
Haenel serial number letters are German Gothic style - some times 2 letters.
Haenel barrels are marked with fxo and some have a kind of serial number on them
that has nothing to do with the serial number of the gun.
Steyr - codes bnz / swj, WaA623 The whole Steyr production is designated MP44. 80,000 were made. The MP's have a muzzle nut
and no scope mount. The last were crudely made. Steyr produced most of the parts themself.
Steyr serial number letters are capital letters - sometimes small letters. XE means 1945.
Steyr barrels always have a Steyr "bnz" shield.
Note here below a simplified Steyr main housing - below further again two "normal" receivers.
Erma - codes ayf / qlv, WaA280 Erma produced MP43, MP44 and Stg44. 104,000 were made.
Erma serial number letters are regular small letters - at last 2 letters.
Erma barrels will have nothing more than a letter such as "Q" or "S" and also have "ayf" or "qlv".
Sauer - code ce, WaA37 Sauer produced MP43, MP44 and Stg44. 55,000 were made.
Sauer serial number letters are regular small letters - at last 2 letters.
Sauer barrels are always marked "CE".
Mauser - code byf / svw, WaA135 Mauser produced receivers for Haenel, Erma and Sauer but did not assemble the gun. Mauser made receivers ar marked with the code "byf" or "svw".
Mauser receivers are seen with small letters - sometimes capital letters in Gothic style. (Who numbered the receivers - and how was it
ensured that the same number wasn't reused?)
See a picture of a collection (I should wish it was mine)
The Yugoslavian army used the
MP44 One of the more
extensively and systematic uses of the MP44 after the war, was in the
Yugoslavian army, where it's said paratroops used the MP44 as the main
handgun up to 1983. I am told that Tito gave Mr. Gadaffi (Libya) 40,000 MP44´s which
trickled out to other countries. Perhaps not much used the last years. They used German
made ammo - so they didn't produce normal kurz themself, but Yugoslavian made blank cartridges and rifle grenade cartridges are seen.
- made in 1983. Dr. Dieter Kapell mentions this in his book "Die Patrone 8x33".
Somalia Women of the West Somali liberation
front express their support for Somalia during the war against Ethiopia
for the border territory of the Ogaden 1977 - 78. The weapons came
initially from the Eastern bloc.
A ZF4 marked for use with kurz round. I am not sure about the origin of the mount.
