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| German Weapons |
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| Calibre: 7.92mm Length: 98cm Weight: 4.9 kg Magazines: 10 or 20 round Maximum range: 1200 meters RPM: 600 Only 7000 of these weapons were made, but they had a great effect on this history of warfare for some time to come. 20 years after its invention the allies began making similar looking assault rifles, as the FG42 was looked upon as the best weapon and helped plans for new and better assault weapons. The best part of the design of this new paratroopers weapon was the fact that it fired both open and closed bolt, using an ingenious placement of the firing pin. For those non technical people reading this, the open bolt was for automatic fire, as it would let bullets leave the barrel at a fast speed. But, by having the closed bolt as an option, the gun became much more accurate when firing one shot at a time. The FG42 was an off balance weapon, as its magazine protruded far out of the left side of the weapon. This was so only because the breech was directly above the trigger, and any other orientation would have been more difficult to implement. The FG42 also had a useful attached bipod and bayonet which improved its versatility. The FG42 had many interesting design characteristics, and in its two main models underwent some important changes. In the first model, the gun would accept 10 or 20 round magazines and had a slanted pistol grip like shown in the picture to the right. The later model only accepted a 20 round magazine and had a straight pistol grip. |
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| Length 114 cm Barrel length 55 cm Weight: 4.6 kg Feed: two 5 round clips In 1941 with the invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany found a useful new weapon. The Russian Svt was a semi-automatic rifle capable of holding ten rounds in a detachable box magazine. Russian snipers and line troops equipped with these rifles played havoc upon the German army, and it became apparent that action must be taken to confront this new gun. The G41 was very heavy, had a fixed ten round box magazine, and the gas system was found to be faulted by excessive corrosion and required much difficult maintenance in the field. Most of the limited number that were manufactured were either captured or destroyed on the eastern front. Lacking in effectiveness, jammed up alot, and at an overly expensive price for mass production, this weapon was due for a serious amount of redesign if it was to ever be produced in any large number. |
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| Length: 112cm Barrel length: 55cm Weight: 4.1kg The Gewehr / Karabiner 43 was designed to replace the G41 series. The design was a improvement, but many flaws were not properly worked out. This rifle had it's fair share of problems. Although originally this weapon was not meant for snipers weapons, it was used by snipers because of its heavy duty long rang scope. The G43 has a terrible shot. Since it was so unacurate many people didn�t like to use it, but did because of its powerful bullets. It could also shoot rifle grenades which was a favorite for some soldiers At least 400,000 of this weapon were produced, of which approximately 50,000 were sniper rifles. |
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| One of several German rifles used in WWII is the Mauser 98 K. It has an internal box magazine that holds five rounds of 8 mm Mauser ammo. Caliber 7.92 mm with a range of 437 yards. This is the most frequent rifle used by the Germans on the television show Combat! |
| German Walther P38 automatic pistal. By the end of WWII over 1 million had been manufactured |
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| Giew-58LR The german lugar was the favored German handgun in WWII. Caliber 7.65 or 9mm. Eight shot magazine. |
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| Caliber: 7.92mm Weight: 11.6kg Length: 1220 mm Barrel length: 535 mm Rate of Fire: 1300 to 1400 RPM Fire: Automatic only The MG42 was meant as a more efficient replacement to the expensive and hard to produce MG34. The new weapon was light, very reliable, and provided devastating firepower. The MG42 was a little lighter, fired faster, had an easy to remove barrel and most importantly, was much more cost effective and easy to produce than the MG34. Most allies solders feared the MP42 because of its power and was very accurate. Because of the extremely high rounds per minute rating of the MG42, its gunners were trained to fire in short one second bursts so as to increase accuracy and lower the amount of rounds used. Most historians agree that the MG42 has one of the best designs for any machinegun ever made. |
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| Caliber: 7.92mm Weight: 3.9kg Length: 1.11m Range: 2700m The 98 series was an extremely popular rifle. It was used in the First World War in its longer form, and was then cut down in size and used in the Second World War in its new. Every soldier fighting for Germany had at least trained with this rifle, and for hundreds of thousands it had been their only weapon throughout the war. This rifle could also fire explosive armor piercing grenades by the attachment of a shot cup at the end of the rifle. The man who carried the ammunition would set this up. |
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| Caliber: 7.92mm Weight: 12.1 kg Length: 1220 mm Barrel length: 625 mm Fire: Single or Automatic In 1932 a program was underway, attempting to produce a new weapon which would be more usable, to fill the needs of fast paced warfare. The MG34 eventually resulted from the testing of many different light machineguns. The basis of the whole project was the idea of a single gun design acting in both light and heavy roles. That is, being able to be used as an assault weapon, or an defensive weapon. The barrel was made to be easily changed, and the designers assumed that after every 250 rounds fired, a barrel change should be required. The changing itself was easily done, the entire barrel simply sliding backwards when receiver was rotated clockwise by the second gunner, using an glove. Burns to the gunners hands were probably common however changing the barrel during combat was a hurried affair. The barrel, once off the weapon, could be cooled by simply being thrown in water or snow. |
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| Production: 908,317 Caliber: 9mmx19mm Maximum range: 300 meters It was very economical in the fact that it was made almost entirely of stamped parts, which were easy to produce and perfect for wartime conditions. It was also very effective for close range fighting, because of its rapid rate of fire. The MP 40 was produced in huge numbers up until the fall of the Reich, as it was an extremely simple and effective weapon. By the end of the war, 908,317 MP38/MP40 were made. |
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| Production of StG43/44: 425,977 Magazine: 35-38 rounds The MK42 was the first assault rifle ever made, of a field which is now a very good, if not the most good part of all modern armies firepower. With all its abilities combined it could replace light machine guns. Its ammunition had a perfect penetration power. It could handle most battle ranges while being easy to hold on target for short bursts. It could fire single shots, or full automatic. The full automatic was especially special as soldiers knew that, whether they were attacking or defending, they could bring a large amount of fire on a target in a short time |
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Production: 1.2 Million Caliber: 9 mm Para Magazine Capacity: 8 The Walther 38 was the result of developments from 1935 to 1937. It was designed to be easy and quick to produce. Although it had many advanced features such as a hand cocked trigger, a pin to indicate remaining rounds, and many other things. The 9mm ammunition the 08 left the barrel at an initial velocity of 355 meters per second. |