The Sturmgewehr: A First Encounter, 1943
What was the Soviet reaction to the Sturmgewehr? EnsignExpendable, at his excellent Soviet Gun Archives blog has the answer:
“To the People’s Commissar of Defense, Marshal of the Soviet Union, comrade I.V. Stalin:
Since the Spring of this year, forces of the Kalinin, and then Volkhov and Leningrad Fronts have captured, among other weapons, several specimens of new German automatic 7.92 mm carbines, which are a new type of infantry weapon that has not been previously used by the Germans in large amounts until recently.”
And here is the Soviet intel on the gun itself (note the incorrect magazine capacity):
“Enemy tactics and technologyEngineer-Captain Ya. Krutik1. New German handheld machinegunThe German army has recently adopted a new handheld machinegun, using an intermediate round (an average between a rifle round and a pistol round). The machinegun’s designation is “MK belash 42 (H)”. The automatic mechanism is driven by redirection of gases through an opening in the barrel.
The machinegun can fire automatically or in single shots, for which a switch is present in the trigger guard, next to the pistol grip.
The machinegun is fed with a box magazine, which holds 35-38 rounds.
- Caliber: 7.9 mm
- Length: 935 mm
- Mass: about 5 kg
- Round mass: 16.8 g
- Bullet mass: 8.2 g”
It seems their technical advisers were not ones to get excited; this sort of dry technical analysis of impressive new enemy technology is typical of Russian documents from the period.
Ensigns translations of Russian documents really are priceless to non-Russian-speaking Anglophones. Anyone interested in Soviet technology history should head on over to Soviet Gun Archives, as well as his other blog (dealing in armored fighting vehicles), Archive Awareness.
Nathaniel is a history enthusiast and firearms hobbyist whose primary interest lies in military small arms technological developments beginning with the smokeless powder era. He can be reached via email at nathaniel.f@staff.thefirearmblog.com.
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Well, you should follow the link and you will see that the second quote is not an official in-depth report, or "intel", as the article says, but just an entry from a pocket reference book or almanac of some sort for soldiers and officers. Note the fancy header and a headline - it's basically a news article.
I'm still waiting to shoot my first STG-44 which I hear is pretty smooth even in rat-a-tat mode. Maybe I'll get to Knob Creek at some point and rent one to shoot.
I had an opportunity to purchase an original STG-44 that with a little cleaning and some WD-40 and quadruple ought steel wool would have been considered in very good condition for $7K. No dents, no dings, completely functional. They retail for over $20K, now! Came across it in Texas and unfortunately there were some "paperwork" issues with the rifle that would probably prevent any kind of legal transfer. Also, I won't be moving from the fascist state of Illinois to a Class III friendly state for a couple of more year so I was prevented from purchasing it for my personal collection anyway. I informed the present owner that unless the rifle has been properly grandfathered in under the 1968 Firearm Act, he might want to be very discrete about its existence until he back-checked what little paperwork he had. He possesses it in "good faith" but who knows how the BATFE thugs or other federal law enforcement agents would over-react if it saw the light of day on a range somewhere.
BTW, Natchez Shooters Supply now carries the 7.92x33 ammo.