Battlegroup 2: Gewehr gefällig?

These weapons played an important part in World War 2, and here we give some background information for each of them from our infantry weapons chief, MajesticMoose. For more information on BG visit our website at www.battlegroup42.com and our discussion forum at www.battlegroup42forum.com .

Gewehr 43

Caliber: 7.92mm Length: 44in. (1.12m) Weight: 11lb (5kg) Barrel: Four grooves, right hand twist Feed System: 10 round detachable box magazine System of Operation: Gas, locking flaps Muzzle Velocity: 775 MPS

Not until 1937 did the German Army begin to take interest in semi automatic rifles. It is believed the standardization of the US Army's M1 Garand had something to do with their timing. The first self loading rifle to be produced in some quantity was the Gewehr 41. These were sent to the Eastern Front, and lost there. While the rifle did work, it wasn't popular. In the words of one man, the muzzle cone had a "built in fouling generator". Its muzzle cone demanded constant maintenance or burnt powder and foreign deposits rendered the rifle useless. The weapon was poorly balanced, difficult to handle, and extremely heavy for an infantry rifle. The next model, the Gewehr 43 had a similar internal layout to the Soviet SVT and was much lighter, balanced, and included a machined-out dovetail section on the receiver for mounting a scope. A large number of rifles were issued for sniping with the Zundblickfernrohr 4 telescope. The G43 gained a good reputation for accuracy and reliability and was extensively used on the Eastern Front after 1943.

Mosin Nagant 1930g

Caliber: 7.62mm Length: 48.5in (1.23m) Weight: 8lb 12.8oz (4kg) Barrel: Four grooves, right hand twist Feed System: Five round internal magazine, clip loaded System of Operation: turning bolt action Muzzle Velocity: 770 MPS

Designated the Vintovka (rifle) Obrazets (model) 1930g, the weapon is one of a series of rifles based on the Mosin Nagant 1891 that were the standard rifles of the Russian Army until 1945. It was designed by the Belgian Nagant brothers with modifications by Colonel S. I. Mosin of the Imperial Russian Army. The rifle had an action based on a French style bolt inspired by the Lebel and an unusual interrupter. One difficult problem of weapon design is efficient feeding of rimmed cartridges from a magazine. The pressure from the magazine spring tends to jam rims of the cartridges together and leads to stoppages. The Mosin Nagant used a spring loaded latch, controlled by the bolt, to hold down the second round and relieve pressure from the top cartridge. This feature made it easier for the round to be loaded into the chamber and increased its reliability.

Variants: Vintovka obr 1930g with telescopic sight: In 1932 the Mosin Nagant was chosen as the base for a new sniper rifle. Regular rifles were selected for their accuracy and had their bolt handles turned down. They were fitted with 4 x PE type scopes with a field of view of 8° 30'. Azimuth and elevation adjustments were internal and it gave good performance for its day. By 1940, PU scopes were used from Tokarev sniper rifles. The 3.5x PU was shorter and lighter than the PE and mounted in a twin ring slab side mount locked into the left side of the receiver.