06/22/09

  K98

Cartridge:         7.92 X 57mm mouser

Weight:            8 pounds

Action:             Bolt-action

Effective:          500 meters

With scope:      800 meters or more

Loaded on 5 round striper clip

The K98 used by German Armed Forces from 1898 throughout World War II. It was the German’s most common gun issued. It is a mouser bolt action rifle. Since the K98 was bolt action its rate of fire was low compared to the semi-automatic in the Allies arsenal. The K98 was adopted for special duties. For example, it was changed for a sniper, or for a paratrooper. TheK98 was the widely used weapon in German forces for World War II.

  MP40

Weight:            8 pounds

Action:             Blow back, open bolt

Cartridge:         9x19mm

Rate of fire:      500 rounds a min

Magazine:         32 round stick magazine

The MP40 was a modified change to the MP38. The MP40 has a folding stock. It was only used in World War II by German forces. It is very light compared to the Thompson. It was the main submachine gun of the German army. It was rated a well rounded gun. It got its nickname by the GI’s. It was called the Smizer because of the name stamped on the magazine from a different gun supplier in Germany. The stamped name on the magazine did not allow the real inventor to be recognized.

  STG44 (Sturmgewehr 44 or mp43/44) 

Weight             11.5 pounfd

Cartridge          7.92 X 57mm

Caliber             8 mm

Feed System     30 round magazine

It is gas operated.

Made by Germany

The STG44 was fully automatic with the capability of a semi-automatic.  It was used and developed by Germany during WWII. It was on the front lines from the summer of 1944 to 1945. This gun was the first assault rifle made. It is the “Grand Daddy” or (forefather) of the modern assault rifle. It was designed in 1942 and tested in 1943. It’s rate of fire was 500 rounds a minute and it is effective to 300 meters. There were 500,000 STG44s made but only a third ever saw combat on the front lines.

  Gewehr 43

Cartridge 7.92 X 57mm

Weight     9.7 pounds

Caliber 7.92 X 57mm

It was gas operated

Gewehr 43 was a semi-automatic rifle. Made and used by the Germans. Gewehr 43 is a  modified gas system of Gewehr 41. The gun was used for sniping and regular infantry. Mauser created the Gewehr 41 but it was unreliable in combat. Gewehr 43 was made by Walther. This was a way better improved gun and was more reliable in combat. Nearly 500,000 Gewehr 43 were made during the war. The Gewehr 43 was used from 1943 to 1945.

  Luger (Pistol 08)

Cartridge:         9mm Luger

Magazine:         8 round magazine

Weight:           1.92 pounds

Produced:         1900-1942

The Luger P08 was one of the most famous guns to be collected among the Allied soldiers. The Luger has an 8 round magazine.  It was used in both world wars, but in the second it was used more in higher ranks due to the cost to make them. Due to the expensive Luger, the German army came up with another hand gun that was cheaper and easier to produce which was the P38. The Luger was still used to the end of the war

  The German Grenade (Stielhandgranate)

The German grenade is a stick grenade. It is basically a handle with an explosive charge at top of it. This made it easier to throw further and more accurately. To make it more deadly they could slide a metal sleeve over the charge at the top which made more shrapnel. The grenades were used as traps for both Germans and Allies. The nick name for the German grenade was the potato masher.

The German grenade was more of an offensive grenade then the Allied grenade. An offensive grenade has less fragments than a defensive one. Offensive grenades rely on a blast and the defensive grenade relies on fragment spreading. The German grenade was easier to throw further and accurate then the allied pineapple grenade.

  Panzershreck

The Panzershreck is an anti tank rocket launcher. It is a propelled rocket shaped charge and it is a shoulder fired weapon. It is a copy of the US bazooka. The Germans captured some bazookas in North Africa. Then made some changes to it and named it Panzershreck. The Panzershreck has a bigger rocket then the Allied bazooka. The first Panzershrecks were issued to German troops in late 1943. There were about 290,000 Panzershrecks made.

88mm shaped rocket charge

Effective for about 150 M

Used by Germany from 1943 to 1945

  Panzerfaust

Used by Germany 1943-1945

Effective 30M Panzerfaust(30)

149MM Panzerfaust(30)

About 6million or more were made of all kinds.

Type Panzerfaust 30, 60, 100, 150, 250

Panzerfaust is an anti tank shaped charge weapon. It is a tube with a shaped charge. The Panzerfaust can’t be reloaded so when after firing the tube it is thrown away. It was designed and made by Germany.  The Panzerfaust was given to the troops in 1943. It was produced in massive numbers and it was cheap. There were many different kinds of Panzerfaust. The Panzerfaust was the most common anti tank weapon of the German military in World War II. The Panzerfaust was a very successful anti tank weapon in Europe. Later the RPG would be improved by the Russians with a different version.