In the short history of Nazi rule, despite the global suffering it caused, it is impossible to ignore the fact that they promoted scientific and technological progress, especially in the military field.
In the post-war struggle for hegemony between the United States and the Soviet Union, these advanced technological legacies influenced the direction of subsequent research and development. It can be said that the technological innovation of the Nazis increased the rate of destruction in the conflict.
However, back in World War II, Germany was the leader in machine guns, submachine guns and pistols, but it seemed to be slightly inferior in the design of semi-automatic rifles. In 1940, two well-known companies, Mauser and Walter, joined forces to participate in a competition to customize a high-efficiency semi-automatic rifle for the German army, and this envisioned ** was named Gewehr 41 (Gwehr), carrying the expectations of the times.
In the first battle, the drawings of the two sides were released, and Mauser GEW41(M) lost in actual combat, while Walter's GEW41(W) barely maintained the advantage. However, key issues remain unresolved.
In 1942, the conservative Mauser company withdrew from the competition, and Wald took this opportunity to draw on the design of the Soviet Tokarev SVT-40 to innovate and develop a semi-automatic rifle that was very different from the GEW41, equipped with a 10-round detachable magazine, with an astonishing rate of fire of 50 rounds per minute, the firepower was overwhelming, and even the 98K could not match, which is the protagonist of our in-depth analysis - advanced German infantry **GEW43.
In the German tactical system, the MG34 42 machine gun was the core of the squad's firepower, and the Karl 98K rifle and MP40 submachine gun were the options for auxiliary and self-defense.
The squad is centered on machine guns, and the MG42 machine gun and MP40 submachine gun represent the pinnacle of German technology. However, rifle technology remained at the end of the 19th century, due to the clinging to traditional infantry tactics at the top, which valued the power of tanks and artillery.
Hitler expected every soldier to be able to attack a kilometer target from a distance, so he despised the innovation of the rifle. In 1936, the United States was fully equipped with the M1 Garand semi-automatic rifle, and the Soviet Union followed suit, releasing the SVT-40 and began to equip the Red Army in small quantities.
At this time, the equipment of the German infantry looked somewhat outdated in comparison.
Obviously, the need to increase its combat power drove Germany to realize the importance of semi-automatic rifles, and the pace of other advanced countries could not be ignored. With the unfolding of Operation Barbarossa, the Soviet Red Army has applied the SVT 38 and SVT 40 semi-automatic rifles in real combat, which undoubtedly stimulated the German side.
They were under pressure from the Soviet Union's ready-made technology and stagnant in their own development. As a result, the Wehrmacht set strict requirements: the rifle had to be robust and free of moving parts, with fully automatic and manual modes, able to continue fighting even in the event of a malfunction, and, crucially, to prohibit the use of air holes.
This forced the German Gunners to seek innovation, the Danish designer Søren Bang's muzzle-gathering design"Bang Organ"Emerged. In this system, the bullet air flow drives the action inside the muzzle gas collector, ensuring that the firing process can be automated even without air holes.
The new GEW41 is being put to the test: its gas collector is located at the muzzle, and the body of the gun is up to one metre long, which means that in practice, the muzzle is highly vulnerable to the risk of collision.
Any slight impact can damage the vital gas collector and render the entire gun unusable. To make matters worse, the GEW41 has a unique magazine design that is not removable, and the gunner must operate delicately to fit two rows with five rounds of 7The magazine of the 92x57 mm bullet was stuffed, which was comparable to the complexity of the post-war SKS.
Walter considers itself mediocre, but Mauser's design is even inferior. In desperation, the German side accepted Walter's improved version of the GEW41 in order to respond to urgent needs as soon as possible in wartime.
The rare gem GEW41 was produced in only 6,673 units, and unfortunately, 1,673 of them were recalled due to quality problems, and the production was drawn ahead of schedule.
A year later, Walter introduced the GEW43, which was not a mere imitation, but the first truly practical semi-automatic rifle in Nazi Germany.
It features precision machine-carved parts and unique bakelite handguards, demonstrating the perfect combination of technology and craftsmanship. The secret to the G43's success is that the designers boldly threw away the constraints of the military and made a breakthrough leap.
The conservative attitudes of the ordnance officers were like old ironclads, and Walter was keenly aware that they were only superficial. Therefore, they resolutely abandoned the shackles of tradition, and the road to innovation began.
The GEW41's muzzle design is susceptible to gunfire, and after long-term use, ammunition residues such as corrosive salts and carbon dust make it difficult to maintain the delicate gas collector in the field, making cleaning, installation and maintenance a challenge.
In 1943, Walter learned from the actual situation and dismantled the GEW41, which had been decommissioned from the battlefield, and gave birth to a new masterpiece, the GEW43.
Their progress is not achieved overnight, but the continuous polishing and breakthrough of the automatic principle.
The all-new GEW43, inspired by the essence of the Soviet SVT-40, is a German version of the revolution thanks to its short-stroke air guide design and 10-round magazine.
Compared to the technologically complex GEW41, the GEW43 is a quick solution to the filling problem by being lightweight, durable and easy to mass-produce.
In October 1943, it officially entered the battlefield, followed by the enhanced kar43. Both the G43 and the K43 were distributed to the Wehrmacht mainly in the late stages of the war, so they were scarce in number.
According to statistics, only 402,713 units were produced during the entire war period, of which 53,435 were made by Seiko to become the best sniper rifles. It is particularly worth mentioning that as a sniper choice, the K43 is equipped with the precious ZF4 quadruple scope, but the bayonet pylon is discarded to show its professional positioning.
The G43 is the same as the K43 in weight and size, with slight differences due to the precision of the manufacturing process and the standards of different manufacturers. Although the GEW43 is designed with accessory-compatible rails, it is usually issued as a standard rifle and is not widely equipped with additional equipment.
For the German infantry, the GEW43 symbolized technological sophistication, possessed only by the best fighters, who cared for it. On the other side of the war, however, it was common to see the destruction of G43s captured by the Allies, as soldiers were ordered to do their best to destroy them before they were captured to prevent them from falling into the hands of the enemy.
As a result, the G43 was greatly attrition on the battlefield on the Eastern Front, and almost every one of the remaining units today is a rare treasure that bears witness to that period of history.
To the surprise of the German soldiers, their opponents were outarmed with semi-automatic rifles and did not care about the capture of GEW43. Compared with the M1 Garand, the GEW43 has a slight advantage: first, its illuminated position design makes the aiming line longer and the accuracy is slightly better; Second, its scope has a wider field of view.
Some say that the GEW43 can be equipped with a 10-round detachable magazine or the same magazine as the 98K, and the reload speed is faster than that of the M1 Garand. However, British post-war tests showed that the M1 was probably the fastest loading rifle during World War II.
It is not fair to compare the M1 and the G43, because the M1 has been improved in real combat for a long time, and the G43, as a wartime rush, faced the impact of the STG44 fully automatic rifle, its position was awkward and almost marginalized.
Despite its design potential, the G43, like the M16 in the Vietnam War, needed time to be polished to earn accolades. As a latecomer to the era of semi-automatic rifles, the GEW43 is destined to be surpassed by a new generation of assault rifles and become a cherished memory in the long history of history.
If Germany had paid more attention to semi-automatics in the early days, the G43 might have been able to write the same chapter as the M1 Garand. However, the traditional status of the 98k made it indestructible in the army, and the semi-automatic rifle was always seen as a supporting role.
G43 is like a meteor on the battlefield, shining briefly and then rapidly dimming with the fall of the Empire.