As stated I'll post my article that I wrote back in 04' on the MP44.
Machinenpistole 44- From A Lucky Shooter’s Perspective
What’s a MP44? It’s the first truly developed assault rifle designed by Germany during WWII firing a reduced cartridge known as the 7.92x33 Kurz. Guns saw service primary on the eastern front and are a select fire weapon.
Characteristics
Caliber: 7.92x33 Kurz (short)
Weight: 11.5 lbs
Length: 37”
Cyclic Rate: 500 rpm
Magazine Capacity: 30 rounds
I won’t go into the full history of these rifles, just a brief description of the two MP44 captured here in Iraq and a shooters opinon. The first was found here in Baghdad at one of Saddam’s palaces. Saddam and family have shown to have a love of collecting firearms, unlike his own people. An SF and Coalition Force found the second during a raid on a weapons market out in the western part of the country. There is a known third specimen further north with another SF team.
Rifle #1 is in excellent condition (Saddam’s) and #2 is in very good condition with a slight wobble to the stock. Rifle #1 is all matching (upper receiver, lower receiver, stock, operating rod, and bolt.) #2 is also mostly all matching. Sometime during the war several parts (operating rod, stock extension and butt stock) had been replaced. The operating rod has another serial number over-stamped and the butt extension contains two serial number strikeouts and a third number forged. The weapon appears to have been rebuilt at an arsenal during the war.
The ammunition appears to be East German and manufactured in 1961. The 15rd cardboard boxes are in German and labeled as 7.92-mm-Patr.Kz 43 SmE mit St. Hulse. Bullet weight is 8.1gm (124gr) and listed velocity is 686mps (2,247fps). I don’t remember what the SmE is, but I do know it’s the bullet construction code, Splitzer. The cases are Berdan primed and made of steel (St. Hulse). I obtained the ammo from another source, which claims that it was recovered from Uday’s palace. (I'm curious where his MP44 is located?)
The magazine capacity is 30 rounds and quite long (about 1” longer than a 30rd AK mag and 2.5” longer than a 30rd M16 mag). The magazine is manufactured from steel stampings and marked MP44. There is one RZM (3rd Reich quality acceptance) eagle on the front and marked "gq" over another eagle stamp. One of the original German complaints was that the magazine was too long, especially when shooting from the prone. Last note on the magazine is that its curve is not as severe as the AK and slightly straighter that of an M16 30 rd mag.
Stocks on both weapons are made of plywood. In other words, laminated thin strips glued together. #1 is light in color and #2 is darker. There is a cutout near the middle bottom for a sling (front sling swivel is forward hand guard on right side). There is no butt plate per se, the butt is ribbed wood. There are two metal guards around each toe. The top strap wraps around, and found on top of the stock is a trap door drilled thru for a cleaning kit/oiler. Unfortunately, the kit was missing from both rifles. Stock is attached with wood screws to a stock extension, and the extension attached to both upper and lower receivers with one push- pin (a design feature later incorporated in the Spanish CEMTE and German G3 rifles). Pistol grips are two wood pieces with horizontal grooves attached with one screw. Forward hand guard is a steel stamping with vent holes around the bottom. After firing one magazine the hand guards became quite warm. Sustained firing would certainly yield burns to unprotected hands, arguably not a major concern given the ambient temperatures of the Eastern front!
Lower receiver group includes the pistol grip, trigger assembly, safety and selector. Safety and semi/auto selector are separate entities. Safety is located on left side above the pistol grip with safe in the "up" position. The operator need only push down with thumb to fire. Stroke is longer than I’m accustomed to, but in the right place. The semi/auto selector is located approximately 1/2" above the safety, and is a push- through system. When pushed to the left an “E” is shown for Einzelfeuer (Semi) and pushes to the right side a “D” for Dauerfeuer (Auto) is shown. Lower receiver pivots down for cleaning when stock is removed, allowing access for cleaning of firing system.
The upper receiver has the rear sight on top graduated in hundred meter increments 1-8. There is a spring-loaded dust cover over the ejection port (a feature which likely influenced Eugene Stoner when designing the M-16, though the MP-44 cover springs up rather than down as on the M-16) on the right side. Operating rod handle distends from the left side. Immediately beneath the handle is the round magazine release. The rifle fires from the closed bolt, and the operating rod reciprocates with each round fired. The operating rod racetrack is open to dirt and other materials. There is no dust cover or cut for a bolt hold-open as with previous and current German submachine guns. The weapon's gas system is located atop the barrel and operating rod rides inside, similar to the AK. The front sight post is cast. Weapon #1's front sight is hooded, while weapon #2 is not. The end of the barrel is threaded and has a muzzle nut screwed on, again reminiscent of the AK. Disassembly resembles any HK weapon. If you can disassemble any HK roller lock rifles (MP5, G3, HK91, etc) you can take this apart for they are very similar. Receivers are also very similar in design and shape. Again the HK lineage certainly is apparent. Modern HK weapons clearly benefit from improvements and innovations, which began with the development of the Mk42/MP43/MP44. The weapon was renamed MP44 by Hitler himself –Strumgewehr/Assualt Rifle)
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Originally Posted by Von Dingo
) and had a wonderful time.
