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{{About|the [[World War II]] era Gewehr 41 rifle|the Heckler and Koch G41|Heckler & Koch G41}}
{{About|the [[World War II]] era Gewehr 41 rifle|the Heckler and Koch G41|Heckler & Koch G41}}

{{Multiple issues|
{{more footnotes|date=December 2012}}
{{more citations needed|date=October 2013}}
}}
{{Infobox weapon
{{Infobox weapon
|name= Gewehr 41
|name= Gewehr 41
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|manufacturer=
|manufacturer=
|production_date=
|production_date=
|number=up to 145,000
|number=up to 120,000{{sfn|McNab|2013|page=17}}
|variants=
|variants=
|weight= {{convert|4.9|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
|weight= {{convert|4.9|kg|lb|abbr=on}}
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|action=[[Gas-operated]], gas trap/ [[bolt action]] (G41(M))
|action=[[Gas-operated]], gas trap/ [[bolt action]] (G41(M))
|rate=20 to 30 rounds per minute
|rate=20 to 30 rounds per minute
|velocity={{convert|776|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on|sigfig=4}}<ref name="Bishop2002">{{cite book|author=Chris Bishop|title=The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II|url=https://archive.org/details/tractors-29177010-Encyclopedia-of-Weapons-of-World-War-II/page/n213/mode/2up|year=2002|publisher=Sterling Publishing Company|isbn=978-1-58663-762-0|page=217}}</ref>
|velocity={{convert|776|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on|sigfig=4}}{{sfn|Bishop|2002|page=217}}
|range={{convert|400|m|yd|abbr=on}}
|range={{convert|400|m|yd|abbr=on}}
|feed=10-round non-detachable magazine
|feed=10-round non-detachable magazine
Line 52: Line 49:
* and in case the auto-loading mechanism failed, a bolt action was to be included.
* and in case the auto-loading mechanism failed, a bolt action was to be included.


== Description ==
⚫
Both designs used a mechanism known as the [[M1922 Bang rifle|"Bang" system]] (after its Danish designer Søren H. Bang). In this system, propellant gases were captured by a cone-shaped gas trap at the muzzle, which in turn deflected them to operate a small piston which in turn pushed on a long piston rod that opened the breech and re-loaded the gun. This is as opposed to the more common type of [[Gas-operated reloading|gas-actuated]] system, in which gases are tapped off from the barrel, and pushed back on a piston to open the breech to the rear. Both also included fixed 10-round magazines that were loaded using two of the [[stripper clip]]s from the [[Karabiner 98k]], utilizing the same German-standard [[7.92×57mm Mauser]] rounds. This in turn made reloading relatively slow (as compared to rifles that had magazines that could be reloaded from a single unit, such as the [[M1 Garand]], although it was typical for its time, being identical to the reloading procedure of the 10-round [[Lee–Enfield SMLE|Lee–Enfield]]). {{Dubious|Dubious claim|date=April 2023}}


⚫
Both designs used a mechanism known as the [[M1922 Bang rifle|"Bang" system]] (after its Danish designer Søren H. Bang). In this system, propellant gases were captured by a cone-shaped gas trap at the muzzle, which in turn deflected them to operate a small piston which in turn pushed on a long piston rod that opened the breech and re-loaded the gun. This is as opposed to the more common type of [[Gas-operated reloading|gas-actuated]] system, in which gases are tapped off from the barrel, and pushed back on a piston to open the breech to the rear.{{sfn|McNab|2013|page=17}} They also used the [[7.92×57mm Mauser]] round, having a range comparable to the standard-issue [[Karabiner 98k]] rifle. In comparsion to the Kar98k, the Gewehr 41 rifles were longer and heavier, and the only advantages they offered were limited to a higher rate of fire and extra five rounds in the magazine.{{sfn|McNab|2013|page=17}}
⚫
The Mauser design, the G41(M), was the only one of the two that respected the criteria imposed. The end result was an overly complex, unreliable, clunky, and heavy rifle. It incorporated a familiar sighting and control arrangement to the standard [[Kar98k]] rifle. The G41(M) was striker-fired, rotating-bolt locking, and featured a traditional bolt handle/charging handle that automatically disconnected the bolt assembly from the recoil spring should the rifle be used in manual mode. The flag-type safety cams and blocks the striker. Only 6,673 were produced before production was halted, and of these, 1,673 were returned as unusable. Accuracy issues were noted since the front sight was mounted on the gas tube in front of the barrel, which would begin to drift out of alignment after prolonged fire. Most metal parts on this rifle were machined steel and some rifles, especially later examples, utilized the [[Bakelite]] type plastic hand guards.


⚫
The Mauser design, the G41(M), was the only one of the two that respected the criteria imposed.{{sfn|McNab|2013|page=19}} It proved to be unreliable during trials and impractical for field use.{{sfn|McNab|2013|pages=17−19}}{{sfn|Smith|1948|page=187}} The G41(M) was striker-fired, rotating-bolt locking, and featured a traditional bolt handle/charging handle that automatically disconnected the bolt assembly from the recoil spring should the rifle be used in manual mode. The bolt system was in many ways analagous to the [[straight-pull]] [[Mannlicher M1895]] rifle.{{sfn|Smith|1948|page=187}} Only 6,673 were produced before production was halted, and of these, nearly 1,700 were returned as unusable.{{sfn|McNab|2013|page=19}}
The Walther design was more successful because the designers had simply ignored the last two restrictions listed above. Lacking the turn-bolt disconnector, the upper receiver was less exposed than the Mauser version. However, both the Walther and Mauser versions suffered from gas system fouling problems, since gasses at the muzzle cool down and deposit solid carbon fouling. These problems also seemed to stem from the muzzle trap system becoming excessively corroded from the use of corrosive salts in the ammunition primers. The muzzle assembly consisted of many tight-fitting parts and was difficult to keep clean, disassemble, and maintain in field conditions.


The Walther design was more successful because the designers had simply ignored some of the restrictions placed by the German High Command (namely no moving parts on the surface of the gun, and a manual bolt-action backup mechanism).{{sfn|McNab|2013|page=18}} However it was still a heavy, complex, and unreliable weapon.{{sfn|McNab|2013|page=19}} While the breech locking and firing systems on the G41(W) proved to be cheap and satisfactory enough for field use, the complex gas trap system proved to be difficult to be kept meticulously clean in the field resulting in malfunctions,<ref>{{cite web |last1=James |first1=Garry |title=This Old Gun: German Gewehr 41(W) |url=https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/this-old-gun-german-gewehr-41-w/ |website=American Rifleman |publisher=National Rifle Association |access-date=26 September 2024 |language=en |date=28 December 2018}}</ref>{{sfn|Pegler|2019|page=19}} often suffering from carbon fouling or corrosion.{{sfn|Smith|1948|pages=188−189}}
G41(W) rifles were produced at two factories, namely Walther at Zella Mehlis, and [[Berlin-Lübecker Maschinenfabrik]]. Walther guns bear the ''ac'' [[German ordnance codes|code]], and WaA359 inspection proofs, while BLM guns bear the ''duv'' code with WaA214 inspection proofs. These rifles are also relatively scarce, and quite valuable in collector grade. Varying sources put production figures between 40,000 and 145,000 units. Again, these rifles saw a high attrition rate on the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern front]].


The G41(W) was throughly tested at the [[Aberdeen Proving Ground]], where its reliability proved to be inferior to the M1 Garand under severe conditions, specially when exposed to mud and rain. Mechanical breakdowns during testing were also frequent.{{sfn|Army Medical Service|1962|page=41}}
⚫
The Walther rifle was redesigned in 1943 into the [[Gewehr 43]], utilizing a short-stroke piston copied from the [[SVT-40]] rifle, and implementing a conventional detachable box magazine.

==History==

The G41(W) was produced in small numbers (up to 7,500 in total) before it was officially adopted by the German Army as the Gewehr 41. According to McNab, around 120,000 Gewehr 41s were made in total.{{sfn|McNab|2013|page=17}}

While the Gewehr 41 was heavy and too complex to operate reliably under the conditions of the [[Eastern Front (World War II)|Eastern Front]], it was the only semi-auto the Germans had in production until the introduction of the improved [[Gewehr 43]].{{sfn|Bishop|2002|page=216}}

⚫
The Gewehr 41 was redesigned in 1943 into the Gewehr 43, utilizing a short-stroke piston copied from the [[SVT-40]] rifle, and implementing a conventional detachable box magazine,{{sfn|McNab|2013|page=19}} while keeping the Gewehr 41 locking system.{{sfn|Smith|1948|page=188}} Despite this, remaining Gewehr 41s remained in service for the rest of the war.{{sfn|McNab|2013|page=19}}


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}
⚫
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20220823213447/http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt07/german-semiautomatic-rifle.html "New German Semi-Automatic Rifle"], Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 27, June 1943.


== Bibliography ==
== Bibliography ==
*{{cite book |last1=Bishop |first1=Chris |title=The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II |date=2002 |publisher=Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. |isbn=978-1-58663-762-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/tractors-29177010-Encyclopedia-of-Weapons-of-World-War-II/mode/2up |access-date=26 September 2024 |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=McNab |first1=Chris |title=German Automatic Rifles 1941–45: Gew 41, Gew 43, FG 42 and StG 44 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-78096-387-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tn2ICwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=McNab |first1=Chris |title=German Automatic Rifles 1941–45: Gew 41, Gew 43, FG 42 and StG 44 |date=2013 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-78096-387-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Tn2ICwAAQBAJ |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Pegler |first1=Martin |title=Sniping Rifles on the Eastern Front 1939–45 |date=2019 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-4728-2588-9 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UJODDwAAQBAJ |language=en}}

*{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Walter Harold Black |title=Rifles Volume Two of The N. R. A. Book of Small Arms |date=1948 |publisher=[[National Rifle Association of America]] |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004546142&seq=9 |access-date=25 September 2024 |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Walter Harold Black |title=Rifles Volume Two of The N. R. A. Book of Small Arms |date=1948 |publisher=[[National Rifle Association of America]] |url=https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015004546142&seq=9 |access-date=25 September 2024 |language=en}}
*{{cite book |last1=Army Medical Service |first1=United States |editor1-last=Coates Jr|editor1-first=Colonel James Boyd |editor2-last=Beyer |editor2-first=Major James C. |title=Wound Ballistics |date=1962 |publisher=Office of the Surgeon General, Department of the Army |location=Washington, DC |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TtNKGZ_IerMC |access-date=26 September 2024 |language=en}}


== External links ==
== External links ==
Line 76: Line 82:
* [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/m38NQLwpQgo Forgotten Weapons: Walther Gewehr 41 (W)]
* [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/m38NQLwpQgo Forgotten Weapons: Walther Gewehr 41 (W)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20221206115720/http://www.forgottenweapons.com/wp-content/uploads/Gewehr41/G41(M)%20Manual.PDF Gewehr 41 (M), Beschreibung, Handhabungs- und Behandlungsanleitung, vom 26.5.41 and Gewehr 41 (W), Beschreibung, Handhabung und Behandlung, vom 16.2.43]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20221206115720/http://www.forgottenweapons.com/wp-content/uploads/Gewehr41/G41(M)%20Manual.PDF Gewehr 41 (M), Beschreibung, Handhabungs- und Behandlungsanleitung, vom 26.5.41 and Gewehr 41 (W), Beschreibung, Handhabung und Behandlung, vom 16.2.43]
⚫
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20220823213447/http://www.lonesentry.com/articles/ttt07/german-semiautomatic-rifle.html "New German Semi-Automatic Rifle"], Tactical and Technical Trends, No. 27, June 1943.




Revision as of 02:26, 26 September 2024

This article is about the World War II era Gewehr 41 rifle. For the Heckler and Koch G41, see Heckler & Koch G41.
Gewehr 41
Gewehr 41-W (Walther version)
TypeBattle rifle
Place of originGermany
Service history
In service1941–1945
Used byNazi Germany
WarsWorld War II
Production history
Designed1941
No. builtup to 120,000[1]
Specifications
Mass4.9 kg (11 lb)
Length1,140 mm (45 in)
Barrel length546 mm (21.5 in)
Cartridge7.92×57mm Mauser
ActionGas-operated, gas trap/ bolt action (G41(M))
Rate of fire20 to 30 rounds per minute
Muzzle velocity776 m/s (2,546 ft/s)[2]
Effective firing range400 m (440 yd)
Feed system10-round non-detachable magazine
Gewehr 41-M (Mauser version) semi-automatic rifle

The Gewehr 41 Template:Lang-en, commonly known as the G41(W) or G41(M), denoting the manufacturer (Walther or Mauser), are two distinct and different battle rifles manufactured and used by Nazi Germany during World War II. They were largely superseded by the Gewehr 43, which was derived from the G41(W), but with an improved gas system and other detail changes.

Background

While the Germans experimented with semi-automatic rifles as early as 1901, they didn't consider introducing such a weapon until the Soviets began issuing the SVT-40 rifle in large numbers for their troops.[3]

German semi-automatic recoil-operated prototypes proved to be too heavy and not meeting military requirements during trials, while their experience with the Mondragón rifle during World War 1, and studies on captured RSC M1917 rifles, both of which had several flaws, left the German High Command skeptical of gas-operated rifles in general, relying instead on tried and tested Mauser bolt-action rifles and recoil-operated light machine guns.[4]

Samples of AVS-36 rifles captured during the Spanish Civil War were studied in Germany, but the Germans apparently still considered gas systems as too unreliable for military service.[5]

During the early years of WWII, the Germans were becoming increasingly aware of other nations adopting semi-automatic rifles in large numbers: besides the AVS-36, the Soviets introduced the SVT-38 (and later the improved SVT-40), while the Americans adopted the M1 Garand to increase their infantry's firepower.[6] According to Smith, the Germans were so familiar with the Garand upon its introduction that popular firearms publications in Germany included photos and descriptions of the M1. The Gewehr 41 would later incorporate a gas trap system similar to the early Garand.[3]

In 1940, the Army high command launched a competitive program for a new semi-auto rifle, with Mauser and Walther as the main competitors, and the following restrictions placed upon the design:[7]

  • no holes were to be bored into the barrel for tapping gas for the loading mechanism;
  • the rifles were not to have any moving parts on the surface;
  • and in case the auto-loading mechanism failed, a bolt action was to be included.

Description

Both designs used a mechanism known as the "Bang" system (after its Danish designer Søren H. Bang). In this system, propellant gases were captured by a cone-shaped gas trap at the muzzle, which in turn deflected them to operate a small piston which in turn pushed on a long piston rod that opened the breech and re-loaded the gun. This is as opposed to the more common type of gas-actuated system, in which gases are tapped off from the barrel, and pushed back on a piston to open the breech to the rear.[1] They also used the 7.92×57mm Mauser round, having a range comparable to the standard-issue Karabiner 98k rifle. In comparsion to the Kar98k, the Gewehr 41 rifles were longer and heavier, and the only advantages they offered were limited to a higher rate of fire and extra five rounds in the magazine.[1]

The Mauser design, the G41(M), was the only one of the two that respected the criteria imposed.[8] It proved to be unreliable during trials and impractical for field use.[9][10] The G41(M) was striker-fired, rotating-bolt locking, and featured a traditional bolt handle/charging handle that automatically disconnected the bolt assembly from the recoil spring should the rifle be used in manual mode. The bolt system was in many ways analagous to the straight-pull Mannlicher M1895 rifle.[10] Only 6,673 were produced before production was halted, and of these, nearly 1,700 were returned as unusable.[8]

The Walther design was more successful because the designers had simply ignored some of the restrictions placed by the German High Command (namely no moving parts on the surface of the gun, and a manual bolt-action backup mechanism).[11] However it was still a heavy, complex, and unreliable weapon.[8] While the breech locking and firing systems on the G41(W) proved to be cheap and satisfactory enough for field use, the complex gas trap system proved to be difficult to be kept meticulously clean in the field resulting in malfunctions,[12][13] often suffering from carbon fouling or corrosion.[14]

The G41(W) was throughly tested at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, where its reliability proved to be inferior to the M1 Garand under severe conditions, specially when exposed to mud and rain. Mechanical breakdowns during testing were also frequent.[15]

History

The G41(W) was produced in small numbers (up to 7,500 in total) before it was officially adopted by the German Army as the Gewehr 41. According to McNab, around 120,000 Gewehr 41s were made in total.[1]

While the Gewehr 41 was heavy and too complex to operate reliably under the conditions of the Eastern Front, it was the only semi-auto the Germans had in production until the introduction of the improved Gewehr 43.[16]

The Gewehr 41 was redesigned in 1943 into the Gewehr 43, utilizing a short-stroke piston copied from the SVT-40 rifle, and implementing a conventional detachable box magazine,[8] while keeping the Gewehr 41 locking system.[17] Despite this, remaining Gewehr 41s remained in service for the rest of the war.[8]

References

  1. ^ a b c d McNab 2013, p. 17.
  2. ^ Bishop 2002, p. 217.
  3. ^ a b Smith 1948, pp. 184−185.
  4. ^ Smith 1948, pp. 184.
  5. ^ Smith 1948, p. 185.
  6. ^ McNab 2013, p. 16.
  7. ^ McNab 2013, pp. 16−18.
  8. ^ a b c d e McNab 2013, p. 19.
  9. ^ McNab 2013, pp. 17−19.
  10. ^ a b Smith 1948, p. 187.
  11. ^ McNab 2013, p. 18.
  12. ^ James, Garry (28 December 2018). "This Old Gun: German Gewehr 41(W)". American Rifleman. National Rifle Association. Retrieved 26 September 2024.
  13. ^ Pegler 2019, p. 19.
  14. ^ Smith 1948, pp. 188−189.
  15. ^ Army Medical Service 1962, p. 41.
  16. ^ Bishop 2002, p. 216.
  17. ^ Smith 1948, p. 188.

Bibliography


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