Photos and Text are from the Display at Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung - WTS, in Koblenz Germany
The Scientific Collection of Defence Engineering Specimens (WTS) in Koblenz is a collection focusing on military technology. The WTS is open every day from 09:30 to 16:30. It is closed from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day and on Rosenmontag (Carnival Monday). Entrance: 3.00 EUR (Free for soldiers, members of the Federal Defence Administration who own a Bundeswehr ID card and members of the Friends' Association (VFF) of the WTS. Your own identity card or equivalent official proof of identity must be presented upon entry.
www.bundeswehr.de
Device 06 - Device 06H - Assault Rifle 45 (M)
As early as mid-1943, Mauser developed a new type of weapon to compete with the machine carbine 42 (Mkb 42) from Walther and Haenel. Mauser primarily tried to make production more effective in order to save time, costs and materials. The first prototype was created at the end of 1943 and was called Device 06. It was an automatic weapon that was self-propelled by indirect gas pressure (so-called gas pressure loader). The weapon had a rigid locking mechanism using a roller lock, similar to the lock of the MG 42. Initial tests showed that this type of lock was very susceptible to wear due to the high rebound energy and was therefore not suitable for mass production.
The mathematician working at Mauser, Dr. Maier, had recognized that the unlocking of the gas pressure charger was not only caused by the gas pressure via a separate piston, but was also partly due to the direct gas pressure on the locking head. He initially demonstrated purely theoretically that it would be possible to unlock using direct gas pressure alone, thus eliminating the need for the complicated gas piston mechanism. Building on these theoretical considerations, Mausser engineers, including Stähle and Vorgrimler, developed the so-called semi-rigid locking mechanism, also known as a translated mass locking mechanism.
At the meeting of the Special Commission on Infantry Weapons in August 1944, Mausser presented, in addition to the device 06, which was designed as a gas pressure loader, the device 06H, which had a semi-rigid locking mechanism, for the first time. Due to the resulting from the
Due to the advantages resulting from simplified production, further tests with the device 06 were discontinued, of which 4 prototypes were manufactured and tested.
Tests with the 06H device showed that this weapon could technically keep up with the StG 44 and was much cheaper to manufacture. The WaA therefore commissioned the Mausser company to produce 30 experimental weapons that were intended for troop tests at the infantry school. Mass production was not planned because this would inevitably have been at the expense of the StG 44, which was in series production. When the contract was awarded, the device 06H was renamed Sturmwehr 45 (M). By the time the Allied troops marched into Oberstdorf on April 29, 1945, only a few examples of the StG 45 (M) had been completed. After the war, the captured weapons and individual parts were examined in the USA, Great Britain and France and some were used for their own developments (example: AA 52 machine gun in France).
However, the chapter on semi-rigid locking for assault rifles was not yet closed. The idea lived on primarily in Spain, where some Mausser engineers at the state-owned company Centro de Estudios Tecnicos de Materiales Especiales (CETME) worked on the further development of the StG 45 (M) and ultimately developed the CETME assault rifle, the immediate forerunner of the G-3 assault rifle, which became the standard armament of the Bundeswehr for decades and is still in use worldwide today.
Technical data assault rifle 45 (M)
Manufacturer:
Mauser, Oberndorf
Country of origin:
German Empire
Experimental model:
1944
Caliber:
7.92 x 33 mm (short cartridge)
Function:
Self-loader with direct gas propulsion (recoil clader).
Fixed barrel, semi-rigid locking.
Movably supported roller closure.
Fire type:
Set up for single and continuous fire.
Trains/twist:
4 / right-hand twist
From:
approx. 650 m/s
Cadence:
approx. 600 ppm
Mun. feed:
10 rounds bar magazine
Length:
approx. 900 mm
Weight:
approx. 4.0 kg (with empty magazine)
Visor SW:
Remark:
100 - 800 m
Direct forerunner of the CETME rifle(Spain), from which the Bundeswehr's G 3 assault rifle was developed.
More to follow this evening
The Scientific Collection of Defence Engineering Specimens (WTS) in Koblenz is a collection focusing on military technology. The WTS is open every day from 09:30 to 16:30. It is closed from Christmas Eve to New Year's Day and on Rosenmontag (Carnival Monday). Entrance: 3.00 EUR (Free for soldiers, members of the Federal Defence Administration who own a Bundeswehr ID card and members of the Friends' Association (VFF) of the WTS. Your own identity card or equivalent official proof of identity must be presented upon entry.
Scientific Collection of Defense Engineering Specimens
Covering an exhibition area of 7,200 square meters, the Scientific Collection of Defense Engineering Specimens is one of the largest technical collections in Germany.
www.bundeswehr.de
Device 06 - Device 06H - Assault Rifle 45 (M)
As early as mid-1943, Mauser developed a new type of weapon to compete with the machine carbine 42 (Mkb 42) from Walther and Haenel. Mauser primarily tried to make production more effective in order to save time, costs and materials. The first prototype was created at the end of 1943 and was called Device 06. It was an automatic weapon that was self-propelled by indirect gas pressure (so-called gas pressure loader). The weapon had a rigid locking mechanism using a roller lock, similar to the lock of the MG 42. Initial tests showed that this type of lock was very susceptible to wear due to the high rebound energy and was therefore not suitable for mass production.
The mathematician working at Mauser, Dr. Maier, had recognized that the unlocking of the gas pressure charger was not only caused by the gas pressure via a separate piston, but was also partly due to the direct gas pressure on the locking head. He initially demonstrated purely theoretically that it would be possible to unlock using direct gas pressure alone, thus eliminating the need for the complicated gas piston mechanism. Building on these theoretical considerations, Mausser engineers, including Stähle and Vorgrimler, developed the so-called semi-rigid locking mechanism, also known as a translated mass locking mechanism.
At the meeting of the Special Commission on Infantry Weapons in August 1944, Mausser presented, in addition to the device 06, which was designed as a gas pressure loader, the device 06H, which had a semi-rigid locking mechanism, for the first time. Due to the resulting from the
Due to the advantages resulting from simplified production, further tests with the device 06 were discontinued, of which 4 prototypes were manufactured and tested.
Tests with the 06H device showed that this weapon could technically keep up with the StG 44 and was much cheaper to manufacture. The WaA therefore commissioned the Mausser company to produce 30 experimental weapons that were intended for troop tests at the infantry school. Mass production was not planned because this would inevitably have been at the expense of the StG 44, which was in series production. When the contract was awarded, the device 06H was renamed Sturmwehr 45 (M). By the time the Allied troops marched into Oberstdorf on April 29, 1945, only a few examples of the StG 45 (M) had been completed. After the war, the captured weapons and individual parts were examined in the USA, Great Britain and France and some were used for their own developments (example: AA 52 machine gun in France).
However, the chapter on semi-rigid locking for assault rifles was not yet closed. The idea lived on primarily in Spain, where some Mausser engineers at the state-owned company Centro de Estudios Tecnicos de Materiales Especiales (CETME) worked on the further development of the StG 45 (M) and ultimately developed the CETME assault rifle, the immediate forerunner of the G-3 assault rifle, which became the standard armament of the Bundeswehr for decades and is still in use worldwide today.
Technical data assault rifle 45 (M)
Manufacturer:
Mauser, Oberndorf
Country of origin:
German Empire
Experimental model:
1944
Caliber:
7.92 x 33 mm (short cartridge)
Function:
Self-loader with direct gas propulsion (recoil clader).
Fixed barrel, semi-rigid locking.
Movably supported roller closure.
Fire type:
Set up for single and continuous fire.
Trains/twist:
4 / right-hand twist
From:
approx. 650 m/s
Cadence:
approx. 600 ppm
Mun. feed:
10 rounds bar magazine
Length:
approx. 900 mm
Weight:
approx. 4.0 kg (with empty magazine)
Visor SW:
Remark:
100 - 800 m
Direct forerunner of the CETME rifle(Spain), from which the Bundeswehr's G 3 assault rifle was developed.
More to follow this evening
