#stg-44

[nocternalrandomness]

German Sturmgewehr STG-44

[doctor-uchron99]

East German Grenzpolizei armed with 98k rifles and StG-44 assault rifle. During this time they wore a shako hat and police-style greatcoat.

Source: https://wwiiafterwwii.wordpress.com/2023/04/21/wwii-firearms-in-east-germanys-other-armed-forces/

[historicalfirearms]

Examining Captured Weapons 

In this brilliant photograph, dating from 26th January 1945, shows Lt. General Sir Evelyn Hugh Barker inspecting some of the more interesting and advanced German small arms that men of the 3rd Division, part of Baker’s VIII Corps, had captured.

The captured small arms include a Panzerfaust anti-tank weapon, a number of varieties of grenade including the classic Stielhandgranate and a Filegerleuchtpistole (flare gun) Model 'L'.

There are a number of interesting rifles in the photograph too including an early model FG-42 instantly identifiable by its angled pistol grip, a Gewehr 43 self-loading rifle and the general himself is examining an StG-44.

Baker was a career soldier having joined the army before the Great War, he went on to command British forces in Palestine, where he handled the volatile situation poorly, and the Eastern Command before retiring in 1950, he died in 1983, aged 89. 

Sources:

Images: 1 2 3 4

Image Source

If you enjoy the content please consider supporting Historical Firearms through Patreon!

[unclesamsmisguidedclub]

Russian Statue of Mikhail Kalishnikov- Oops

Russian Statue of Mikhail Kalishnikov- Oops

Mikhail Kalishnikov was a hero of sorts for Russians, since he invented the AK-47, one of the world’s most popular rifles. It was accepted as the standard issue Russian military weapon in 1946. When a statue to honor him was placed in a public place in Russia, Yuri Pasholok a Russian historian, noticed a serious error- a small part of the monument had the wrong gun on it. Mikhail Kalishnikov  …

View On WordPress

[historicalfirearms]

Treasury Warehouse Raid 

The other day I came across this excellent photograph taken after what the caption describes as a ‘7-day-long raid on a mysterious warehouse’ in Ridgefield, New Jersey. The Treasury Department apparently seized a huge number of unregistered machine guns, 517 in total. There are some very interesting guns in the photograph. The photograph was published in June 1964, in the New York Journal-American newspaper.

The warehouse may have belonged to Val Forgett Jr., an importer of automatic weapons who established a successful business selling these weapons on once they had been deactivated. Forgett came under Treasury Department scrutiny a number of times and in 1959 was prosecuted for unlawful shipments of unregistered firearms. Forgett fought this judgement contesting its constitutional legality and the case dragged on until a final ruling against him in 1965. It is possible the 1964 raid on the unnamed Ridgefield, New Jersey, where Forgett was based, was related to the case. 

Vickers Class C/T (source)

The large collection of guns include a Johnson LMG, German MG15 aircraft gun, an StG-44, a very large number of MkII Stens (both skeleton stock and t-bar stocks) MkIII Stens, a Lewis gun, at least six Chauchats, a Bren, a number of Lanchester machine carbines, a Carl Gustav m/45, and even what appear to be three Vickers Class C/T water-cooled armoured vehicle machine guns (essentially a Vickers gun with a pistol grip). Sadly the resolution of the photograph doesn’t allow us to easily identify some of the guns at the back.  

I tried, but was unable, to find contemporary news reports about the raid to learn more about the origins of the guns and what happened to them after they were seized. 

Image Source

My thanks to Dan Watters for some excellent additional research and potentially connecting the image to Forgett. 

If you enjoy the content please consider supporting Historical Firearms through Patreon!

[visoflex65]

A French resistance fighter with a StG-44 assault rifle near the central Paris police Commissariat (August 24, 1944). This gun had just been put into German military service, brought to France, and captured.