KARABINER 98K/ KAR98K:
The German Karabiner 98Kwas an accurate, powerful, and reliable bolt action rifle.
It was the primary rifle for all German soldiers of World War Two. The "K" in
"98K" meant "kurtz". This version was first seen in 1935, and was manufactured
by Mauser, which isit's nickname,to which it is most familiar. It used the 8mm
round, but the round was actually a 7.92 X 57mm., with the 7.92 just being
rounded to 8. It had a 5 shot integral magazine, and weighed 8.60 lbs. unloaded.
This weapon was first developed in 1898, and was slightly modified many times
over the course of it's service length. This weapon was used for military purposes
from 1935 to 1945. This weapon had spectacular accuracy at long distances, around
500 meters. normally, but if it was equipped with a scope, a skilled marksman could be
effective up to 800 meters. Like many bolt action weapons at the time, it was bulky, heavy,
and had a slow rate of fire due to the bolt mechanism. The Germans during World War Two
did not persue semi-automatic weapons as much as did the Allies. They stuck with their bolt
action weapons and tactics for the majority of the war, as the Germans had little success with
semi-automatic weapons. Without a doubt, the Kar98k saw the most action on the German
side during World War Two, serving in every theater. Many other nations took the Kar98k and
altered them for their own use, as over 10 million had been made, they were an ideal
weapon. There was also a version of the Kar98k with a folding stock, for paratroopers. During
the later years of World War Two, the Kar98k was being replaced with the MP-44, which was
much more suited for close quarter combat, and had a small rifle like cartridge, with a very good
rate of fire. The Kar98k has remained in use to this day, and is a valuable collectors item.
MP-44/ STG-44:
The MP-44 was first invented in 1944, after the invention of the MP-43, which
was similar. The MP-44 had only a few changes. The MP-44 carried a newly
invented round, the 7.92 X 33mm Kurtz round, Kurtz meaning short. The idea
of the smaller cartridge was to have the power of a rifle cartridge, yet being
smaller, and having the capability of being in an automatic rifle. The weapon was
fed by a 30 round detachable box magazine, and it weighed 11.24 lbs. unloaded.
A odd feature was that the weapon could use the "Krummlauf Attachment",
which allowed this weapon to shoot around corners. The rifle was given the
name, "Sturmgewehr", meaning "Assault Rifle". This name was supposed to
have been given byHitler himself. If it is even true, the name still well describes
the role the gun played in World War Two.But still, the weapon came too few,
too late, to make any difference.
