Iron Cross

When Hoffman and Speer arrived at the secret shooting range, all other participants in the experiment were already waiting. Colonel Vincent, who is in charge of the design and finalization of infantry weapons, seemed very nervous because there were mainly two types of infantry weapons to be displayed at the scene today. One was the design originally led by the Weapons Bureau, which was well received by experts, but was not included in the early reporting process. The first type is the design that the head of state actively nominated and requested. The head of state devoted great enthusiasm and not only designed the drawings for reference but also set the technical index requirements, but they were not favored by the experts of the weapons bureau. He found it difficult to be caught in the middle. For this matter, he had to bite the bullet and seek Speer's opinion in advance. Speer only gave him a simple sentence - "Listen to the Führer!" Although the meaning was clear, he still lacked confidence in his heart.

He also took great pains to arrange the order of who would display the two types of weapons first, and finally decided to arrange the design promoted by the Weapons Bureau first - in case the head of state severely criticized the first round of demonstrations, he would still have the opportunity to display the second type of weapons. Make up for this bad impression. It is no wonder that Colonel Vincent was nervous, because a few months before the technical demonstration meeting was held, the Weapons Bureau had submitted the plan for the Mkb42 gun (Mkb is the abbreviation of Maschinenkarabiner, which means automatic carbine) to the head of state for review. However, the head of state disagreed very much, and especially expressed deep doubts about its propaganda slogan of "replacing the light machine gun". He believed that based on his experience as a World War I veteran, this new rifle had a limited range, no more than 500 meters at most, and could not reach the light level. The firepower standard of the machine gun was decided not to be developed. It wasn't until the upper echelons of the Weapons Bureau re-interpreted the design concept of the new rifle and no longer mentioned the light machine gun but replaced it with the slogan "replacing the submachine gun" that the head of state reluctantly agreed to give it another chance. Today's live demonstration is the last chance for this firearm.

Hugo Schmeisser, the firearms designer of Heinel Company who participated in the on-site display, was also very nervous. In July, Heinel Company had produced 50 sample guns (internal code-named MKb42(W)). Another bidding company, Carl? Walter Company also developed 50 prototype guns (internally codenamed MKb42(H)). Both batches of weapons underwent rigorous early testing by military firearms experts. The tests showed that the performance of Heinel's prototype guns was superior. He was very confident in the product he designed. The only thing that made him uneasy was the attitude of the head of state: the gun had an advanced design concept, but it had to use new ammunition and could not use the existing large stockpile of Mauser rifle bullets. This was tantamount to having to reinvent the wheel. When it comes to starting a bullet production line and logistics supply line, the head of state has very little enthusiasm for this and has too many concerns.

This new type of ammunition is the 7.92×33mm rifle short bullet successfully developed by German scientists after repeated experiments. The length is nearly half shorter than the current 7.92×57mm standard rifle bullet, and the warhead is lighter while reducing the When gunpowder is fired, the effective range is shortened accordingly. This type of bullet is called an intermediate-power bullet, which can effectively solve the shortcomings of traditional bullets that are too powerful, make automatic rifles difficult to control accuracy during continuous shooting, and are heavy and inconvenient to be carried by individual soldiers. MKb42 is based on this shortcoming. A new rifle specially developed for bullets.

However, Hoffman was obviously not as worried as Hitler. He not only knew that using intermediate-power ammunition was in line with the historical trend, but also knew that MKb42 was eventually finalized as STG44. In the future, both the American M16 and the Soviet AK47 will be based on the design concept of STG44. Even the AK47 and STG44 are very similar in appearance, and it is easy for blind military personnel who are not familiar with firearms to confuse the two.

"Führer, this is a new rifle we designed. It adopts the gas-guided automatic principle and the bolt deflection locking method. The gunpowder gas after the bullet is fired is exported out of the barrel, enters the gas tube to drive the piston to drive the bolt action, and completes the ejection of the cartridge case. When the bullet is loaded, the gas tube is located above the barrel and extends to near the muzzle. You can choose single or continuous shooting modes. It is fed by a curved magazine with a capacity of 30 rounds. The receiver and other parts are manufactured by stamping technology, which is easy to It is produced at a lower cost..." Hugo Schmeisser, who was responsible for introducing the performance, had not finished speaking. I saw that Hoffman had already picked up the gun. I saw him flipping it over and over a few times before loading it skillfully. The iconic curved magazine clicked into place and immediately opened the safety with a "clatter".

Seeing the Führer holding a standard gun, Schmeisser was so shocked that he opened his mouth wide and couldn't say a word. It took him a long time to react and stammered out: "The Führer... the Führer, son... …The bullet is loaded, be careful of misfire.”

"Don't worry." Hoffman walked towards the test target with the gun in hand without looking back. "On my first day as a soldier, I was taught by my commander to pay attention to safety and not to misfire."

"Chu, chu, chu." As a senior enthusiast who has played M16 and AK47 respectively, Hoffman is no stranger to operating the STG44, and he got started easily. He quickly emptied a magazine. The target reporter quickly passed back the results, and the accuracy was actually quite good. At least nearly half of the bullets hit the target. He stepped back and handed the gun to Major Genscher next to him, and said without hesitation: "Go and try it, ask them to place the target a little further, and then test the single-shot performance."

"Führer, what you did just now was so beautiful." Speer couldn't help but give a thumbs up, "If I'm not mistaken, this is your first time playing with this thing, but the smooth movements you made just now seemed like a veteran for many years. ”

Hoffman laughed: "Speer, don't forget, I was a soldier and a corporal. This is my profession."

Hugo Schmeisser finally recovered from the shock. He was even more surprised than Speer at Hoffmann's performance just now. He said flatteringly: "Führer, although I deal with this gun every day, my The operation is not as smooth as yours.”

"A gun that allows soldiers to quickly master the essentials of action is a good gun."

"What is your evaluation of the experimental results?" Schmeisser asked this question while the iron was hot. Everyone present tensed up their ears to listen. The head of state could make a conclusion about this weapon in one sentence.

Hoffman's attitude was surprisingly good: "This is what I want. Although it still has some minor shortcomings, they are not fatal. It can be put into production after improvements. I heard that your company's model has been favored by experts from the Weapons Bureau." ?”

"That's true." Schmeisser suppressed his inner joy and said it in as calm a tone as possible.

"Then there's no need to make too many comparisons. Just choose your company's product. I believe in the opinions of experts." Hoffman muttered, "You have to give it a resounding name. Calling it MP-43 doesn't reflect it." With its features and advantages, I will give you a name - the assault rifle (Sturmgewehr), and the model will be referred to as STG43."

"Assault rifle? A very vivid and majestic name. Thank you very much, Führer!" Schmeisser was overjoyed. He had been prepared for the training, but he didn't expect that things would go so smoothly, to an incredible extent.

At this moment, Major Genscher, who had finished three magazines, came back to reply: "Führer, I tested it more comprehensively and found that it has good accuracy within 400 meters, the recoil is not big, and the single shot is quite good. , but the firing speed seems to be not as good as the MP-40 we currently use, and I am afraid you will suffer a loss if you fight within 50 meters; another disadvantage is that the bullet consumption is very high, 90 rounds of ammunition in 3 magazines can be shot without paying attention, and an infantryman carries The amount of ammunition is always limited, and ongoing problems are likely to occur. "

"No weapon is perfect. There are very few exchanges of fire within 50 meters except street fighting, and I have strictly ordered ordinary troops not to participate in street fighting." Hoffman nodded, "As for bullet consumption, it is indeed a problem, but this kind of bullet weighs more It is light and can carry more quantities with the same carrying capacity, which is barely enough.”

Colonel Vincent, who had been observing without interrupting, was now finally convinced that the head of state had approved the design of the new rifle, and his hanging heart finally returned to its original position. Although there was still a competing bidder that had not yet demonstrated it, the Yuan Dynasty Just listen to what is said first and don't make any inconveniences.

"Do you know why I originally disagreed with the production of this kind of weapon?" Hoffmann told Speer the key to changing his mind. "Our production capacity increased rapidly after the general mobilization. I don't think adding an additional bullet production line will bring Too much trouble. After the large-scale production of this gun in January next year, the production of Kar98 rifles and supporting bullets can be stopped until the inventory is used up. "

Speer nodded with a wry smile and laughed at himself: "It's no problem to open more production lines. But, head of state, you can cut off Mauser Company's financial path now. If they come to come, you have to block it for me. I have offended me recently." There are too many companies and I don’t dare to go out.”

"Let them not worry. The supply of this kind of weapon will be in the millions. Heinell will definitely not be able to eat it. When the time comes, it will be authorized to be produced by Mauser. As for Carl Walter Company, which was unsuccessful in today's bidding, it should also get such a Opportunity." Hoffman turned to the senior management of Henel Company and said, "Is this okay?"

"No problem, no problem." As soon as they heard the million-level production volume promised by Hoffman, they were all happy, as if they were watching the golden Mark flying towards them. As for authorizing production to other companies, It's also what it should be - someone who works alone will be hated by others, not to mention that Heinel alone can't produce a million-level output, and there are still licensing fees to earn.

"Before the end of next month, you have to complete the production of 10,000 test guns and hand them over to the Eastern Front troops for trial. In January next year, you will go into full production after rectifying the defects." Hoffman told Colonel Vincent, "We still need a period of This is a light machine gun based on intermediate-power ammunition. It is best if the parts can be partially shared with the STG43. You can send it according to this bidding requirement. "

"Yes, Führer."

"Then hurry up and start the second type of design. I can't wait to see the results of my design."