Famous Russian Weapons that aren’t Russian

Aside from current events and geopolitics, we here at Coming Anarchy also dabble in our fair share of other topics including geography, history, law, religion and sociology. One topic we have occasionally covered has been weapons and technology. So, to combine several of our favorite themes, I’d like to bring you a short history of two of my favorite historical weapons with some surprising details you may not know.

Ever heard of the StG 44? Probably not. Heard of the AK-47? You bet. But the StG 44 is actually the first assault rifle which all subsequent weapons were based on: the AK, G3, M16, current M4 etc. And as usual, it was the Germans who led the way.

I recently came across this post at War is Boring, which is a fine blog, but it repeated one of the most annoying, ill informed and simply incorrect stock journalistic phrases regarding the AK-47.

“No single weapon — save the atomic bomb — has had as profound an impact on modern warfare and global instability,” Larry Kahaner wrote in his biography of the weapon.

Granted, he was quoting someone else and its something so frequently repeated that few question it, but the quote itself is simply incorrect. The AK-47, while a Russian weapon, is in fact a modified version of a German weapon, which is the actual first assault rifle that revolutionized small arms and warfare, the StG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44). As in so many other cases, the Germans were quick to realize the failure and faults of past methods of warfare and weapons and masterfully designed new ones. Despite having lost WWII, the Germans were technologically far beyond the rest of the world at the time.

As Wikipedia notes, “While the StG44 had less range and power than the more powerful infantry rifles of the day, Wehrmacht studies had shown that most combat engagements occurred at less than 300 m with the majority within 200 m. Full-power rifle cartridges were excessive for the vast majority of uses for the average soldier.” Moreover, the small capcity and low rate of fire of bolt action rifles was simply inadequate.

Those interested in more of the details can read more at the linked Wikipedia article. On a side note, this author recently looked at an authentic StG 44 at a gun show. Its price? $22,000 dollars! This is due in part to its being antique but largely due to ridiculous US restrictions on automatic weapons. Anyone interested in purchasing one would likely need to sell their car(s) first, or perhaps the proverbial arm and a leg.

Lastly, unbeknownst to most people, Germany today is actually the world’s third largest exporter of arms. Specifically, the southwestern state of Baden-Wuerttemberg (where I lived for many years) excells in firearms being home to Mauser, Heckler and Koch and Walther.

Those of you familiar with small arms, WWII, or just Call of Duty are certaintly familiar with the infamous PPSH 41, a Russian sub machine gun. And yet, as with so many Russian things, they were not in fact ‘Russian’ but adaptations or copies of other countries’ weapons. There are numerous examples of this but I’d like to focus on the Russian PPSH-41.

After the Winter War, in which the Russians were massacred by little old Finland, the Russians quickly adopted a Finnish weapon which had proven so effective against them, the Suomi.

The Suomi KP/-31 is regarded by many as one of the most successful submachine guns of World War II and it was so successful that many of its features (including the 71-round drum magazine) were later copied and adopted by the Soviets for their PPD-40 and PPSh-41 submachine guns.[2] The accuracy compared to the mass-produced PPSh-41 was superior however, thanks in part to a noticeably longer barrel, with the same rate of fire and the equally large magazine capacity. The major failing of the Suomi-KP was its high production costs.

Originals of either weapon are hard to come by and extremely expensive. However, partially rebuilt models are available for around $600 chambered in the original 9mm parabellum (the cartridge being a German invention of course). However, the changes made to accomodate US laws take some of the fun away (increased barrel length and being semi automatic).

If you’ve enjoyed this historical weapons related thread, do chime in in the comments since it’s not part of our usual programming.