Initial Military reviews on the German Sturmgewehr-44 (StG-44) were polarizing for both US and Soviet testing on captured units.
American reviews stated it was bulky, clumsy and mediocre with it being prone to jamming but despite criticisms the accuracy of the weapon was excellent. Due to them already invested on the Semi-Automatic rifles like M1 Carbine and Garand as such, the idea of an Assault Rifle didn’t pique interest for the Americans initially which was a missed opportunity.
Compare that to Soviet testings which praised the volume of fire it can provide in close to medium ranges alongside the selective fire it has and efficienct design though despite this they also identified issues like the buttstock and receiver which influenced the creation of the famous Avtomat Kalashnikova 47 (AK-47) using designs from the StG-44 and improving on weaker designs of the Assault Rifle.
Garpfruit on
The Soviets would die for any rifle they could get their hands on.
US military: “We could use it to accurately hit someone but I’d rather throw 200 artillery rounds, run 3 days of intense bombing runs and drive 10 Shermans at the target”
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Initial Military reviews on the German Sturmgewehr-44 (StG-44) were polarizing for both US and Soviet testing on captured units.
American reviews stated it was bulky, clumsy and mediocre with it being prone to jamming but despite criticisms the accuracy of the weapon was excellent. Due to them already invested on the Semi-Automatic rifles like M1 Carbine and Garand as such, the idea of an Assault Rifle didn’t pique interest for the Americans initially which was a missed opportunity.
Compare that to Soviet testings which praised the volume of fire it can provide in close to medium ranges alongside the selective fire it has and efficienct design though despite this they also identified issues like the buttstock and receiver which influenced the creation of the famous Avtomat Kalashnikova 47 (AK-47) using designs from the StG-44 and improving on weaker designs of the Assault Rifle.
The Soviets would die for any rifle they could get their hands on.
Americans saw innovation, Soviets saw inspiration.
US military: “We could use it to accurately hit someone but I’d rather throw 200 artillery rounds, run 3 days of intense bombing runs and drive 10 Shermans at the target”
STG-44? Do you mean proto-Kalashnikov?