Of all the fighting powers, only the United States entered the war with what we would call an automatic rifle, the M1 Garand. This rifle was developed to allow the soldier the chance to get of several rounds without reloading or having to operate a bolt as in the usual bolt action rifle. This savings in time could easily be the difference in surviving an encounter or not.

While the M1 was not a perfect rifle in that it only held a clip of eight, it was well manufactured, and was built in the sort of numbers that pretty well meant that every soldier could have one. Even the Soviets had one, the SVT-38, though that was not as widely used. However, it was an automatic rifle and it was the basis of the Gew-41 and Gew-43, which were capable weapons, but they were large, relatively heavy and not built in large numbers. Like most automatic rifles, they had to be kept meticulously clean to prevent jamming.

What was needed was something lighter and smaller. Something that, say, a paratrooper could use. German paratroopers were hampered by a poorly designed parachute that meant that the trooper's larger weapons (like their rifles) had to be dropped separately. If these landed far away from the trooper, then this was a bad thing as the soldier had nothing to fight with until it was retrieved. The FG 42 was an answer to this. It was an automatic rifle that was short, light, and could be carried by the trooper. Of course, by the time it was developed, there were no more mass drops, but at least the soldier had an automatic rifle and one that held a decent number of bullets as well before reload.

Then there was the StG 44. This was a mostly stamped steel weapon that most consider the basis of all modern assault weapons, including the AK-47. It had a pistol grip as well as a stock, the ability to hold a 30 round curved clip, was able to be built rather quickly and was reliable. However, like many things in war, the gun came too late and was built in too few numbers to make any dent in the outcome.

In this book, author Chris McNab covers the development of automatic rifles including those developed by other countries and how they influenced German design. Each of the major types, Gew 41/43, FG 42 and StG 44 are fully covered in their means of operation and their development. The book has many period photos as well as photos of extant guns. This is further enhanced by a few nicely done pieces of artwork showing these guns in use.

It is a great addition to the Weapons line of books and is a title that any enthusiast needs to have on their shelf.

May 2013

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