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Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr

1945 WORLD WAR 2

Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr History

The desperate situation in Germany after World War II (1939-1945) was reflected in the "People's Assault Rifle" spawned by the desperate "primitive weapons program". A descendant of this program became the "Gustloff Volkssturmwaffe", due to the ease of production and ease of operation and lack of resources, the weapon proved to be an original product, developed and completed using existing components October 18, 1944, NSDAP The "People's Army", mobilized for the final defense of Berlin, took the guns to the streets of Berlin and fell into the hands of the "People's Stormtroopers". The Volkssturm was intended as the last line of defense against the invading Allied forces, which were steadily battling the might of the German war machine. More important was the arrival of the Soviet troops, who were sure to take special revenge on the German capital.

As a result, various primitive weapons were developed during the last months of the war, the Gustloff Volkssturm rifle being one of them. Several "Volkssturmwaffe" developments are evidenced as a whole, all bearing common names.

Some were developed with Gustloff pieces under the Walther, Rheinmetall and even Mauser brands.

The magazine submitted by Gustloff is for the widely used 7.92x33mm Kurz (short) cartridge (same as MP43/StG44 assault rifles in the mid to late war period). It uses a gas-delayed recoil system that allows semi-automatic firing from a 30-round detachable magazine. The magazine itself is a magazine developed for the MP43/StG 44 series.

The finished gun weighed 10 pounds, was 35 inches long, and had a 15-inch barrel. Aiming is carried out with simple iron sights with an overall accuracy of up to 300 meters. The weapon takes a rough, finished form with a circular casing that extends forward to wrap the barrel.

The casing or sleeve is attached to the bolt as part of the action to capture escaping gas from each successive shot to trigger the next round of action. A wooden shoulder rest is attached to the rear, and a wooden front end is attached under the barrel slide.

The receiver is flanked by a panel with controls, while the trigger is arranged in a thin circular ring in the usual fashion. On the right side of the receiver, roughly in the middle of the design, is an ejection port in front of the magazine, directly in front of the trigger group.

Despite the "assault rifle" name, the Gustloff Volkssturmgewehr looks more like an American M1 Garand semi-automatic bolt-action rifle. In practice, the weapon proved as crude as it was designed.

Aiming is rough and hastily designed, and the action isn't really perfect due to the ease with which it was developed and manufactured during wartime. Machining of gas sleeves and barrels requires considerable precision (which is not always possible), and poor machining can lead to discontinuities.

Also, these weapons would be operated by trained militias rather than professional soldiers, and would have little tactical value to the German cause other than to provide the Red Army with machine gun/cannon fodder.

Design work on the Gustloff Volkssturmwaffe began at the end of 1944 and limited production began in January of the following year. This product (called MP507) is due to the work of Karl Barnitzke, chief designer at the Gustloff factory in Sur, Germany, and the overall foundation for the weapon was laid as early as 1943 (design based on MP43/StG44).

Production continued until May 1945, when Hitler committed suicide at the end of April and the German nation surrendered in May. Probably only about 10,000 Gustloff Volkssturmjager units were produced at this time (sources scattered), and those encountered had no official government markings.

An offshoot of the MP507 design is the MP508, which features a dedicated fore grip, and it's worth noting that some forms are also available in select fire versions, allowing for fully automatic or semi-automatic fire modes.

Gustloff Volkssturmwaffe is sometimes named VG 1-5 ("Volkssturm-Gewehr 1-5") and may also be called "Versuchs-Gerat 1-5" in some sources. A handful of VG 1-5 guns survived the war and continued to be owned in the years that followed, although they still proved to be rare.