How Mauser and Walter Gewehr 41 were made

In 1940, when the German army requested an army self-loading rifle, two companies entered the starting line: Mauser and Walther. The same technical task led to different results, which I suggest you look at.

The idea of ​​a self-loading rifle warmed the minds and hearts of many soldiers at the beginning of the 20th century. Like a ripe orange that beckons with its taste, a rapid-fire and at the same time reliable individual infantry weapon beckoned with its “taste” to the German military.

But oranges don't grow in Germany. And neither did self-loading rifles.

The Teutonic dark genius was generally familiar with the concept of a self-loading rifle. Mauser had experimented with self-loading rifles even before World War I. During World War I, the Germans had a number of M1915/1916 self-loading rifles, which, due to their high cost and design features, were used only by the Air Force for firing from airships.

The tests continued during the Interbellum era. One of the main features of the German development was the condition from the Ground Forces Weapons Department – a direct ban on the use of additional holes in the barrel for gas venting.

In 1935, the Mauser company was able to “give birth” to the Gewehr 35, it worked due to the recoil of the barrel. There were also attempts to make a rifle with a gas-operated system from the Volmer and Walther companies. All three rifles never passed the tests, which ended in 1938, and development continued.

To understand the situation around us, let's look back. 1938, the Mondragon rifle – the first self-loading rifle in service with army units – is already more than 30 years old. In February 1940, the German military attaché in Finland is already actively radioing Berlin that the Soviet infantry is using self-loading (SVT) and automatic (AVS) rifles, which indicates that they are already being accepted into service in more than just a few copies.

In 1940, the Wehrmacht Armaments Directorate officially approached the Mauser and Walther companies with specific technical requirements for the development of an army self-loading rifle. The requirements were: the use of a gas-operated system, the use of a 7.92 mm rifle cartridge, and that nothing should move above the top cover of the receiver when the automatic system was in operation. Along the way, let's not forget about the requirement from the Interbellum era – no holes in the barrel walls for gas venting! The cherry on the cake – in the event of a malfunction of the automatic system, the rifle should work like a regular bolt-action rifle.

After June 22, 1941, German soldiers began to receive samples of the SVT-38/40, which showed good results and were very popular with the soldiers due to their reliable operation and good shooting performance.

A few months later, Walther and Mauser exhibited their samples of self-loading rifles. Of course, they started making samples before the Germans got their hands on the Soviet SVT, but maybe they had an impact on something?

So, we have the G41(M) (Mauser) and the G41(W) (Walther). What catches your eye first?

Similarity with the Mauser carbine of 1935 – the length of the self-loading rifles was slightly longer than the carbine, and both versions had a similar wooden (later, plywood) stock and a standard bayonet-knife of the carbine. In addition, both versions of the G41 were equipped with an integral magazine for 10 rounds, which could be loaded either with one round at a time or with clips of 5, identical to the carbine.

But the differences are visually visible in the area of ​​the muzzle and on the bolt group. We remember the requirement of the Armaments Department to prohibit drilling additional holes for gas venting, right?

Mauser and Walther followed the same principle because they used the same development of the Danish weapons designer Søren H. Bang – the nozzle chamber.

The general principle is as follows: when a bullet passes through the nozzle chamber, the powder gas accumulates in its cylindrical part. The gas presses on the steel ring, which is put on the barrel. Under the pressure of the gas, the movable sealing ring moves back. It slides along the barrel even further back, then a few centimeters along the tube directed to the breech cut, and at the same time throws back the pusher. The pusher is located under the barrel. It has a forked rear end, which reaches the receiver. Thus, this pusher acts on the bolt carrier and thereby indirectly facilitates unlocking.

In this way, the requirement was met – the weapon is reloaded using a gas outlet, but no holes are drilled in the barrel for this purpose.

But it is worth noting – the camera is different in both versions with a similar operating principle. In Mauser it turned out to be heavier (it will play its role later) and less reliable.

The second visual difference that catches the eye is the bolt group, which clearly shows the difference in the operation of the bolt. The Mauser company stoically continued to follow the requirement that the rifle should be both self-loading and bolt-action. This was with the G35, it was on the prototype S/42D, and it migrated to the G41 (M).

This was expressed in the removal of the bolt handle into the butt plate of the receiver. To reload in the “manual” mode, it was necessary to move the bolt handle back and then turn it back.

The Walther company simply spat on the requirement of the Armaments Directorate and forgot about the “bolt” part, moving the bolt handle to the right side of the bolt carrier. The requirement for the absence of moving parts at the level of the upper cover of the receiver was also cut – not only did the barrel carrier move, which was exactly in line with the receiver, but the handle (also moving) protruded beyond the dimensions, but they also turned a blind eye to this.

As a result, the G41 (W) did not work correctly when the automation failed.

The difference was also in the barrel. The barrel of the Walter G41 was 20 mm shorter than the Mauser's and 60 mm shorter than the barrel of the Mauser carbine model 1936.

But the main difference was that the Walther model was simpler and cheaper than the Mauser model. The G41 (W) took 2900 minutes to make, while the G41 (M) took 3600.

When it came time for testing, the main problem was revealed – both rifles were frankly poor in terms of design.

Attempts to create a high-quality self-loading rifle without drilling the barrel for gas venting turned out to be a failure – the powder gases, singing “No way out!”, clogged the nozzle chamber and could lead to a delay after the first ten rounds of firing.

Additionally, the heavier chamber on the G41(M) shifted the center of gravity, making it more difficult to shoot from unstable positions, and the “bipolar” shutter made the G41(M) more difficult to load than the G41(W).

Based on the accumulated operational experience, it turned out that from the point of view of the technical task, the Mauser company did everything correctly and in accordance with the requirements, but in the end it turned out to be a bad rifle. The Walther company ignored a number of the technical task requirements and made a simpler and slightly less shitty rifle. Because of this, the G41 (W) passed the tests a little better.

As a result, the Armament Directorate came to the conclusion that since the Walther model was simpler, it should be put into service. In 1942, the Walther model lost the prefix (W) and officially became the Gewehr 41, and the G41 (M) remained a small series of 6 thousand barrels.

Anyone who has read this far will ask, “What does the influence of Soviet SVT have to do with it?”

And the SVT really has nothing to do with it. The Gewehr 41 is an attempt to squeeze into the old restrictions, and as soon as it was finished to a serial version, they immediately began to adopt the experience of Soviet self-loading rifles, reworking the G41(W) for a gas-operated system through a hole in the barrel. This is how the Gewehr 43 came about.

However, that's a completely different story.

Author: Egor Makhahey

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