At our Spring 2026 show we had the pleasure of displaying a registered and transferrable MP44. This was a crowd favorite during the weekend which was available to view up close and personal.
The Sturmgewehr 44 (StG 44) was a German rifle developed during World War II and is widely considered the first modern assault rifle. It combined the firepower of a submachine gun with the range and accuracy of a rifle, creating a new class of infantry weapon.
German combat experience on the Eastern Front showed that most infantry fighting occurred at 300–400 meters or less, where standard bolt-action rifles like the Karabiner 98k were slower to fire than needed, while submachine guns lacked range. To solve this, German designers developed a select-fire rifle chambered for 7.92×33mm Kurz with a detachable 30-round magazine The weapon was initially designated Maschinenkarabiner 42 (MKb 42) and later refined into the MP43 and MP44.
The project faced opposition from Hitler, who initially preferred traditional rifles. To keep development moving, the weapon was labeled Maschinenpistole (MP) rather than a rifle. After seeing its effectiveness in combat, Hitler approved the weapon and renamed it “Sturmgewehr” (Storm Rifle) in 1944, creating the official designation StG 44. The StG 44 influenced many later rifle designs. Its concept as an intermediate cartridge with selective fire and detachable magazines became the standard for modern infantry rifles.