WARPACT Arms Stockpiles

[StainlessSteelCynic]

As an aside, the benefit of storage in a salt mine is the lack of moisture that's available to interact with the items stored there. The salt absorbs a lot of the moisture and serves to keep humidity fairly constant. As long as the stored items are not directly in contact with the salt, they are unlikely to suffer corrosion problems any worse than if you stored them anywhere else.
The other benefit of a salt mine is that rodents aren't fond of all that salt.

[Matt Wiser]

The East Germans may have been where StG-44s that wound up in Iraq orginated: I remember seeing some news footage of a raid on a cache near Najaf, and instead of the expected AKs, there were a number of StG-44s found. Hopefully, the unit that captured the weapons knew what they'd found, and sent one or two back home to the divisional museum, and maybe gave the rest to SOF.

[ArmySGT.]

Those came from Syria.

Syria purchased WW2 German arms from the cash strapped Soviets.

A Panzer IV was captured on the Golan heights by the Israelis.

[StainlessSteelCynic]

In the case of the Panzer IV and also StuG III, Syria obtained a number of them from France. Apparently France had enough of them "left lying around from a previous war", that they could refurbish them and offer them for sale.
In something of a twist, these Syrian Panzers faced Israeli Centurions during the "Water War" of 1965.
Syria obtained more Panzer IV tanks from Spain and these saw combat during the 1967 Six-Day War where , in another twist, they faced Israeli Sherman tanks.

[Panther Al]

Originally Posted by Matt Wiser

The East Germans may have been where StG-44s that wound up in Iraq orginated: I remember seeing some news footage of a raid on a cache near Najaf, and instead of the expected AKs, there were a number of StG-44s found. Hopefully, the unit that captured the weapons knew what they'd found, and sent one or two back home to the divisional museum, and maybe gave the rest to SOF.

Or in the hands of enterprising people like me till the first sergeant threw a fit over my crew running around with no helmet covers, 2 StG's, a MP40, and an Iranian MG3.


That said, I have to say, even old and abused, the StG was remarkably good in CQB.

[ArmySGT.]

The Soviets continued to manufacture ammunition for many weapon systems considered obsolete, even going so far as to manufacture improved ammunition.

[HorseSoldier]

The East Germans may have been where StG-44s that wound up in Iraq orginated: I remember seeing some news footage of a raid on a cache near Najaf, and instead of the expected AKs, there were a number of StG-44s found. Hopefully, the unit that captured the weapons knew what they'd found, and sent one or two back home to the divisional museum, and maybe gave the rest to SOF.

They were, indirectly. During the very early Cold War they handed over StG-44s to the Syrians and various other fraternal socialist brothers in the Middle East and Africa. The ones that turned up in Iraq were most likely the results of various people within the Syrian government paying that gesture forward.

There were enough StG-44s still in (maybe semi) official government service in different nations that the DDR was making 7.92x33 ammo for them up to the point where the walls came down. (Along with the Yugoslavians, who were still using them in some limited way, as well.)

That said, I have to say, even old and abused, the StG was remarkably good in CQB.

The one I got to play with was here in the US, but I have to agree, +/- the metal handguards getting hot enough to fry bacon after relatively limited use. Either a design flaw, or an intentional feature to discourage German troops equipped with them from throwing the thing on auto and burning through their whole basic load of ammo in the first two minutes of an engagement.

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by HorseSoldier

They were, indirectly. During the very early Cold War they handed over StG-44s to the Syrians and various other fraternal socialist brothers in the Middle East and Africa. The ones that turned up in Iraq were most likely the results of various people within the Syrian government paying that gesture forward.

There were enough StG-44s still in (maybe semi) official government service in different nations that the DDR was making 7.92x33 ammo for them up to the point where the walls came down. (Along with the Yugoslavians, who were still using them in some limited way, as well.)



The one I got to play with was here in the US, but I have to agree, +/- the metal handguards getting hot enough to fry bacon after relatively limited use. Either a design flaw, or an intentional feature to discourage German troops equipped with them from throwing the thing on auto and burning through their whole basic load of ammo in the first two minutes of an engagement.

There's still debate on just how "original" Mikhail Kalashnikov's design is/was when you look at the Stg-44.

[Panther Al]

Originally Posted by Schone23666

There's still debate on just how "original" Mikhail Kalashnikov's design is/was when you look at the Stg-44.

I believe that a lot of the post war Soviet research was rehashed German stuff, but here, in regards to the AK, I think there is less duplication than most would think.

While the idea might have come from the limited use of AR's in Late 42 that got the ball rolling, the Soviets was always looking for something that would hit harder than a pistol round and not be as brutal in automatic fire as the Nagant would be. I can see MK and others glancing at the StG as they worked on the AK, but I think that in detail, its mostly original.

The AK is one of the few honest wins for original weapons development.

[Schone23666]

Originally Posted by Panther Al

Or in the hands of enterprising people like me till the first sergeant threw a fit over my crew running around with no helmet covers, 2 StG's, a MP40, and an Iranian MG3.


That said, I have to say, even old and abused, the StG was remarkably good in CQB.

It's too bad they wouldn't let you guys send more of that stuff home, from what I've read some of the stuff they've turned up on cache raids is a gun/museum collector's wet dream!