What if Hitler sped up development and production of the STG-44 assault rife?

The USA might speed up SMG development, to replace the Thompson, emphasise the programme to fit the Garand with a 20rd box magazine and maybe work on a decent LMG.

As I pointed out above, just as the Soviet didn't copy it after the war, neither did the USA

Garands could have been updated to what the BM-59 was easily, but the only thing the USA did after the war was make the M1 Carbine select fire to the M2

The biggest change I see is more GIs sneaking them home, and 7.92 kurz become the 8mm Remington Auto, for a light Deer Rifle to replace the Model 81
 
As I pointed out above, just as the Soviet didn't copy it after the war, neither did the USA
Indeed. It took the US Army repeating the German studies to trigger the acceptance that the M-14 was tactically obsolete and the development of a US assault rifle.

Garands could have been updated to what the BM-59 was easily, but the only thing the USA did after the war was make the M1 Carbine select fire to the M2
There were a number of wartime programmes to develop a Garand with a detachable box magazine:
  • T20: a rather unreliable selective fire conversion developed by Garand that used BAR magazines.
  • T20E1: The T20 with the problem of misfeeds from BAR magazines fixed by using a new, incompatible, magazine design.
  • T20E2: Another T20 mod, this one used third type of magazine that would feed in the BAR. Standard BAR magazines wouldn't work in the T20E2 however.
There was also a number of heavy barrel variants of these three rifles developed in parallel and intended to replace the BAR as the US SAW (think M15). Only one (the T20E2HB) was given a formal designation.
  • T22: basically similar to the T20 but developed by a different team working at Remington. Used BAR magazines. Feed problems. Selective fire.
  • T22E1: an attempt to fix the feed problem that plagued all Garands that used BAR magazines.
  • T22E2: ditto
  • T22E3: a reliable version of the T22 (Hurrah!). Used BAR magazines, selective fire.
Again there were heavy barrel versions of all these. Curiously the T22E3HB exists in two forms, one with a different stock design intended to improve ergonomics during rapid or automatic fire.
The different stock arrangement of the T22E3HB/2 was also tried on standard (clip-fed, semi-automatic) Garands as the T23. Nothing came of it.
Remington developed both a variant of the Garand and a conversion kit that used T22E3 parts and enabled automatic fire. No-one seems to know why, but the clip-fed, selective fire Garand became the T27 and disappeared into obscurity. None of the field conversion kits were issued and all seem to have been destroyed.
There was another such design, the T24, that used a different selector arrangement.

About a hundred T20E2 rifles were produced as part of an order for around one hundred thousand for US troops engaged in Operation Downfall; the end of the war terminated the contract.


The biggest change I see is more GIs sneaking them home, and 7.92 kurz become the 8mm Remington Auto, for a light Deer Rifle to replace the Model 81
And falling foul of the NFA.
 

Deleted member 1487

I suspect that much of the firepower dominance was down to the Germans having proper light machine guns.
Why was it noted then above that of the regular rifle squad?
https://forum.axishistory.com/viewtopic.php?f=50&t=217652&p=1964699#p1964699
Postby Gary Kennedy » Mon Aug 31, 2015 5:16 pm
This was an excerpt from a German manual sent to me quite a few years ago re the MP44/Stg44. I've tried to run it through translate, but you know how that goes sometimes!

"Die Feuer- und Stoßkraft ist wesentlich verstärkt worden. Dies wurde erreicht;

a) Durch Eingliederung von 2 MP.-Zügen (Stoßzüge). Diese Züge sind durch die hohe Feuerkraft und Feuerbereitschaft ihrer Waffen besonders geeignet zur stoßtrupp-artigen Kampfführung im Angriff und in der Verteidigung (Einbruch, Gegenstoß). Ihr Einsatz erfolgt an Brennpunkten der Abwehr, besonders in solchem Gelände, das infolge seiner Unübersichtlichkeit weittragende Waffen (le. und s. MG., m. und s. Gr.W., le. I.G.) nicht voll zur Wirkung kommen lässt.

Die MP.44 verfügt bis zu 400 m über etwa gleiche Treffgenauigkeit wie das Gewehr. Der Wert dieser vollautomatischen Waffe liegt in ihrer hohen Feuergeschwindigkeit und Treffsicherheit im Einzelfeuer (22-28 Schuß/Min.) sowie in der Möglichkeit der Feuersteigerung zu Feuerstößen von 2-3 Schuß. Im allgemeinen wird Einzelfeuer abgegeben. Vom Feuerstoß ist nur im Nahkampf (Einbruch, Gegenstoß, Nachtkampf) Gebrauch zu machen.Auf straffe Feuerzucht und Munitionstaktikist zu achten,da die Kurzpatrone nicht durch die normale Gewehr- und MG.-Munition ersetzt werden kann.[...]"

"The fire and impact force has been significantly strengthened. This has been achieved;

a) Through inclusion of 2 MP. platoons (assault). These features are particularly useful due to the high firepower and overwatch their weapons for combat patrol-type warfare in attack and in defence (raid(?), counter-attack). They are used at focal points of defence, particularly in such terrain, the result of its complexity far-reaching weapon (light & heavy MG., medium and heavy mortars, light IG) can not be fully effective.

The MP.44 offers up to 400 m over approximately the same accuracy as the rifle. The value of this fully automatic weapon is its high rate of fire and accuracy in single shots (22-28 rounds / min.) As well as in the possibility of increasing to fire bursts of 2-3 shot. In general, single shots [are] discharged. From burst only in close combat (raid, counter-attack, nightfighting) is to exercise. In strict fire discipline and ammunition staktikist (expenditure?) [be]respected, because the short cartridge cannot be replaced by the normal rifle and machine-gun ammunition. [...] "
 
And falling foul of the NFA.

ATF ran a special Amnesty in 1968 to cover all those bring backs that slipped thru

The Congress ultimately revised the NFA under Title II of the GCA, in part, to remedy a constitutional defect in the original NFA. In January 1968, the Supreme Court ruled that the NFA’s registration provision was unconstitutional (Haynes vs. United States, 390 U.S. 85), because it required persons to register NFA firearms and for ATF to make these data available to local, state, and other federal officials upon request. But persons who possessed NFA firearms in violation of state or local law(s) risked the hazards of prosecution by supplying the registration information required by ATF, which violated their 5th Amendment rights against self-incrimination.


The Congress resolved this conflict by (1) prohibiting any information required to comply with the NFA to be used against a registrant or applicant “in a criminal proceeding with respect to a violation of law occurring prior to or concurrently with the filing of the application or registration, or the compiling of the records containing the information or evidence”; (2) establishing an amnesty period from November 2, 1968, to December 1, 1968, when persons could register unregistered NFA firearms with immunity from prosecution; and (3) prohibiting ATF from releasing any information about the registration status or ownership of any NFA firearm. During the 1968 amnesty, firearms were registered on Form 4467.


The 1968 amnesty is the first and only one the federal government has held so far. As was the case under the original NFA, fingerprints or photographs were not required to voluntarily register an NFA firearm during the 1968 amnesty period.

http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=3005

That's the biggest impact, GIs sneaking more of them home, and even if blocked, would want a more powerful version of the M1 Carbine once back home, in Semi-auto form
 
I wonder if an auto-rifle version would be created, like the RPK.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RPK
Given the low recoil already with the STG 44, an autorifle version would have virtually none. Maybe one MG42 and one STG RPK per squad?
A lot of variants are possible. Some better than others.
IY2NLR2.jpg
 
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