German Gewehr 41

There are a few common misconception about the German semi-automatic rifles of WW2, two of the most repeated pertain to nomenclature. First, people assume since the rifle is called the Gewehr 41, that the German semi-automatic rifle idea came about in 1941 after learning the hard way that a semi-automatic rifle was necessary. In fact, Walther and Mauser's semi-automatic rifles predate WW2. In early as 1938 Walther and Mauser were working with the German government to develop semi-automatic rifles and in that same year both companies submitted designs for testing. The number "41" was chosen because the Germans thought the rifle development would be finalized and mass produced by 1941.

Secondly, people will commonly refer to a 1943 produced Gewehr 41 as a "Gewehr 41(W)" since the rifle was designed by Walther. This is also probably an attempt to separate it from Mauser's G41(M) rifle design. This is technically incorrect since Walther's early rifles marked "G41(W), had features that were later omitted from "G41" marked and officially accepted rifles. In Dec 1942, the German military officially adopts Walther's rifle and designates it "Gewehr 41". Walther rifles made after this announcement drop the "(W)" and will just be marked "G41". In other words, there are technically 3 different G41 rifles; the "G41(W)", the "G41(M)", and the "G41".

The G41 rifle is rather heavy, my example weighs exactly 10 pounds and 14 ounces, so almost 11 pounds. Since the Bang gas system requires quite a bit of high quality steel at the muzzle, the rifle feels very front heavy. This extra weight at the muzzle makes the rifle feel even heavier than 11 pounds when being shouldered and fired. In contrast, my later produced G43 rifle weighs 9 pounds and 10 ounces, just slightly less than a typical M1 rifle. On the positive side, this extra weight tames the 7.92x57 cartridge making it a rather pleasant rifle to shoot

What you see here is a G41 made by Berlin-Lübecker Maschinenfabrik in 1943 and given the manufacturer code of "duv". Rifles made by Walther will be marked "ac".

The G41 has a fixed 10-round magazine that was reloaded by 5-round stripper clips. This is not ideal but on par with other semi-automatic rifles of the time.

Here is a close up of the receiver markings. Note the waffenamt marking in-between the "43." and the serial number. Berlin-Lübecker Maschinenfabrik used the waffenamt code of 214.

Here you can see the waffenamt and serial number stamps onto the bolt housing. G41 bolt housings were made from milled steel and do not have the same fragility issues as G43/K43 bolt housings that were made from stamped sheet metal. The safety can be seen here as well and in principle works similarly to a Mauser rifle. When to the left the gun is able to fire, but when flipped over 180 degrees to the right then the rifle is on safe.

The handle on the G41 bolt carrier is on the opposite side as the later G43. Ergonomically it is easier to pull back on the bolt using your right hand and then reload with your right hand similarly to a K98k. This was changed on the G43 because it was assumed shooters would be using the left hand to change magazines.

Here with the bolt retracted we can see the magazine follower and single guide rail on the left side of the rifle. The bolt is also visible in this picture with it's waffenamt and proof mark. G41 bolts and a few other internal components were left "in the white".

Typically the larger the space is in-between the trigger guard and magazine, the more inefficient a rifle's action is. Here you can see the large gap underneath the G41 and the 3 screws needed to secure such a long piece.

The screws holding the trigger guard onto the G41 use a spring-loaded detent to inhibit the screw from rotating inadvertently. This makes removing the trigger guard screws a two-handed affair; one to push down the detent and another for the screwdriver.

Since the magazine can removed for cleaning, it has another serial number stamped on it.

The Bang system on the G41 is a surprisingly simple design. The nosecone can be unscrewed and taken off the rifle, then the sleeve and piston ring can be removed for cleaning. The front sight is attached to the sleeve and is protected by a sight hood. Although this G41 sight hood looks identical to a K98k sight hood, it is slightly taller as the G41 front sight blade is longer. It is common to find K98k sight hoods on G41 and G43 rifles today as many are unaware of this height difference.

Here, the rifle's serial number is stamped on the bottom of the stock. The markings here are a good indicator if a stock has been sanded or replaced.

An often overlooked and worn down stamp on the wrist of the stock.

Waffenamts stamped onto the side of the stock with the same 214 code as on other parts.

If you'd like to learn more about the German Gewehr 41 rifle and it's development, check out this video: