Google up a photo of an HK33 with a slim-line handguard and 40-round magazine and you immediately notice its classic “Sturmgewehr” look. However, the lineage of the HK33 isn’t related to the well known StG-44, but rather to the lesser-known Mauser developed StG-45.
The war ended before the StG-45 could enter production and the Mauser factory came under the jurisdiction of the French Occupation Forces. The StG-45 team, under Wilhelm Staehle and Ludwig Vorgrimler, was sent to work for the French at the Centre d’Etudes et d’Armement de Mulhouse (CEAM). There they developed a roller-locked, .30 caliber assault rifle, however, the French Army chose to go with a more traditional rifle design.
Ludwig Vorgrimler resigned from CEAM in 1951 and moved to Spain to work for the state-owned CETME (Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales). He continued to work with the roller-locked, delayed-blowback system and created the 7.92x41mm caliber CETME “Modelo 2” rifle in 1953.
The Modelo 2 caught the eye of both the newly-formed Bundesgrenzschutz (West German Border Guards) and Bundeswehr (West German Army) but they wanted it in the new 7.6x51mm NATO cartridge. CETME adapted the Modelo 2 to this more powerful cartridge and it was adopted by the Spanish Army as the Modelo 1958.
In the meantime though, the Bundesgrenzschutz and the Bundeswehr had purchased quantities of the Belgian 7.62x51mm FN FAL in 1956, which they called the G1. The Belgian government, however, refused to allow Germany to license manufacture the rifle locally, so the Bundeswehr went back to CETME for a German version of the Modelo 58. CETME delivered and this rifle was officially adopted by the Bundeswehr in January 1959 as the G3.
This story is from the September 2020 edition of Airsoft Action.
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This story is from the September 2020 edition of Airsoft Action.
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SETTING THE SCENE: SETS AND PROPS
WITH THE FIRST “OPERATIONAL DEPLOYMENT” OF HIS MISSILE LAUNCH SYSTEM NOW WELL AND TRULY UNDER HIS BELT, JAMES TURNS TO THE MORE GENERALISED USE OF “SET AND PROPS”. THIS IS WHERE IMAGINATION MEETS REALITY, AS HE EMBARKS ON A NEW SERIES OF ARTICLES INVESTIGATING HOW THE CORRECT USE OF “SCENE SETTING” CAN TURN A GOOD AIRSOFT GAME INTO AN AWESOME ONE!
PRACTICAL MAGIC
IN THE FIRST PART OF YET ANOTHER NEW SERIES, JON “POSH” MILLS HAS STARTED HIS JOURNEY INTO ALL THINGS “PRACTICAL” AS HE DOCUMENTS HIS FIRST STEPS INTO A WHOLE NEW WORLD OF AIRSOFT AND, ALONG WITH OTHER MEMBERS OF THE AA CREW, TAKES A STEP BACK TO “PROJECT PRECISION” AND SEES HOW TRUE “AIRSOFT MULTIGUN” IS BEING LOOKED AT WITH FRESH EYES!
THE CAGE: GLOVES
AS WITH EVERY INSTALMENT OF THE CAGE, WE’RE CONSTANTLY LOOKING FOR GOOD KIT; NOT SIMPLY GEAR THAT’S 100% FIT FOR PURPOSE BUT EQUIPMENT THAT’S GOING TO GIVE YOU GOOD SERVICE AND GREAT VALUE FOR MONEY! THIS TIME THE AA LEGION TAKE A LOOK AT GLOVES, WHAT THEY’VE WORN IN THE PAST AND WHAT THEY’RE WEARING NOW, SO YOU CAN REALLY GET “HANDS ON” IN ANY SITUATION! AS USUAL, BILL LEADS OFF…
DIRECT ACTION: 2021 UPDATES!
ACTION IN POLAND. AS ALWAYS THOUGH, BILL HAS BEEN KEEPING A VERY CLOSE EYE ON THEIR LATEST DEVELOPMENTS AND INNOVATIONS FOR THE TRUE TACTICAL USER! WITH SOME GREAT NEW MODELS AVAILABLE HE BRINGS IN AN UPDATE OF KIT THAT HE’S ALREADY TRIED AND TESTED EXTENSIVELY!
VORSK: DIARY UPDATE
SINCE THE “VORSK PROJECT” STARTED, BILL HAS BEEN KEEPING DETAILED NOTES AND A RUNNING TALLY ON THE EXISTING MODELS TO SEE HOW THEY PERFORM OVER TIME AND ALTHOUGH SOME STILL HAVEN’T YET SEEN A GAME DUE TO THE RESTRICTIONS WE HAVE ALL FACED, HE CONTINUES TO GIVE ALL THE MODELS, INCLUDING THE LATEST RELEASES, A VERY HARD TIME ON THE RANGE IN HIS WEEKLY SESSIONS!
OPFOR OPERATOR
DURING HIS TIME PLAYING AIRSOFT, BILL HAS FOUND HIMSELF ON ALL MANNER OF TEAMS AND EVERY SINGLE ONE HAS HAD ITS OWN PARTICULAR PLUS AND MINUS POINTS, BUT HE DOES SAY THAT IT HASBEEN THE TIME THAT HE’S SPENT PLAYING OPPOSING FORCE, OR OPFOR, WHERE HE’S ENJOYED HIMSELF THE MOST. FROM HUMBLE BEGINNINGS, HE FINALLY STARTS TO LOOK AT OPFOR “MAIN FORCE”!
THE NEED FOR SPEED: PART I
ALTHOUGH IT MIGHT SEEM THAT WE ARE ALL CONSTANTLY LOOKING FORWARD TO THE “LATEST AND BESTEST” INNOVATIONS THAT WILL MAKE OUR AEGS AND GBBS UTTER DEVASTATORS AND BRINGERS OF DOOM, IN PART 1 OF A TWO-PART FEATURE, BOYCIE TAKES A LOOK BACK AT WHERE WE’VE COME FROM AND HOW WE CAN USE THE SIMPLEST OF “FIXES” TO OUR BEST ADVANTAGE!
RELOADED CZECH MATE
AA’S “MAN IN TAIWAN”, STEWBACCA, TAKES A LOOK BACK AT HOW AND WHY HE ENDED UP USING A KJ WORKS CZ75 SHADOW 2 FOR HIS ACTION AIR EXPLOITS.
SOMETIMES SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL
FRENCHIE HAS WRITTEN ABOUT MULTITOOLS ON MORE THAN A FEW OCCASIONS IN AIRSOFT ACTION AND THIS MONTH HE’S GOING TO ADD TO THAT GROWING PILE, BY TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT ONE OF HIS FAVOURITES.
“A SHOOTER NEEDS ONLY ONE RIFLE!” ...SAID NO AIRSOFTER …EVER!
NO MATTER WHAT TYPE OF PLATFORM IT IS, ALL OF US AT AIRSOFT ACTION ARE GENUINELY DELIGHTED TO SEE SOMETHING THAT’S JUST A BIT DIFFERENT AND IN A DEPARTURE FROM HIS USUAL PREFERENCE OF AIRSOFT RIFS, BOYCIE TAKES A LONG, HARD LOOK AT THE STEYR SCOUT BOLT ACTION RIFLE THAT’S COME TO MARKET COURTESY OF ACTIONSPORTGAMES (ASG).
