Original Item: Only One Available. This Wood Buttstock Assembly is original WWII issue, and is offered in good condition. These are extremely hard to find on their own, as they are usually only sold with complete display guns or parts sets. The wooden portion of the MP / STG 44 is the weakest point of construction, so there are quite a number of sets out there in need of a nice butt stock. For this reason later in the war, the construction was shifted to wood laminate, which is what this example is made from.

The stock cup fitting that attaches to the rear receiver is marked cos for Merz-Werke Gebrüder Merz, Frankfurt am Main, Rheinland. This manufacture made components for many of the machine guns utilized during WWII. After this is crossed out serial number 919, and another serial number 3358.  The wooden portion itself is marked 4136. There are also some faint proof markings in the inlet for the frog of the sling, but we cannot decipher these.

Condition is quite nice, with minimal wear, and just a few dents. There is no major cracking wee can see. The storage compartment opens easily, and the spring closure works flawlessly. There is a bit of past pitting on the butt corner reinforcments.

A great chance to pick up a scarce MP / STG 44 component!

History of the MP44-

The StG 44 (Sturmgewehr 44, literally "storm rifle" model of 1944 was an assault rifle developed in NSDAP Germany during World War II that was the first of its kind to see major deployment and is considered by many historians to be the first modern assault rifle. It is also known under the designations MP 43 and MP 44 (Maschinenpistole 43, Maschinenpistole 44 respectively), which denote earlier development versions of the same weapon with some differences like a different butt end, muzzle nut, shape of the front sight base or with an unstepped barrel, all only visible with close inspection.

MP 43, MP 44, and StG 44 were different designations for what was essentially the same rifle, with minor updates in production. The variety in nomenclatures resulted from the complicated bureaucracy in NSDAP Germany. Developed from the Mkb 42(H) "machine carbine", the StG44 combined the characteristics of a carbine, submachine gun and automatic rifle. StG is an abbreviation of Sturmgewehr. The name was chosen for propaganda reasons and literally means "storm rifle" as in "to storm (i.e. "assault") an enemy position". After the adoption of the StG 44, the English translation "assault rifle" became the accepted designation for this type of infantry small arm.

The rifle was chambered for the 7.92×33mm Kurz cartridge. This shorter version of the German standard (7.92x57mm) rifle round, in combination with the weapon's selective-fire design, provided a compromise between the controllable firepower of a submachine gun at close quarters with the accuracy and power of a Karabiner 98k bolt action rifle at intermediate ranges. While the StG44 had less range and power than the more powerful infantry rifles of the day, Wehrmacht studies had shown that most combat engagements occurred at less than 300 m, with the majority within 200 m. Full-power rifle cartridges were excessive for the vast majority of uses for the average soldier. Only a trained specialist, such as a sniper, could make full use of the standard rifle round's range and power.

The StG 44's receiver was made of heavy stamped and welded steel as were other contemporary arms such as the MP 40 and MG 42. This made for a fairly heavy rifle, especially one firing an intermediate-power cartridge. Difficulties with fabrication, the need to use available non-priority steels, and the exigencies of war resulted in a heavy receiver. U.S. military intelligence criticized the weight of the weapon along with the inclusion of the fully automatic feature which it considered "ineffectual for all practical purposes", convinced that full automatic fire with StG 44 was permitted in emergencies only. This was a misinterpretation of the manual however, as the German manual states that automatic fire was "advised only in emergencies", this was mainly to make sure that the regular soldier didn't unnecessarily waste his ammunition spraying at targets, but instead fired in short accurate bursts to achieve maximum accuracy and effect; the StG could easily and safely be used in full automatic mode. The British were also critical saying that the receiver could be bent and the bolt locked up by the mere act of knocking a leaning rifle onto a hard floor. Many of these criticisms are more a testimonial of the Allied aversion rather than an accurate view of the weapon's characteristics that were proven highly effective during combat in the war.

To its credit, it was the first successful weapon of its class, and the concept had a major impact on modern infantry small arms development. By all accounts, the StG 44 fulfilled its role admirably, particularly on the Eastern Front, offering a greatly increased volume of fire compared to standard infantry rifles. In the end, it came too late to have a significant effect on the outcome of the war.