Posted on 09/15/2016 8:00:37 AM PDT by w1n1
Without leaving your Head out in the Open
Guns that shoot around corners are more than grist for the mill of an old Bugs Bunny plot in a Saturday morning cartoon. They’re real, and were first used, with limited success, by the German army in World War II. The weapon in question was the STG44 Krummlauf, a variant of the standard STG44 assault rifle. Why on earth would you want to shoot around a corner? The better question is why on earth wouldn’t you? It’s a lot safer than standing out in broad daylight where the enemy can take shots at you any old time they like. Read on to learn more about this amazing, short-lived, and very rare weapon.
Creating the Krummlauf German engineers during the war were perhaps the best and most creative in the world. They were literally weeks from producing their own atomic bomb when Berlin finally fell. Rarely a week goes by that some bit of forgotten Nazi genius isn’t shown on the History Channel, so it's no surprise they were the first to invent a gun that could shoot around corners.
They started with a standard STG44 assault rifle, and outfitted it with a special barrel attachment that curved either 30 or 45 degrees. How the heck do you aim something like that from a position of safety? The Germans thought of that and installed a periscope sighting device that allowed the weapon’s operator to at least have a chance of hitting the target. Tests at the time showed that a skilled marksman could put a group of bullets in a 35x35cm square at 100 meters. Read the rest of the story here.
There’s a video on youtube of some teenage kid who hand built a bolt action .22 that shoots around corners based on pretty much this same concept. He admits it’s not very accurate and is basically a novelty.
During WWII, some tank crews were issued M1 carbines with a 90° cut barrel. The curve of the barrel was open on the inside of the 90° like an open half pipe top side on a park’s water slide.
Looks like a barrel melting machine.
I’ve seen it used in cartoons.
I’ve seen pics of such devices on WW2 German weapons, looked like a gas pipe sliced in two lengthwise, bent, and attached to the barrel. Simplistic, but effective.
Gee, the action on an AK-47 looks remarkably similar to that of the STG44.
I sure am glad the concept of ergonomics was invented.
What a contraption!
A gun shoots.
Guns shoot.
All you need is proper English.
I’ve seen one of those STG’s w curved barrel, in person. Really neat.
90-Degree Barrel | MythBusters
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xfYfgpjtws
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