The Gewehr 41 rifles, commonly known as the G41(W) or G41(M), were semi-automatic rifle

Semi-automatic rifle

A semi-automatic rifle is a type of rifle that fires a single bullet each time the trigger is pulled, automatically ejects the spent cartridge, chambers a fresh cartridge from its magazine, and is immediately ready to fire another shot...

s used by Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany

Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...

 during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

Background

By 1940, it became apparent that some form of a semi-automatic rifle, with a higher rate of fire

Rate of fire

Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. It is usually measured in rounds per minute , or per second .-Overview:...

 than existing bolt-action rifle models, was necessary to improve the infantry

Infantry

Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...

's combat efficiency. The Wehrmacht

Wehrmacht

The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...

 issued a specification to various manufacturers, and Mauser

Mauser

Mauser was a German arms manufacturer of a line of bolt-action rifles and pistols from the 1870s to 1995. Mauser designs were built for the German armed forces...

 and Walther submitted prototype

Prototype

A prototype is an early sample or model built to test a concept or process or to act as a thing to be replicated or learned from.The word prototype derives from the Greek πρωτότυπον , "primitive form", neutral of πρωτότυπος , "original, primitive", from πρῶτος , "first" and τύπος ,...

s that were very similar. However, some restrictions were placed upon the design:

• no holes for tapping gas for the loading mechanism were to be bored into the barrel
  Gun barrel
  A gun barrel is the tube, usually metal, through which a controlled explosion or rapid expansion of gases are released in order to propel a projectile out of the end at a high velocity....
  
  ;
• the rifles were not to have any moving parts on the surface;
• and in case the auto-loading mechanism failed, a bolt action was to be included.

Both models therefore used a mechanism known as the "Bang" system (after its Danish designer Søren H. Bang). In this system, gases from the bullet were trapped near the muzzle in a ring-shaped cone, which in turn pulled on a long piston rod that opened the breech and re-loaded the gun. This is as opposed to the more common type of gas-actuated system, in which gases are tapped off from the barrel, and push back on a piston to open the breech to the rear. Both also included inbuilt 10-round magazines that were loaded using two of the stripper clips from the Karabiner 98k

Karabiner 98k

The Karabiner 98 Kurz was a bolt action rifle chambered for the 8x57mm IS/7.92×57mm IS cartridge that was adopted as the standard service rifle in 1935 by the German Wehrmacht. It was one of the final developments in the long line of Mauser military rifles...

, utilizing the same German-standard 7.92x57mm Mauser

7.92x57mm Mauser

The 8×57mm IS is a rimless bottlenecked rifle cartridge. The 8×57mm IS was adopted by the German Empire in 1905, and was the German service cartridge in both World Wars...

 rounds. This in turn made reloading relatively slow.

The Mauser design, the G41(M), failed. Only 6,673 were produced before production was halted, and of these, 1,673 were returned as unusable. Most metal parts on this rifle were machined steel, and some rifles, especially later examples utilized the Bakelite type plastic handguards. The Walther design was more successful because the designers had simply ignored the last two restrictions listed above.

These rifles, along with their G41(M) counterparts, suffered from gas system fouling problems. These problems seemed to stem from the overly complex muzzle trap system becoming excessively corroded from the use of corrosive salts in the ammunition primers, and carbon fouling. The muzzle assembly consisted of many fine parts and was difficult to keep clean, disassemble, and maintain in field conditions. The rifle was redesigned in 1943 into the Gewehr 43

Gewehr 43

The Gewehr 43 or Karabiner 43 is an 8x57mm IS caliber semi-automatic rifle developed by Nazi Germany during World War II...

, utilizing a gas system somewhat similar to that on the SVT-40 and a detachable magazine.

G41(W) rifles were produced at two factories, namely Walther at Zella Mehlis, and Berlin Luebecker. Walther guns bear the AC code, and WaA359 inspection proofs, while BLM guns bear the DUV code with WaA214 inspection proofs. These rifles are also relatively scarce, and quite valuable in collector grade. Varying sources put production figures between 40,000 and 145,000 units. Again, these rifles saw a high attrition rate on the Eastern front

Eastern Front (World War II)

The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...

.