Volkssturmgewehr VG-2
Spreewerke GmbH · Rifle · Discontinued · 1944
Also known as: VG-2, VG.2, Volksgewehr 2, Spreewerke VG-2
Overview
The Volkssturmgewehr VG-2 is a German bolt-action rifle developed by the Spreewerke factory in late 1944 under the Primitive-Weapons Program (Primitiv-Waffen-Programm) to cheaply arm the Volkssturm home-guard militia. It is an unusual last-ditch design built around a receiver formed from a single piece of 1.8 mm sheet steel rolled into a U-shape, with front and rear bushings serving as a trunnion and bolt guide. The rotating bolt locks with two front lugs into a steel insert pinned inside the stamped receiver, and the rifle feeds 7.92x57mm Mauser cartridges from detachable 10-round box magazines originally made for the Gewehr 43. Its crude two-piece wooden stock and fixed 100-metre iron sights reflect the extreme material and labour shortages of the closing months of World War II.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 3850 g (135.8 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1068 mm (42.05") |
| Action Type | Bolt Action |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Trigger Type | Single Action |
| Magazine Capacity | 10 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Detachable Box |
| Effective Range | 100 m (109 yd) |
| Barrel Rifling | Right Hand |
| Frame Material | Stamped Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Stock Material | Wood |
| Finish | Phosphate |
Calibers
- 7.92x57mm Mauser · primary — also known as 8mm Mauser, 7.92 Mauser, 8x57 IS, 7.9x57mm
Features
- Firing modes: Repeating
- Feed systems: Detachable Box Magazine
- Safety mechanisms: Manual Safety Lever
- Features: Stamped Sheet Steel Receiver, Rotating Bolt With Two Front Lugs, Crude Two Piece Wooden Stock, Fixed Iron Sights Zeroed 100m, Uses Gewehr 43 Magazines
Service history
Operators
- Volkssturm · adopted 1944 · as VG-2
- Wehrmacht · adopted 1944 · as VG-2
Conflicts
- World War II (1944-1945)
Production
Estimated total produced: 17,000 · Production years: 1944-1945
Approximately 16,000 to 18,000 units are believed to have been produced by Spreewerke before the end of the war.
Origin
Country of origin: Germany
Discontinued: 1945
Notes
One of five Volksgewehr (VG-1 through VG-5) last-ditch rifle designs. Barrel length is not consistently recorded in surviving documentation; the rifle was intended purely for short-range defensive use.
Background
The VG series was born of the Primitiv-Waffen-Programm, a desperate late-war effort to produce rifles using minimal machining, stamped steel and unskilled labour so the Volkssturm militia of old men and boys could be armed as Allied forces closed on the Reich.