M44 Submachine Gun: Finland Copies the Soviet PPS-43

This video review focuses on the PPS-43, an often overlooked submachine gun from World War 2. The content aims to highlight its significance and potentially its capabilities, suggesting it might be considered one of the most underrated SMGs of the era. While no specific details beyond the title are available, the video likely delves into the history, design, and operational aspects of the PPS-43, positioning it within the context of other World War 2 firearms.

This compilation compares the MP-38 and PPS-43 submachine guns, showcasing their loading procedures, stock deployment mechanisms, and live-fire performance. The MP-38 utilizes 9mm Parabellum, while the PPS-43 fires 7.62x25mm Tokarev. Both exhibit distinct characteristics in handling and operation, highlighting their respective historical contexts and design philosophies.

This video compares four iconic World War II submachine guns: the German MP-38, Soviet PPSh-41, Italian MAB-38, and Soviet PPS-43. It demonstrates loading and firing each, highlighting their distinct features like magazine types, stock designs, and construction materials. Technical specifications for caliber, capacity, barrel length, and weight are provided for each model.

This expert-level entry details the Soviet PPS-43 submachine gun, highlighting its extreme simplicity and efficient design. Key features include its full-auto-only operation, stamped metal construction, and a unique dual-purpose guide rod acting as an ejector. The analysis emphasizes the weapon's robust yet minimalist engineering, making it a notable example of wartime firearm production.

This review covers the rare Soviet PPS-42 submachine gun, a predecessor to the PPS-43, developed under emergency conditions during the Siege of Leningrad. It highlights the weapon's high rate of fire, stamped steel construction for cost-effective wartime production, and specific design features like its folding stock and non-interchangeable magazines compared to the PPS-43.

The PPS-42 submachine gun, developed in besieged Leningrad by Alexei Sudayev, was designed for extreme manufacturing efficiency compared to the PPSh-41. It utilized a stamped receiver and a simpler blowback action, chambered in 7.62x25mm Tokarev with a 35-round box magazine. While the PPS-43 became the more common variant, the PPS-42 represents a significant historical artifact from a critical wartime period.

This video details the unique 'French Finger Trap' issue with the MAS-36 rifle's bayonet, where two rifles can become unintentionally locked together. A 1951 French arsenal memorandum identified this problem, proposing a simple modification to the bayonet handle. Drilling a small hole allows a tool, like a firing pin, to depress the internal spring, enabling the separation of locked rifles.

The M134 Minigun is a scaled-down 7.62 NATO rotary cannon, requiring 24V DC power and consuming 1.5 kW. Its high rate of fire (3,000+ RPM) is essential for aircraft engagement windows. The complex delinker mechanism is critical for feeding ammunition, and practical hand-held use is impossible due to weight and recoil. Live fire demonstrates rapid ammunition consumption and the need for indirect aiming.

The H&K G11 is a revolutionary prototype assault rifle designed in the late 20th century, notable for its caseless ammunition and unique rotating drum bolt mechanism. Despite advanced features like a 2000 RPM burst fire rate and integrated optics, its development was ultimately halted by geopolitical shifts and cost concerns.

This video demonstrates the assembly and live-fire of the German 1936 pattern light mortar (L.Gr.W.36). It highlights the mortar's leveling mechanism for accuracy and the difficulty in visually tracking its 50mm projectiles after firing. The content showcases historical military hardware and its operational use.