A piece of unusual trivia today. Magazines for the German StG44 were marked with the rifle’s designation in addition to the manufacturer’s code. Well, the gun started out life as the MP43 in 1943, and that’s what the early magazines were marked. By 1944 it had been modified here and there, and was redesignated MP44. The magazine manufacturers appropriately changed the marking to match. Along came 1945, and at least one of the factories simply assumed that the marking was for the date, so they changed their dies to read MP45:
They were only made briefly, because the MP45 rifle wouldn’t quite be developed in time to see field trials during the war. Whoops! The production was changed back to MP44 (or StG44). Neat magazine to have, if you run across one.
Sorry to be cynical, but I wouldn’t be shocked to find that the stamp is a fraud. The German WW1 and WW2 collectables market is full of re-stamps and other fakery.
Normally I would agree, but this came from a very reputable private collection.
I am not convinced and think Mr. watters is right.
Whoever made StG 44 magazines: the world was coming apart around them and all they could think of was changing the most expensive part of the tooling to the unauthorized, non existing designation of MP 45 at that. Do you really believe that?
If there ever was fraud, I think this is it.
Having seen things like the design of the trigger mechanism on the VG1-5, I wouldn’t doubt that a German factory would take the time to change a stamping die date in the chaos of 1945.
The one company which made magazines stamped “MP45”
was Loch & Hartenberger in Idar-Oberstein, a spa town not far from Trier. They closed down about ten years ago – my visit was just too late to grab the tooling
(which doubtless they had not thrown away – tooling is expensive!)
I have several of these magazines and am confident that they are genuine.
Hey Ian,
if you read a book Sturmgewehr you will find thats those magazines was made for MP45 Schmeiser simplified version of MP44 called MP45, an experimental barrel block or barrel trunion and about 5-10 of those where made and very rare no doughts to be in private collection…
So if you see those magazines marked MP45 thats means they belong to that model called MP45,if certain marks mismatch than its duplicated stamps…
Most hard to find is 20 round version G43 magazines,I cant even find a repro of them..
The simplified MP44 receiver that is marked MP45 never even reached the production stage, let alone testing or approval so that I would doubt I doubt if a new magazine marking would have been ordered.
The magazine is definitely not a fake. I have several of them both blued and phosphated. They came into the UK about 15 years ago in a shipment of 6000 from Yugoslavia. Most people in Germany at that time had little knowledge of the progress of the war and one could be sent to jail for “defeatest talk”. All the media of the time was controlled by the government- very similar to the UK now.
Late to this thread . . . . I have a photo
of a Stg44 type weapon that is marked MP45
which I viewed in a collection over 30 years
ago.
LOL. Yes gents, “MP45” marked magazines are indeed a very real thing. As Ian states, they were simply mismarked for a short time and, as another gentleman pionted out, all seem to have been made by Loch & Hartenberger.