Page 365 - 4090-BOOK2

LOT 1501
Extremely Rare World War II German C.G. Haenel MKb 42(H) Machine Carbine with Sheet Metal Sniper Scope Mount and ZF41/1 Sniper Scope, Class III/NFA Fully Transferable Machine Gun - Serial no. 5796, 7.92 x 33mm Kurz cal., 16 inch round bbl., blue finish, walnut stock. This rifle is probably the rarest and most desirable of all the World War II fully automatic weapons we
have had the opportunity to sell, as the MKb 42(H) is truly the grandfather of the German Assault rifles, as well as any follow-on assault designs produced after World War II, including the vaunted AK-47. Consequently, this would be a pivotal piece in any advanced World War II German or military assault rifle collection and
is probably the only fully registered, fully transferable MKb 42(H) available for sale! The story for this rifle really started in 1935-37 with the requirement from the German high command to develop a new intermediate-range 7.92mm cartridge. That design was completed and finalized in 1938 upon which the Heerswaffenamt issued the requirement for a new fully automatic assault rifle to be developed using this new intermediate-range cartridge. In 1939/40 the C.G. Haenel firm was tasked with producing a prototype design using the 7.92mm Kurz round. Not to be outdone, Walther also decided to develop and submit a prototype design on their own to compete with Haenel for a future contract. Both rifles looked somewhat similar, with the Haenel design eventually being accepted as the superior weapon. It was truly a revolutionary design in that it used a short operating rod housed inside a full-length gas tube, located above the rifle barrel. The tube was connected to the barrel via a front gas block which bleed off gases to cycle the action. The rifle was quite unique in that it was mostly fabricated from sheet metal stampings and a limited number of machined parts; basically the bolt, barrel assembly and some springs. The design was well received by the German high command and Haenel was awarded a follow-on contract for further production development of this weapon. This rifle design was continually improved upon throughout the war and eventually evolved into the MP 43/44 designs issued to various Waffen-SS troops during the Battle of the Bulge. The Mauser factory continued to improve the design which finally evolved into the last configuration which was the “StG 44”. As part of this follow-on work the Haenel company included in this weapon a new design made up of two small bumps or bulges on each side of the rear sight base. These bulges would form the base of a yet to be developed future sniper scope/mount design. This new scope mount followed the same concept as the Mk 42 rifles in that they were truly a flat sheet metal design, folded and welded with minimal machined parts. They were actually more of a shooting aid than a true sniper scope/mount. These stamped sheet metal sniper scope mounts are extremely rare with only a handful even known to exist today.
363