Last Ditch Innovation: The Development of the Gerat 06 and Gerat 06H Rifles

[@ForgottenWeapons]

The person who built the guns does not wish to be identified, and that is why I'm not providing any information on how I happened to get my hands on them.

[@Tiberius_I]

well he's one helll of a fabricator whoever he is. He could probably not only make the gun he can figure out a way to make it disappear into any tool box once disassembled and never arrouse the suspicion of any one searching for a gun.

[@AndrewJ9673]

DressUpYourPet2 what???

[@PBMS123]

@@Tiberius_I Don't know how you're going to "hide" a barrel or sight.

[@helmsscotta]

@@PBMS123 : Hollow bed post.

[@matthewnunya8483]

@@PBMS123 in a pile of metal stock

[@maxkronader5225]

I love when the algorithm pops out a vintage Forgotten Weapons video.

[@vector6977]

My left ear enjoyed this.

[@Drunkenvalley]

+vector6977 I wish KZbin had an "audio correction" functionality to just merge the channels into mono.

[@Haaraff]

I can't relate to this, since I'm deaf on my left ear.

[@edwhatshisname3562]

Oh, you too?

[@I_hunt_lolis]

Mine too...because my right headphone is not working lol

[@neilhillis9858]

Really glad ye don't use these trendy silly camera angles any more!

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Sort of - the 06H was tentatively named the StG45(M). There were other StG45 designs from different companies, though.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

The G3 has to be bigger, because it uses a bigger cartridge. That means a longer bolt, longer recoil travel, longer receiver, heavier trunnion, etc.

[@SeeTeeTee]

Holy crap, what an education. I'm so glad I found this channel!

[@smokeytokyo4553]

It is the best channel for old (milsurp) firearms and like carlos said Ian is the real deal

[@JoeyyDoesLife]

Welcome to the enclave of firearms enlightenment !

[@Enzo012]

Better education than the one you got in school.

[@samuelparker9882]

Calvin T. I know, right!

[@stewknoles4790]

I have to say, this is one of your best videos. I love the G3 design and I had NO idea that it was actually a late war Mauser project. Very very informative. Thanks so much for sharing this great piece of German firearm technology.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Basically, because Germany was barred from arms development after WW2. Russia, and the eastern bloc with them, developed the 7.62x39 (which was created at the same time the Germans were developing the 8x33). The US and NATO stayed with a full size cartridge because of American military conservatism.

[@jonasglanshed]

It may be noteworthy to say that H&K Was founded by Edmund Heckler, Theodor Koch, and Alex Seidel also Mauser employees that had saved as much tooling and machines as they could from the bombed out and plundered, by the French, Mauser factory. H&K is relay just a re-branding of the Waffenfabrik Mauser AG

[@seldonwright4345]

Humans never ever forsake their tools / weapons. Ever.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

" H&K is relay just a re-branding of the Waffenfabrik Mauser AG" Not really, as the original owners no longer are involved, for a rebranding nothing else should be different but the name. It's more like a follow up or continuation under new management

[@HondoTrailside]

Pretty hard to see "plundered". Not to mention Mauser's role in the final solution and millions of other deaths.

[@rancidpitts8243]

@@HondoTrailside The French PLUNDERED. As an individual the French are like anyone else. As a nation the French are a whole other thing. Their distain for the German people is historic. They plundered and some as revenge for the plundering they had just received in the five years past.

[@frankcoala5890]

@@HondoTrailside You are not referring to smallpox-infected blankets...?

[@GoredonTheDestroyer]

My left ear is really enjoying this video.

[@MikMan89]

Yes, ditto...

[@pinz2022]

Mmm. Must have headphones on backwards. Good thing not wearing out in public. Get laughed at.

[@evilcowboy]

My phones a clearly marked on the rear of them with L and R. On my ear phones it is only coming out of the left side of the phones. This is further confirmed through the balance feature with in Windows under the levels menu in speaker properties. Turning the R all the way down I do not loose anything out of the left side of my headphones and can still hear it.

[@I_hunt_lolis]

Mine too...since my right headphone is not working so left is all I hear now lol

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Actually, I think the .45 lasted so long because the US military viewed the handgun as an actual combat weapon, where for a long time (and perhaps still) European nations saw them more as a badge of rank.

[@mapleman1416]

Look how far you've come, Ian. Congratulations!

[@markbarlow8770]

Always appreciate your honest way of making your videos Ian, you seem unafraid to make a mistake and don't hit the edit. And you can explain things very easily I always enjoy the show. Thank you for being a straight up person

[@ForgottenWeapons]

No, German paratroops had the FG42 instead. But you should definitely check out the blog tomorrow to see what a paratroop StG44 would have looked like. ;)

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Yep, that is the anti-bounce spring. In the HK, it's far stronger than necessary.

[@ayyyyph2797]

The camera quality is honestly pretty good, and I like the presentation format, kinda wish we'd get new episodes that harken back to this

[@notnowchief.3089]

Right..I was thinking the same ..For watching an 11 year old Vid

[@Flowjoedk]

Nice to know the story behind the G3 when you have used it in the late 90s when I performed my military service in Denmark. I find it interesting that a design from the 40s are used for so many years. This applies in many designs, such as MG42, which we also used almost unchanged in the form of MG3. I find it interesting when designs or design elements are created right on the first try, both in weapons, architecture and furniture design.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

He designed and built his own high speed camera, actually. It used a rotating set of mirrors, but beyond that I'm not sure exactly how it worked.

[@andyanderson1100]

The USA had access to all this technology and the best they could produce is the m14

[@Chilly_Billy]

Unfortunately the entrenched brass at Army Ordnance still thought the average infantryman needed the ability to kill at 800 or more yards, failing to realize how rare it would be to utilize such capability with iron sighted rifles. After all, the enemy isn't stupid and wants to go home as much as you do. He's going to camouflage himself and hide behind cover. Try spotting a man 100 yards away that doesn't want to be seen. Even 50 yards is a stretch in many situations. The M14 had the capability to kill at great distance but two world wars and Korea still hadn't convinced the powers-that-be that rapid fire effective to 200-300 yards was far more important. That meant intermediate cartridges changed in fully automatic arms. Thanks to Eugene Stoner, his team at Armalite and Curtis LeMay, we ultimately got the rifle we needed. And after 60+ years we still have arguably the best infantry rifle ever fielded.

[@ianmatthews3041]

@@Chilly_Billy Should have utilised the entire Stoner concept!

[@1911acolt1]

Not the best, many other American designs..But what ordinance wanted went..They wanted what was familiar..So they forced a full auto garand variant as well as sabotaged the ar10-ar15...So yeah pretty screwed up...Way behind the times...

[@duartesimoes508]

There's nothing wrong with the M-14!

[@Jakezillagfw]

@@duartesimoes508 You need to watch the sand a mud tests........

[@sonofliberty92]

Man, I stumbled upon a few of these videos and they are awesome. Love WW2 history.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Yes, it would be cheaper than an AKM to make in quantity.

[@hasanfurkancengiz]

Forgotten Weapons what is cheaper to produce? a gerat?

[@ekim000]

Ian has been a scholar, educator, archivist and gentleman for a long time.

[@mullicrk9782]

Grandfathers to HK weapons....Superior insight and design. Great Video

[@firefightergoggie]

I just watched one of Ian's latest videos (August 2020) and then this one from 2012. The man never seems to age.

[@newdefsys]

Gun Jesus is immortal

[@gewerh44]

So basically you have the coolest job in the world. Damn!

[@piotrwoznica9100]

Man, you're a walking encyclopedia! I love your show, the guns and the way you talk about them. Thanks for all your work :)

[@83nav]

"Gerat", damn as a German I was asking myself who this Gerat was and why did I never hear or read of him. Then I realizes it is "Gerät", which is best translated as "device". Experimental is the same word in German as in English, though pronounced slightly differernt. Anyways, thank you Ian for another great video. PS: please don´t confuse our little German minds by relpacing the ä, ö, ü. ;-)

[@dreadjavapirate]

That was an EXCELLENT description of how the roller delayed gas blow back designs work and why the fluting was needed. I own a PTR-91 so I found this very interesting. Semi-auto G3 (HK91) clones are still being made by PTR and Moore Advanced Dynamics, and I think a company called Vector as well (although maybe Vector stopped producing them). The G3/CETME and clones are really reliable, and I love my PTR-91.

[@3.2Carrera]

Great video, about as good as it gets. It's amazing how the US Army analyzed all of these fantastic designs and then decided to modernize the Garand after WWII with a slightly smaller but still full power cartridge. A delayed roller blow back gun in 1945 had to be like a futuristic laser gun to the analysts of the day. Heck, it's still advanced today. MP5 case in point.

[@weasle2904]

Delayed below back isn't up to par compared to tuned gas systems in rifle cartridges. Pistol cartridges such as the MP5 perhaps, but it's outdated for rifles.

[@davidkohler7454]

Hey Ian, hold on to your hat. Forgotten Weapons is gonna be Huge. You may not know it now in 2012 but trust me, Really Big things are Comming your way. Thank you in advance from 2021. It's been a great ride..

[@johngroberts952]

You have come a long way since you made this one.

[@nancybarnes29]

thank you for doing another great job. even at the age of 70 after a lifetime of appreciating firearms, you give me more to think about. also since ive always been low key, observant and reflective it gives me an opportunity to listen to others who i would otherwise never get to meet by reading the comments. i had a nice hk 93 w/ 3/9 scope for several years, shot many varmints out to 300yds w/ black hills. had to sell it in clinton gun ban. i will keep farming,....and i bought something else. god speed.....rgw

[@AakeTraak]

Very informative. Well done.

[@snarky.conservative9182]

Amazing quality when you consider the lack of raw materials at the end of the War in Germany. This rifle must be worth a fortune due to is scarcity alone! Great vid..

[@danialkemp1]

Talk about excellent. I have been watching these for a while now....you get to learn about the development of firearms first hand! Keep up the good work....

[@mikemessier7977]

Very professional and informative. Well done Sirs.

[@georgewood9482]

Absolutely fascinating! I've always thought that the G3 and MP5 families were strongly reminiscent of the STG44, and wondered why they were aesthetically alike when the internals are so different, this is the missing link and it makes so much sense now! Thanks for your work, Ian!

[@skittification]

Very interesting presentation. Thanks for posting.

[@zendell37]

Thank you, Ian, and all those that have a hand in helping make ForgottenWeapons possible. I love learning about firearms and war time histories. All the experimenting the Germans did during the war is just fascinating to me.

[@ulrichvogt8389]

This was so familiar seeing you disassembling this gun, Sir When I was trained to do so in 1974 I didn't know the whole procedure was invented Thirty years earlier

[@nils4137]

Excellent video, and easily one of the best firearms channels on youtube!

[@BonnKialStevens]

Never saw these before, thanks for posting.

[@oerich]

You do such an excellent job at presenting these firearms. Everything is extremely informed and professional. It's such a delight to watch this channel.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Crud, I thought I'd corrected that. I'll upload a fixed copy this evening.

[@Xwhere]

I respect and understand your friends decision to keep his fine weapons/self anonymous. Thank you for taking the time to let us know, it's all some of us were asking. You have the very best firearm videos, no one field strips such rare pieces and I appreciate every time you show us how they are taken part & reassembled! Sorry if I came across wrong, it was not my intent.

[@majormassenspektrometer]

I thought Gerat was a french name but in the video it was clear for me that it means Gerät/device. ^^

[@iskandartaib]

It's pronounced "ge-rate", though... Rhymes with "great".

[@oef6975]

@@iskandartaib people that don't use the German language on a regular basis don't realise that a and ä make different sounds

[@iskandartaib]

@@oef6975 Very true. Somewhat unrelated but annoying is that I have not figured out yet how to type letters with umlaut on my phone.. 😂

[@83nav]

I also thought it was a name, then realized it is Gerät.

[@duartesimoes508]

Gerard is the French name.

[@clayrogers4532]

I don't know why but this is close to if not my favorite Forgotten Weapons presentation. Great job Ian and crew! Thank you.

[@TheJeffNasty]

I find it fascinating how the blow back one ended up, over time, morphing into my Hk91. I'm glad the Mauser scientists didn't get captured by the Soviets!

[@jorgschimmer8213]

TheJeffNasty . Easy. Because the Company was based in deep south Germany. Captured by America😉

[@Riimaachan]

They were tho, that's why we have the ak

[@TheFaveteLinguis]

@@Riimaachan it's a debunked myth. Even Ian&Karl stated that this is wrong.

[@Riimaachan]

@@TheFaveteLinguis oh you mean the litteral blueprints of stg44 on some of kalashnikov statues or the very fact that mauser itself worked for ussr after the war... Man do some research before saying weird things

[@Riimaachan]

@@jorgschimmer8213 the French actually, oberndof was captured to the French

[@ladislavantal7268]

This channel is gold. I'm not even into guns but I'm interested in engineering and history. Great production

[@quistan2]

Very informative, I have a much better grasp now on the procedure of the MP5 roller delayed blow back function. Thank you.

[@desertmoon66]

You have some of the most educational arms videos on the net. Thank you for your excellent productions.

[@classicoolvideos7614]

Good stuff man........very informative.

[@DARIVSARCHITECTVS]

This series of prototype rifles always fascinated me. Many thank for this insightful video! It's great to see exactly how the parts work.

[@Jarris2]

4:01 Achievement Unlocked: Gerat 06H

[@Maphisto86]

Amazing! I never thought I would ever see footage of these rare, prototype weapons ever being fired. Thanks to everyone behind the making of this video. : )

[@thaGkillah]

Actually its called Gerät. That "ä" is like "ae" combined. for example Gareth Bale The Bale part with its a.

[@IchNixHabenUsername]

the a in Bale is similar to bay, but far from ä/ae, ä is more like the a in man

[@mb8663]

As an approximation, it rhymes with "serrate".

[@user-cm6tj2he4b]

It's pronounced like "eight". And then quite long. Gerääät.

[@myowndata]

+ Sonnenrad, budy, i´m Austrian and nothing you wrote sounds remotly similar *gg* The most similarily thing what was mentioned here is the a from "and"

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

@@myowndata Well yeah, English does simply not use the same sound that makes up the 'Ä' in Gerät, so you can only get kind of close. Plus their normal a - sounds all have that tendency to go "ay" with a kind of I-suffix to the a that does not fit with german pronunciation, even austro-german ones :D Just shove Ian towards "Gue-rate" and hope he isn't one of the Amis that pronounce Guerilla like Gorilla... Hmm maybe Gwe-Rate might even be a better guide for him. But then i'm sure he has been corrected on Gerät a dozen times or more and doesn't ever change his evil North american ways, so idk how sensible it is to drag it out time and again.

[@martindl99]

Excellent presentation, many thanks Ian.

[@g-low6365]

"german politicians... This wont work" "german engineers... Hold my beer... for 70+years".

[@yPhil]

My, this one felt even more thorough & didactical. Wonderful gear ; thanks, Ian.

[@belligerentinstigator944]

weird. For some reason this reminds me of The Man in the High Castle, where the SS storrntroopers have MP5s.

[@Panzer_Runner]

Not to mention the Wehrmacht in The Man in the High Castle uses G3 which uses roller delayed blowback system like the Gerat 06H and they sort of look like each other

[@sawyere2496]

This is the old relative of the G3 isn’t it?

[@Panzer_Runner]

@@sawyere2496 yea it is

[@mongoliandude]

Anyone else notice how the Japanese emperor gets shot with an SVD Dragunov also?

[@sawyere2496]

mongoliandude yes and the black communist dudes have 556 aks or something that looks like them

[@shooter2055]

GRATITUDE! I'm about to drag my PTR-91 on a visit to son & his step-son. I knew the lineage back through the G-3 and CETME but had missed the Gerat-06H and -06. I can now tell "the rest of the story".

[@Javelin09]

Appreciate the well-made, informative videos. Hard to find, since Mail Call was cancelled and the History Channel specializes in aliens now.

[@TheMattc999]

Javelin09 📜👽😂

[@Cmoth040]

I love Edutainment, particularly when it comes to military small arms. Thank you.

[@paulfabrique5055]

Meanwhile, in England, British weapons Engineers were asking "which University/School did you go to?" and did absolutely fuck all to advance small arms development. This happened, and still is happening in the UK today, which is why H&K are still in existence and the UK is a global non-entity. Now, which University did you go to?

[@adolfhitler6699]

LOL- England is a joke

[@paulfabrique5055]

***** Yes I am aware of the initial ballistic studies led by Dr. Richard Beeching and the Armaments Design Establishment, leading to .280, via .270 and .276. But this was post war. I am also aware of the rifle SK Janson penned for the .280, which Forgotten Weapons has very competently covered for our delectation.

[@paulfabrique5055]

***** The class system in England is a major reason German Engineering is great and English Engineering is non existent....Your confusion about England/Britain is understandable. Great Britain is in fact a United Kingdom of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, which are states like California, Florida and New York. The Welsh and Scottish have thier own languages, and on some parts English is not spoken. A significant proportion of Northern Irish Catholic population declared war and fought for independence against the British with the IRA, who had a penchant for AR10s, G3s and blowing up innocent women and children in shopping centres.

[@paulfabrique5055]

+Marc css All possible! Britain was losing its grip in its empire as well, and America simply was larger and richer in mineral wealth....I think had Germany not taken on the Western Front, and been given more time developing Rocketry and Nuclear fission, World Domination was on the cards....thankfully the USA believed in freedom and had Einstein and Oppenheimer....still have to admire German small arms Engineering though.

[@CarrierHasArrived]

+Paul Fabrique Is that really thankfully though? Without Hitler in charge being all crazy, I'd wager a German-dominated world would be a pretty decent place to live. Things would be nice and orderly. Goods and infrastructure would be engineered and produced proficiently. There would almost certainly be more beer.

[@FXTRT-ec9lz]

I never knew much about this rifle or how important it was in the development of the H&K G3/MP5 series of weapons. Great and informative video Ian!

[@scipio10000]

Now hold this thought: THE US Army got the technician and the prototypes of the Stg45, never mind the Stg44. Instead of wasting 10 years to develop the M14 on the 7.62x51mm (and shove the latter down the throats of the rest of the NATO), someone in power with an ounce of brain could have paired the Stg 45 and the Pedersen .276 round or better, to the .280 British. Light, reliable, precise, cheap and easy to mass-produce: the perfect response to the AK-47 series. But that would have meant to get rid of the delusional minds that were expecting the enemy to pose like models for a photo shoot on flat plains for all to see, a bit like big game. A farcical idea already in the late 1800s, a outright criminal one right after WW1. What were those minus habens thinking, I'd like to know.

[@Point303Operator]

THEKINGOFMETROPOLIS I remember a FN Fal was made in .280

[@mbr5742]

THEKINGOFMETROPOLIS Well 5.56Nato variants of the G3 where mass produced (HK33 and HK53) and developed a bit further (G41)

[@ayebraine]

You're saying this like regular joe conscripts or small town volunteers from NATO countries were all Navy-level pedants with rich experience of mechanical work. Moreover, I fail to see how a city guy with a degree is an intricately better shot than a village guy. Espesically considering many of the most "backwater" village guys in the Soviet army, not to mention small nationality conscripts from taigas and far north, actually grew up hunting with their dads; and a post-war Soviet kolkhoz boy had a much higher probability of actualy working with engines and machinery than a big city conscript. True, there was always a problem with training the Central Asian conscripts, because of the language barrier and cultural differences. On the other hand, I suspect in times of big drafts like Vietnam even US has to scrape the bottom of the barrel. Don't take it personal, but I think that's one of the stereotypes that's set in by repetition: "Soviet soldiers were inherently dumber and worse shots than Western ones".

[@compwiz101]

"with a rotating bolt patterned on AK bolt." AK bolt is patterned off the M1 Garand. The rotating bolt on the AR10 is likely the influence of Erwin Johnson, the designer of the Johnson Rifle and LMG that went off to work with Stoner after the war.

[@TheGearhead222]

Right after the war, the arms division of GM tried to build either the MG-34 or 42 in 30-06 and failed-Look it up-John in Texas

[@mitchellline3398]

Man, you can really see how the show has inproved over time when you watch old stuff like this

[@Flapjackbatter]

I can't put a finger on quite what it actually _is_. But many of the American gun related youtubechannels have presenters that are really unplesant to listen to. No so with this channel tho. Maybe it's the lack of tacky gimmicking. Maybe this guy does his homework better. Maybe it's just a difference in what Europeans and Americans like.

[@herbalsnails]

+Flapjackbatter I'm an American, but I completely agree. I'm subbed to a Hungarian cap-and-ball channel, and the...tone(?) is similar to ForgottenWeapons. Very informative, and no backwards hat dudebros to be seen. I think in general European and American firearms enthusiasts are two completely different groups of people.

[@MisdirectedSasha]

+Flapjackbatter Canadian here and I find the same thing. The few American gun channels I like are the ones that are presented by people with a lot of technical knowledge and who tend to believe in such strange, old-fashioned ideas as "writing a script before you press record" and "not saying anything unless you've actually done a bit of research on it". Decent editing is also nice. Keeping politics more-or-less out of the picture helps too. All history is basically political, so it's fine and even useful to discuss the political context of the video's subject matter. But there's no reason to waste time throwing in your own political anecdotes that distract from the educational content the viewer actually came for.

[@Flapjackbatter]

Feels hurt?

[@EddyMac1903]

+david esktorp You're projecting. Stop before you embarra... Oh, too late.

[@Erreul]

Thank God we have Americans getting butthurt over nothing in a completely civil comment section.

[@ZeroSuitSamo]

I've got a Cetme Sporter, and often called it a G3 clone. But I found out that the Cetme came first a while ago, but I didn't know any of this history. Very cool.

[@christianszabo4889]

Remember when Ian didn’t understand camera angles lol

[@drmaudio]

Great video. I was familiar with the roller delayed blowback of the H&K series, and of the roller lock of the CZ52, but it is interesting to see that the difference is really just the angle of the plane and that one was developed directly from the other.

[@Hobgoblin1975]

Is there a master list of all these wonky "end of days" german weapons ? I would like to see what the most boiled down, minimalist SMG/Rifle that can be produced is. I thought maybe it was the sten gun but some one told me ppsh 43s were even easier to build.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Hobgoblin1975 I suggest "Desperate Measures" by Darrin Weaver.

[@matthewchoquette2791]

+Forgotten Weapons can you tell me how to order from gun labs I think that your guns are great and I'd love to buy/shoot them thank you ian for all your great work.

[@Sean_Coyne]

+Hobgoblin1975 Look up the Australian Owen gun. Ugly as hell, but simple and very effective, especially in close combat jungle or urban warfare. Ian is of the opinion that it was the best SMG in WWII.

[@TheMadSlavik]

+Hobgoblin1975 I think you're actually talking about pps 43 (Simonov SMG) whereas PPSh (Shpagin SMG) was relativly complex.

[@vicentepardo5177]

Impresionantes tus explicaciones, perfecto

[@WildBillCox13]

"It was dark over Westphalia, in April of forty-five" -Blue Oyster Cult

[@JerryEricsson]

Cool video. I had the privilege of playing with the full auto version of the issue 8mm kurtz machine guns many years ago, a buddy of mine owned one. He hand loaded for it so we didn't blast to much ammo away as it was a hard cartridge to get just right but I did manage to keep some cow pies flying in his pasture back then. Great rifles. Sadly his went in a mobile home fire along with his entire collection of nearly 100 rifles and hand guns.

[@VRSVLVS]

Don't forget the Umlaut.

[@saoritakebe8319]

@@unnamed_boi He means the "ä" in Gerät 06. ä,ö and ü are Umlauts.

[@kneverr]

By far the finest firearm channel on KZbin... or anywhere else for that matter! Could you kindly tell us more about the reproduced Gerat 06/06H used in this video? Who made them, how many and possibly if any ever made their way into the US. Thank you for your time & help.

[@docsinclair4097]

My goodness, I see a lot of similarities to the G3 I was equipped with during my days of Service. Makes me wonder if maybe some of the guys, who developped the 06H also worked on the G3's developpment...

[@docsinclair4097]

Oh, should've watched the complete vid... there's my G3....

[@NashmanNash]

I still call the G3 a discount Cetme^^

[@hamm6033]

I really enjoy going back (way back ;) and watching the videos. This is a favorite because of the impact on modern small arms development.

[@megatwingo]

Only meant as an information: The company is called Heckler&Koch. You said: Heckler&Kosch. But the word "Koch" is a major difficulty in every American weapon video. Even American employees of H&K seem to have difficulties with that word and are pronouncing it wrong. I was asking myself for a few minutes what "Gerat" could mean. Until I realized that you meant "Gerät". An "ä" is not an "a" and is pronounced different. Anyway: Very interesting video! :)

[@megatwingo]

***** Your question is....?

[@megatwingo]

***** The "ch" is a kind of hissing sound that comes from the throat. It isn't a sharp "k" sound and it isn't an English "th" or "sh" sound. It isn't Coke, Cock or Kosh. Definitely not. In the moment I don't know any English sound or word that would contain something that would be pronounced like the German "ch". That is the same reason the English speakers nearly never are able to say "möchten" in a correct manner if they are trying to speak German. They always say "möckten" with a sharp "k" sound instead of a "ch" sound. Or they say even "mockten" without the umlaut "ö". Sorry, I don't know any English example. First I thought that the Scottish Loch would be the same....until I realized that the English speakers are saying in fact "Lock". PS: Look out for the channel of "rewboss". It is an Englishman who is living in Germany and is a language expert and he makes pretty good explanations about Germany and the German language in English language. I think, he's explaining it in one of his videos. His videos are pretty good indeed if one want to have good informations and explanations about Germany in English language.

[@megatwingo]

***** You are welcome! :-) Let me know if you have found a good example for the German "ch", please.

[@megatwingo]

Homemadebeats But my sausage is pretty big! :)

[@99smite]

+megatwingo the German "ch" can easily be pronounced by Americans. It is the same sound as the "j" in Tijuana... And yes, it is the "Gerät nullsechs", but I think people using a "qwerty" keyboard will have a hard time typing "ä" if they don't know that "ae" is actually the same...

[@MrElliptific]

That's crazy how one can still discover information about WWII. Had absolutely no idea about this experimental weapon. Thanks!

[@a.m.1409]

Don't you mean Gerät?

[@JainZar1]

+S. L. I think so, because the only other word in the german language that is similar is: geraten, which is either and Adjective or a Verb. Even looked into the Duden for that one...

[@duplicate19]

+S. L. Don't forget.. English keyboards don't have that character on it. He surely means "Gerät". There is no other solution.

[@Samsa000]

+S. L. Yes he does mean Gerät which ,as he stated, means device. Its a very general term for... Well besically an object that is used for a certain purpose. Take the Karl Gerät for example (which is the huge tracked 600mm mortar). Even a Microwave can be called a Gerät ;)

[@SuperAhmed1337]

+duplicate19 Yes, there is, actually. You append an "e" after the vowel. Ä=Ae, Ö=Oe, Ü=Ue. So that'd be Geraet :)

[@mat.f9222]

S. L. I love how the Germans named things Panzer 2- Tank 2 Gewehr 98- Gun model 1898 Gerät 06- Device 6

[@Arphalia]

It's amazing to see how far this channel has come from the more humble beginnings of this video :)

[@CodyGreaver]

Great video! I have to ask, are you ambidextrous? Or were you just shooting right handed because of the way the round ejects? Seen you shooting lefty in some other vids. Anyways love your channel! Looking forward to new videos.

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Nope, I'm left-handed. I do often shoot right-handed in videos in order to get better camera angles on guns, though.

[@scarecrowhunter2718]

Forgotten Weapons good on you mate cheers :)

[@terrystephens1102]

An excellent presentation, thanks😃👌👏👏👏

[@toadsbvf3881]

Can you make videos about the MKb-42(W) and the Korobov TKB-408?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

toad wdg If I can ever get my hands on examples of them, you bet.

[@NashmanNash]

Do you have any information about the StG45 (h)?I mean,except the one picture i have found on the Internet and inside one of my books... Or the "NDR" Rifle,that weird apparently East German "G3 and StG44 had a Baby" thing guns.wikia.com/wiki/NDR

[@WannaBeGaijin]

This guy needs more views. All of his videos are very informative and interesting. Keep up the good work bro!

[@MrBioniclefan1]

Hey Ian are the guns in this video reproductions or has no body ever done that before?

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Yes, they are reproductions. They were made privately, though, and not for commercial sale.

[@MrBioniclefan1]

Forgotten Weapons Oh okay I wish a company would do that because I would love to have a reproduction if they were to release a reproduction

[@ForgottenWeapons]

Gahlok12 A friend of mine is working on making commercial copies of several late-war German rifles, starting with the VG1-5. You can follow his progress at www.GunLab.net if you're interested.

[@MrBioniclefan1]

Forgotten Weapons Okay cool I find it interesting

[@MrBioniclefan1]

***** Yes he would

[@MUCKLEECH]

This is my favorite vid so far from your channel, very VERY informative and interesting! Keep up the excellent work guys!

[@martinlutz5446]

* Gerät 06 (pronounced like "Gerate"[english pronounciation])

[@BennettIsAmazing]

One of your better videos, very informative. Top work Ian and co!

[@Rubashow]

I have a present for you. It's the letter "ä, Ä". You'll need it to write "Gerät" :)

[@dezkabar2515]

Ah, classic German pedanticism :)

[@Rubashow]

Dez Kabar Don't judge me. I can't help it :)

[@Canadajanek]

He just wanted to help. Let me add something , please : The so called " vowel mutations (Umlaut)" , there are three of them in the German ABC, as follows : Ä / ä ---> can also be described/written this way : " ae", spoken like "a" in the English words " man / hammer/ slang" Ö/ ö = oe ---> similar like figure " i " in " bird", but spoken a bit shorter Ü / ü = ue ...> pronounced like "ue" in the French word " rue = street " or also like "ue" in " avenue = road ". Please , don't mix up between the spelling/ speaking of the French "avenue" and the English "avenue". There is a difference though the writing is the same. And finally , last but not least this one, only availabe in German alphabet and only used in German language, but just the minor letter " ß = sz" is in use. A capital letter does not exist. Why not , you may ask yourself ? Let me explain : there is no word beginning/starting with letter "ß" , neither in German language nor in any language else. That's the reason why, better to say why not. Simple, isn't it :-) The Es-Zet "ß" is spoken like double "s(ss)", similar like " ss" in the English words " mass / mess/ fuss/ kiss" . Hope my explanation helps. With very best regards from Germany, have a nice summer 2014 everybody. Rainer ps : I beg your pardon for my bad English, I shall improve my language skills, step by step . Time takes time. Thank you, boyz 'nd girls. Bye

[@Poonannyish]

Rainer Jahn You speak English more fluently than the average Londoner. Dont criticize yourself so heavily.

[@Canadajanek]

+ Poonannyish : Oh, thank you so much, bro. Well, my native language is German. But as far as English....I do my best. At least I try it :-) Stay healthy mate and keep well. Bye, Rainer

[@all41tja]

Not sure if you actually have used the charging handle on the G3, but it is actually very very neat. There is no moving parts when you fire, the entire gun is easy to operate with your left arm, while you hold the rifle with your right. It's easy to hold open for inspection on the range, and if the rifle actually fails to eject (Faulty cartridge) you have a lot of power to put on the bolt.

[@AlienPball]

Things would have been so different if the Germans had entered the war with the STG 44. Bolt action rifle just didn't cut it when you faced thousands of Russian troops armed with full auto weapons.

[@camerl2009]

most of the Russians were armed with Mosin Nagants some did get SVT 40's and sub machine guns the mosin was still the main issued gun

[@josephg.2988]

I recall reading that Hitler decided to invade the USSR based on using military equipment while it was still relatively new, as well as that he was concerned about getting older w/o having yet conquered the Bolshevik east - like a midlife crisis, so to speak. If he had waited another year or even two, and the StG came out, it would have been in sufficient numbers to arm hundreds of thousands of German soldiers. No one can say it would definitely have meant success on the Russian Front, but the greater opportunity due to sheer firepower would have been there.

[@GaldirEonai]

Joseph G. If he'd waited that long, Stalin would probably have struck first. This was pretty much a case of "sudden but inevitable betrayal" by both sides :P.

[@AlienPball]

GaldirEonai There would have been a decent wait for Stalin though. He wasn't stupid, he knew that the Winter War took a lot out of his armed forces, he would have needed quite a while to bring them back to strength.

[@bleistift9153]

BigSmartArmed That is proven wrong. The red army had a total of 40.000 tanks and many millions of good equiped soldiers in 1940. They were able to overrun Europe. Stalin secretly mobilized several hundret divisions on Germanys borders but the german Secret Service knew that, so Hitler decided to attack and surprise Stalin.

[@6aeus]

As a G3-user (Ak4) it's fascinating to learn of it's ancestry. The second I saw the blowback rollers I understood the connection!

[@AirBorn2Kill]

Der Gerät XD

[@gemachterMann]

nix Der!! Das Gerät, so stimmts

[@AirBorn2Kill]

Verstehst du meine Anspielung nicht?

[@gemachterMann]

***** sry, aber bei deinem namen hätt ich eher auf Cowboy getippt. nix für ungut, spaßvogel

[@AirBorn2Kill]

^^

[@Aetchyfg57]

Der Gerät ist noch vor dem chef im Geschäfft

[@gunnarasmundson6158]

Very well presented and researched, I thoroughly enjoyed your video! Please continue!

[@Philtopy]

Its called "Gerät" the letter "ä" is pronounced like "ae" not like "a"

[@ramenoodle7853]

This video was excellent. Keep up the good work sir.

[@Spearfisher1970]

How did I miss this video ?!!? Thank you for linking it, Ian. Edit: I typed that half way through, and am now really, really impressed. This video was an incredible covering of the Gerats and what they led to, and the overall format isn't one I remember seeing on the current channel. Granted, not many firearms have such a legacy...