Hi guys, thanks for tuning in to another video episode on ForgottenWeapons.com.
We're here at the Rock Island Auction September 2013, the Premier auction,
taking a look at some of their cool guns including this
very interesting, unique historical piece. This is a Walther VG-1 rifle.
However, it is a presentation model of the VG-1, which is incredibly ironic I think.
A little bit of background for you. In 1944 obviously the war was starting to look pretty bleak,
German industry was starting to have some issues, and so a series of simplified
rifle designs were submitted by the various German industrial companies, including Walther.
These rifles were meant to arm the Volkssturm, a kind of a German people's militia,
and so they were subsequently named the VG-1, the VG-2, VG-3 etc. The VG-1 was Walther's design.
It's a very much simplified ... basically a Mauser bolt-action.
We'll take a closer look at the operation here in a moment. But a very simple stock,
extremely simple sights, you can see there's basically nothing to it, just a little plate with a notch,
... and a front post there. The barrels were generally machine gun barrels, MG 15 or 17 or 81 barrels
that had been salvaged or not ever used in aerial machine gun production.
The safety here is kind of interesting, also very, very simple. This bit just pivots,
so when it's in the centre like that, the trigger can move. When you push it down it physically blocks the trigger.
That's all there is to the safety on this. Now the magazine isn't in this rifle at the moment, but these used
Gewehr 43 mags, so 10-round magazines. They were chambered in 8mm Mauser.
They have a little magazine catch right here at the front of the trigger guard.
See that operating inside there.
You can see the crudity of the work here,
hacked out in as little time as possible, just to work.
The front sling swivel is another good example of the level of desperation
that was being put into the manufacture of these. So it's basically a bent piece of wire,
a hole drilled in the stock, and just bent open on the other side to hold it in place.
Being a German type of sling, the back just has a slot cut in the stock that you'd run the sling through.
Now the ironic part of this rifle is that this plaque basically commemorates this
rifle being presented to the economic district leader in this area in Poland where the rifle was made.
And frankly if a rifle like this had been presented as the product of German industry in '40 or '41 or '42
the guys presenting it would have been pretty much executed on the spot for
simply having the gall to suggest that this is what Germany ought to be producing.
But by '44 and '45 this is what they really needed to be putting out.
So, a kind of a thumb in the eye presenting one of these to a political official,
"Hey, you guys got us into this and now we're totally screwed.
So here, see how well you can pretend to be happy about this rifle."
Alright, let's take a closer look at the bolt here. It does open just like a normal Mauser,
pull the trigger, bring the bolt out.
The striker is this, just a very simple flat piece of metal with two pins.
There are two grooves in the back of the receiver that hold on to this.
... Very simple components here holding the striker in place for disassembly.
The front two rotating locking lugs and spring-loaded ejector.
Trigger just drops that down.
There we go, that's all there is to it. That's the Walther VG-1, this one made by DWM.
So, thanks for watching guys, hope you enjoyed it.
And tune back in to ForgottenWeapons.com for more last-ditch German rifles.