click here: Claus's G43 serial number study: you can include your rifles in the study by emailing Claus

Gustloff Werke (BCD)

Contrary to popular belief, no BCD rifles were produced in 1943. Production began in early 1944, not at the Weimar plant which at the time produced the K98k, but at the Buchenwald K.Z. Gustloff was the only small arms factory directly under Nazi party control, and receivers have a small unique "starburst" stamp. Also, instead of the traditional WaA inspection stamp on all parts, Gustloff G43 parts will bear a small letter "v" inspection proof. BCD guns bear a few other very distinct features. No BCD manufactured G43 has a year date on the receiver, the notch cut in the scope mounting rail is absent, and all BCD rifles had milled steel receivers. The receivers were procured from a subcontractor in St. Etienne, France. Some BCD rifles are noted to have had the scope mounting rails machined off of the reciever. Whether this was done because a rifle was not deemed accurate enough for sniping purposes, or that the receiver had a defect of some sort in the rail area is not known. No BCD rifles are known to have been utilized for sniping purposes. all Bcd rifles should have the ribbed buttplate trap door, serrated front site ramp, and threaded muzzle. It is generally beleived that the threaded muzzle was intended for using either flash suppressors, grenade launching devices, or silencers of some type. Blank firing attatchments which thread onto the barrel have also been encountered. In mid 1944, the R.A.F. hit the G43 production building inside the Buchenwald compound on a mission believed aimed at destroying a V1 rocket assembly facility also within the site. G43 production by Gustloff Werke was effectively ceased by this mission. By serial number studies, less than 50,000 G43 rifles were produced at Gustloff before the raid, making BCD the scarcest of the four codes. As with most wartime German small arms, serial numbers start with 1 and run to 9999, then a letter suffix block is begun, i.e. 1a-9999a, then 1b-9999b, 1c-9999c, etc.

Walther Werke (AC)

Walther was the first to begin production of the G43 rifle. Approximately 3,200 pieces were delivered by the end of 1943. 1943 dated rifles are extremely rare, however as many as 10,000 1943 dated rifles may have been produced, probably into early 1944. Interestingly, an absence of the scope rail notch has been reported on some of these early rifles. Walther made rifles were produced by two facilities. Walther Werke and Walther Werke II in the Neuengamme K.Z. it is difficult if at all possible to tell which rifles were produced at which site, however the presence of an "N" on some parts may indicate Neuengamme production. Throughout production in 1943-'45, Walther used three distinctive types of receivers on the G43. There was a milled steel receiver procured from the same French contractor as BCD, forged steel receivers being very rough and unfinished in external appearance, and a forged receiver with a milled out area on the left hand side. Such rifles are called "paneled" receivers in the collecting community, and generally bear an elliptical milled recess on the left hand side of the receiver. It is generally here that code, date, and sometimes serial numbers were stamped on these rifles. Walther, like BCD, utilized laminated beechwood stocks and handguards throughout the war, and most rifles by both factories had a flat area at the stock bottom in front of the magazine well. A very few Ac code rifles were produced with Bakelite experimental stocks and also with walnut stocks in early 1945. It is generally believed there was a shortage or supply problem with the laminated beech at this time. At or about the "m" or "n" letter block on AC44 guns, the designation K43 began to replace G43. Also in 1945, AC began to leave the bolt guide rib on the receivers of a few of it's guns. These are the uncommon "dual guide rib" rifles. it appears all G/K43's initially had this feature, but the right side rib was machined off during production citing ejection, and or jamming problems. on these rifles, a different style bolt was utilized with the extractor position being raised higher up on the bolt face. Also these rifles appear to have had the stock recoil lug repositioned for some reason. Late war (1945) Walther guns may also have the omission of a take down button on the bolt carrier, and two half moon shaped cutouts on the top rear of the bolt for excessive recoil gas venting or lightening. Also a groove was made in the bolt along with a tension spring in the firing pin housing retaining pin to keep all the bolt components securely in place if the bolt was removed for cleaning. This was apparently to fix the problem of lost firing pins and extensions (two common spare parts kit items). Late rifles will also have two 4mm holes drilled at the rear of the gas cylinder also to aid in bleeding off excessive gasses from damaging the action. Walther kept experimenting with and tweaking the design of the rifle into the final days of the war. The Walther factory was captured by American troops in April of 1945.

Berlin Luebecker (DUV-1944,QVE-1945)

Berlin Luebecker Machinenfabrik produced the G43 beginning some time in early 1944, when they ceased G41(W) production. BLM used only forged receivers, and had a unique time saving barrel forging machine. Interestingly, throughout production, BLM utilized a part left over from the G41(W): a milled steel bolt housing, instead of a stamped sheetmetal one will sporadically appear. Also unique to BLM were the phenolic resin (also incorrectly called bakelite) Durofol handguards, and the stocks have a rounded and tapered area where the Walther and Gustloff stocks have the flat. Berlin Lubecker changed nomenclature late in 1944 to K43. there are only two letter blocks known of this variety, "i" and "k". this is the second scarcest variety after AC43 guns. Production of DUV44 K43's would amount to less than 20,000 units. Beginning with the "l" letter block in 1945, BLM changed the three letter code from DUV to QVE, and continued production up until the final days of the war, when most finished rifles and parts at this time were shipped to another company owned plant in Czechoslovakia via train. Perhaps this is why the majority of Czech reworked guns have DUV and QVE codes. All in all, approximately 462,000 rifles were completed by all three manufacturers by the end of hostilities.

click here: Claus's G43 production statistic study

Variants

There are a myriad of variants in the design of these rifles. From early on, experiences on the Eastern front proved the gas trap system of the G41 to be sub par. Towards the end of the G41W production run, a very few G41W were equipped with the standard Zf4 scope mounting rails found on the G43 and K43 rifles. The bolt carrier was modified, switching the cocking handle to the left side and the hold open catch to the right. This was to become standard on the G43, and was to give clearance for the new scope and mount design. Transitional models have been encountered with an experimental operating rod and gas port system, which looked more like a G43 than a G41, these also had the omission of the bayonet mount as became a G43 standard.
G43's were experimented with in 7.92mm x 33mm Kurz and were capable of affixing an Mp43 30 round magazine. They were also experimented with in 7.62mm x 54mm Russian, and affixed captured Svt38/40 magazines. Barrels were experimented with in various lengths to try and remedy the accuracy problems being encountered with the design, but no satisfactory improvement was found. There are even a few select fire models, but these would have been extremely uncontrollable in automatic fire, and given the weak design of the rifle and the high power of the caliber of ammunition, would have been very prone to failure.
the major revisions over the course of production include:
the omission of the threaded barrel assembly in mid to late 1944. The revision around this time to a manual type dust cover from a reciprocating type which was prone to jamming. Hollowing of the bolt carrier cocking handle to reduce weight, the addition of a central reinforcing rib on the top front of the bolt carrier, and finally only at Walther in 1945, the omission of the manual hold open assembly on the right side of the carrier. The front sight ramp had the milled "steps" omitted, most likely a time saving maneuver. the butt plate changed from a ribbed trapdoor to a smooth one, also the bolt assemblies on Walther Guns changed a good bit in 1945 with the dual guide rib rifles, as mentioned previously. These guns in particular also had the stock recoil lug positioned about 3/4" farther forward in the stock. the Gas system also underwent small changes during production. Gustloff and BLM rifles tend to follow a very tight, precise pattern and do not see nearly the amount of revisions and developments of the Walther produced rifles, especially in 1945. Many of the changes seem focused on design shortcuts and expediency of production, while the rest seem to be focused on strengthening parts found to be prone to breakage, or alleviating some of the critical forces which caused these breakages, and resolving the accuracy issue.

Magazines

Standard G43 and K43 rifles both utilized a ten round detatcheable box magazine. Most models of this magazine were coated with a semi-glossy black enamel paint, which is extremely resistant to oxidizers and thinning agents. The magazines bear a designation of either G43 or K43. It is Generally believed that the K43 marked magazines are far more common, and outnumber the G43 marked ones 4 or 5 to 1. Some (extreme few) were issued in blued steel, and are usually manufactured by a few specific makers. Beware of high gloss, or commercial blues, as they are probably redone. The other type of external finish is a phosphate wash finish. The color of the phosphate will range from a light almost clear grey to a deep olive green, to nearly black. The green shades seem to be the most prevalent. These are almost exclusively found on K43 marked mags, made by AYE, and GCB. The general design of the magazine stayed unrevised through the end of the war, however, the front locking catch was revised, as was the floor plate. Late versions will have a third reinforcing ridge down the middle. Also is noted the addition of a letter "k" on some floor plates. No magazines were ever serial numbered by the Germans, however the Russians are known to have electro-penciled numbers on captured guns and magazines after the war. The presence of a "+" plus sign on the magazine over top of the waffenampt is noted on some magazines. It is generally believed this denotes a magazine that was issued with a rifle from the factory. Generally, three magazines were issued with each rifle to the soldier. These magazines were also utilized in some of the Volksturm or V.G. weapons very late in the war. The following is a small chart of magazines by code, scarcity:
AYE G43 or K43 black paint WaAB43 common
AYE K43 Phosphate WaAB43 scarce
GCB G43 or K43 black paint WaAB98 common
AVX blued WaA204 scarce
AWJ blued or phosphate WaAB79 scarce
ACW blued WaAA98 scarce
RQS blue or phosphate WaAA98 rare
magazines marked "Made in Denmark" are post war.
There are current reproduction magazines which bear the nomenclature G43/K43.
click here for: pictures of the different magazines courtesy of Claus Espeholt

Common G/K43 accessories

There are several accessory items issued with the G43 or K43 rifle. Standard rilfe accessories were the post 1940 cleaning rod of 12.5", three each of the green drab "shoot off" style rubber muzzle caps, and a covered wagon sight hood similar, but marginally taller than that used on the K98k. the sight hood for the G/K43 was the same as the G41W and Mp/StG44. The G/K43 was also issued with a leather sling very similar to the K98k sling. some G/K43 slings have been noted as marginally thicker or slightly longer than the K98k sling, but the slings could be and were interchangeable. some very late K43 slings are different and infact similar to the late StG44 slings. It is said that some late slings were also made of webbing, but I think that this is just a clever scheme by some dealers to make some dollars.
Early G43's of all three makers have a threaded end to the muzzle. aA Muzzle nut was issued and was retained in place by a locking mechanism contained in the front sight base. There is also a dust cover for the bolt housing. there are 4 distinct types. the first is an internal reciprocating or "automatic" dustcover for the milled steel G41 type bolt housings. the second is a stamped reciprocating type which rode on the top of the stamped housing. these parts were prone to breakage and jamming and often were discarded in the field. a field modification was made in late 1944 in which the raised bump that locked into the bolt carrier was removed. later still, a fourth style of manual operation was fabricated.
The standard cleaning kit was the same as for the K98k, the R.G. 34. the G/K43 also stored several components inside the trap door of the buttplate. most commonly encountered is a manual depicting proper cleaning, care and disassembly of the rifle. at least 4 styles of manual were produced. these are found rolled up inside the compartment. another common item is a bakelite, or stamped and welded steel oiler bottle similar to those found in the R.G. 34 kits. spare parts were also issued, and comprised of a spare firing pin, firing pin extension, and extractor either rolled up in cosmoline paper, or in a small cloth or rubberized canvas bag.
several styles of magazine pouches have been encountered. the Soldier issued with a G/K43 was issued one K98k style ammunition pouch, and one G43 magazine pouch which held two spare magazines. G43 Magazine pouches courtesy of Claus Espeholt

The Zf4 Scope

The Zf4 scope was a very innovative and time saving design made from a stamped and drawn sheet metal tube body, instead of milled steel. Adjustment was controlled by two drum dials on the scope tube. One for windage on the top, another for elevation on the side. RLN scopes are a milled steel tube, with three drums, the third is a focus adjustment. As with the G43 rifles, there were also three seperate companies which made the sniper scopes. DDX was the code used by Voigtlander and Sohn, DOW was used by Opticotechna in occupied Czechoslovakia, and BZZ was used by J.G. Farbenindustrie. A revised Zf4 was made in very limited quantity toward the end of the war by RLN (Zeiss, Jena). DDX scopes are by far the most common, with production somewhere around 90,000 units. DOW produced 48,000 or so, but the last few thousand could be post war Czech manufacture on existing stock, as most Czech issue Zf4 scopes are DOW code and fall in the 41,000-48,000 range. BZZ Scopes are exceedingly scarce as only 5,000 or so were produced. Please note that these production figures are from serial number extensions. It is now believed that lot numbers were issued to each factory and the true production figure may be far less, totalling less than 100,000 units.
The scopes were four power, and usually have a standard European three post reticle, although a very few single post, cross hair, and range finding reticle scopes were produced. The range finding scopes will have the marking BU. There are scopes in existance bearing the Luftwaffe "L" on the body, and also on the elevation knob. These, as well as a rare large occular ring variety were used on the automatic FG42 assault rifle.
Another version of the Zf4 is known with the markings Kurz Patr. and was used on the MP44 automatic assault rifle. which utilized the kurz cartridge. Although nearly 100,000 to 150,000 scopes were produced, only 50,000 or so ACTUAL sniper rifles in the G43 and K43 series were made. Most of the early '44 scopes seem to have been lost due to battlefield attrition.
Early scopes will bear the markings Gw Zf4 (for Gewehr). Later, the designation was changed to Zf K43, or simply K43. A small triangle is stamped on the tube and contains colored paint. This paint color designates climate type. I.e. white paint designated general purpose, green designated tropical climates (North Africa, Italy, the Balkans), and blue was for extreme cold (the eastern front). Some scopes are seen with a set screw on the bottom, believed to have been charged with nitrogen, and sealed, for cold weather anti-fogging. Also, some scopes have a soft plastic, or rubber gasket between the lenses and retaining rings. I have seen this on BZZ and also "L" scopes. perhaps this was also done for climactic purposes. (A scope used by the Luftwaffe would encounter extreme temperature shifts from ground, to altitude, and back to ground level.) The Czech military reissued a large number of DOW code Zf4 scopes after the war. these will bear lined out markings and serial numbers and a Czech rampant lion crest on the bottom flat of the tube. they also later manufactured a version of the Zf4 with somewhat refined internal parts, a comercially blued tube, and Com-Block type markings.

Sighting the Zf4:
This is my recommendation for sighting in the scope on a rifle. first, remove all three locking screws from both the windage and elevation drum covers on the scope body, and remove the cover plates. Set the rifle on a fixed bench rest position aimed at a 100 yard target. Make it sturdy, I find that a couple of sand bags under the fore end work like a champ. Position the rifle so that the iron sights are dead on the target at 100 yards. Now look through the scope and see where the post is aligned. Turn the adjustment screws on the inside of the drums to line up the post reticle to the identical spot that the iron sights are. Now turn the drums so they read 100 yards for elevation, and center the windage. Replace the drum covers and screws, and test fire a 3 to 5 shot group. repeat this process as necessary to achieve the desired results. It should only take a few minutes.

Zf4 mounts

Original Zf4 scope mountings are extremely scarce, and excellent quality reproductions abound. the mounts slid over the mounting rail on the right rear of the reciever. a small thumb lever would engage the recess in the middle of the rail and a large hand lever would tighten the mount to lock it in place. the lever would be swung rearward and the thumb lever depressed to remove the mount. a pair of sheet metal bands were tightened over each end of the scope and mount via screws and dowels to lock the scope in place. there is a milled ridge at the front of the mount on the cradle which indexed a depressed ring in the scope tube to keep the scope from moving during recoil.
Original mounts will bear either 359 or 214 proof marks. A very few mounts have no serial numbers applied. some early mounts will have both the rifle serial number and the telescope serial number stamped onto the front. later on, this practice was only used for the rifle serial number, and the number will either be stamped or heavily engraved, the fonts having a distinctive slant. the levers are marked lose and fest. There is a variety with rounded edges on the bases and another with squared edges. the levers are there are two varieties of lever, depending where the bend was made. Scope mounts can be either blued, or the greenish grey phosphate. 95% of Zf4 mounts sold on Ebay or at shows are current high quality reproductions. great care must be taken and good research done when purchasing one as they require a substantial investment. here is a link to a new page on original and fake mounts. Mounts

Zf4 accessories

Original as issued accessories for the Zf4 scope system would include a number of items.
A small sheet metal cover was installed on the windage drum of the scope to protect the drum from accidental jarring or movement of the windage settings. It also protected from weather conditions which might seep into the mechanism. Originals differ slightly from the reproductions in that the reeded lines around the base are longer and finer than on the reproductions, the bluing on the reproductions is much more glossy and "new" looking, and the three locking grooves on the sides are longer and thinner on the originals.
A rubber eye piece was installed on the rear of the scope. Originals were made of a vulcanized rubber and will show small bubbles, rough or uneven texture, and flat, non rounded ends. They also tend to have shrunk somewhat around the tube. The rubber was very hard and not so flexible. Reproductions will show marks from the injection molding dies, and are much more smooth and even in texture. They also have rounded off openings. There is also a different style of original, or "reverse taper" eyecup.
Leather lens caps or covers were issued to protect the lenses. There were several varieties. Several colors and styles of leather were used, from black, to black pebbled, to brown to an almost tan color. Pig skin leather or "Ersatz" paper leather was used on the caps and the stitching was white. They had a leather connecting strap and had small steel rivets connecting them. There are four different styles. One had a cap on each end with a short connecting strap, one was the same with a longer connecting strap to fit over the scope with a sunshield in place. Another had a short strap but also a wooden plug at one end to insert into the eye cup, and the last was the same only longer for the sunshield. Originals can usually be discerned from the aged look of the piece, but some reproductions are very good quality. a small keeper strap was used to secure the caps onto the scope and mount with a small snap closure. The snaps on originals will have the typical wartime maker of Prym (not Prym original) or Stocko. Stitching and construction of original covers were of the highest quality.
Also issued were lens inserts. These were small glass disks which were placed between the scope lens and the rubber eyecup. There are three varieties, an amber lens for target acquisition in hazy conditions, and a lime green lens for acquisition in bright sunlight. There also was a Grey lens. Originals are much more dull and opaque than current reproductions.
As mentioned, there was a drawn sheet metal sun or rain shield for the front objective end of the scope. Short, and very long varieties are encountered with the shorter variety being more common. there are current reproductions which are very high quality, but originals have more pronounced marks from manufacture, as well as a duller blue finish and a more heavily pronounced transition between diameters. originals will have three locking prongs, and later varieties five.
Finally, a scope can was utilized to contain all the items. There are three distinct types, one made of wood, another of metal, and a third of bakelite. All are very scarce, but new made wooden and metal boxes are on the market, and are nearly identical to originals. The reproduction metal boxes are even made on the original equipment and have the original proof marks. These fakes are very very good, and also very expensive.

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