Brontekst bekijken van Vollmer M35

{{short description|Series of German experimental automatic rifles}} __NOTOC__
{{Cleanup|reason=Use the more authoritative and detailed German book to iron out the inconsistencies|date=July 2013}}

The '''Vollmer M 35''' (also known as '''Vollmer-Maschinenkarabiner''' or '''MKb 35''') consisted of a series of experimental [[automatic rifle]]s developed by [[Heinrich Vollmer]] in the 1930s. The Vollmer rifles were chambered in an [[intermediate cartridge]] that was co-developed with Gustav Genschow and Co. (GECO) starting in 1934, under a [[Heereswaffenamt]] contract.<ref name="Chivers"/><ref name="McNab2001"/>

==Design==
The M 35 was a gas-operated design, reminiscent of an earlier semi-automatic design of Vollmer—the 7.92×57mm Selbstladegewehr 29 (SG 29). Trials with Vollmer's Maschinenkarabine were conducted as early as 1935 at [[Biberach an der Riss|Biberach]] and later at [[Kummersdorf]]. The early version had a 20-round detachable box magazine and could fire at a rate of about 1,000 rpm. Development continued with the improved versions M 35A, M 35/II (1937) and M 35/III through 1938. The later versions had intentionally reduced rate of fire to only about 300–400rpm.<ref>{{cite book|author=Chris McNab|title=German Automatic Rifles 1941-45: Gew 41, Gew 43, FG 42 and StG 44|year=2013|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-78096-387-7|pages=10–11}}</ref> It weighed about {{convert|9.5|lb|kg}} and was about {{convert|38|in|cm}} long. About 25 prototypes were manufactured for testing.<ref name="Chivers">{{cite book|author=C. J. Chivers|title=The Gun|url=https://archive.org/details/gun00chiv|url-access=registration|year=2010|publisher=Simon & Schuster|isbn=978-1-4391-9653-3|pages=[https://archive.org/details/gun00chiv/page/162 162]–163 and 166}}</ref> The gun was apparently very expensive to manufacture, costing 4000 [[Reichsmark]]s,<ref name="McNab2001">{{cite book|author1=Chris McNab|title=The AK-47|year=2001|publisher=MBI Publishing Company|isbn=978-0-7603-1025-0|pages=[https://archive.org/details/ak470000mcna/page/14 14–15]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/ak470000mcna/page/14}}</ref> although this was the unit cost for the prototype series.<ref>O. Janson, "[http://www.gotavapen.se/gota/ak/mkb1.htm Utvecklingen av stormkarbinen och de moderna automatkarbinerna]", 2005-10-12, retrieved 2013-7-19</ref>

The cartridge developed also had several variants including 7.75×40.5&nbsp;mm, 7.75×39.5mm, and possibly a 7.62mm version as well, and had a total length of approximately 55&nbsp;mm. (The actual calibre was apparently 7.9mm, with a bullet 8.05mm in diameter.<ref>Anthony G Williams, [http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/Assault.htm ASSAULT RIFLES AND THEIR AMMUNITION: HISTORY AND PROSPECTS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140602021550/http://www.quarry.nildram.co.uk/Assault.htm |date=2014-06-02 }}, retrieved 2013-7-19</ref>) Muzzle velocity was about 700&nbsp;m/s (2,280 feet per second). The boat-tailed bullet weighted 140 grains (9 grams).<ref>P. Labbett, [http://www.gunpics.net/articles/792kurtz.html German Assault Rifle Ammunition Developments 1935–45], ''Guns Review'', Volume 24, No. 4, April 1984.</ref>

Ultimately, Nazi Germany would adopt a different intermediate cartridge and service [[assault rifle]]: the [[Maschinenkarabiner 42(H)|MKB 42]] [[Maschinenkarabiner 42(W)|series]] leading to the [[Sturmgewehr 44]]. The later Soviet [[7.62×39mm]] M43 cartridge bore more dimensional similarity to the GECO M 35 cartridge than it did to the German [[7.92×33mm Kurz]] that was used in the Sturmgewehr.<ref name="Chivers"/><ref name="McNab2001"/>

== See also ==
* [[Fedorov Avtomat]]
* [[Ribeyrolles 1918 automatic carbine]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Dieter Handrich (2008), ''Sturmgewehr 44'', DWJ-Verl.-GmbH, pp.&nbsp;106–135, {{ISBN|978-3-936632-56-9}} (in German) [http://d-nb.info/989548295/04 TOC]

== External links ==
* https://web.archive.org/web/20081230003642/https://municion.org/7mm/7_7x40GecoM35.htm {{in lang|el}}
* [http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2010/07/16/vollmer-maschinenkarabiner-m35/ Imagery]

[[Category:Automatic rifles]]
[[Category:Machine guns of Germany]]
[[Category:Rifles of Germany]]
[[Category:Trial and research firearms of Germany]]
[[Category:8 mm firearms]]