Gewehr 43

Gewehr 43 (pronounced GUH-VAIR) was a semi-automatic rifle used by the German soldiers during World War II. The Gewehr 43 fires the powerful 8mm Mauser round from a 10-round detachable box magazine.

History of the Gewehr 43
The Germans were somewhat late in adopting a semi-automatic rifle. Their first such rifle was the Gewehr 41, made by the Walther company. The Gewehr 41 used a mechanism known as the Danish "Bang" semiautomatic action. In the Bang system, gases from the bullet are trapped near the muzzle in a ring-shaped cone then which pulled on a long piston that opens the breech and re-loads the rifle. Unfortunately, this system was generally unreliable and the mass around the muzzle put the rifle off balance, so the weapon was decent at best. When the Germans encountered the Soviet SVT 40, they were quick to adapt its design and the result was the Gewehr 43, an immense improvement over its predecessor.

Historical Note
For every 20 M1 Garand rifles produced by the Allies, the Axis produced 1 Gewehr 43.

Call of Duty United Offensive
The G43 is a semiautomatic rifle that has a 10-round magazine. Unlike the Garand, it can be reloaded at any time. It takes roughly 2 torso shots or one headshot to kill a target. It has good accuracy, and its recoil is somewhat-easy to control. While not as good as the Garand, it's a fine semiauto rifle for the Axis.

Strangely, the G43 will reload faster with an empty magazine than with a partially-empty magazine.

Note that the G43's reloading animation and new rounds actaully being inserted are not in sync. The new rounds will appear about a second after the animation is done, so don't put it away as soon as the animation is done.

Call of Duty 2
The G43 has received a major overhaul for the better in CoD2. It now kills with two to three chestshots and one headshot, has less harsher recoil, it will reload just as fast with or without a partially full magazine, and the animation sync glitch is gone. Combine those with the CoD:UO versions accuracy, and you've got a semiautomatic rifle that rivals the mighty Garand.

A G43 with a scope is only available in single player mode. It can be found in secret areas throughout the maps.

Call of Duty Finest Hour
A sniper version of the Gewehr 43 is found in the levels Road to Remagen and Into the Heartland, it is necessary to use on the latter level in order to eliminate a machine gun nest at the end of the Remagen Bridge.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
The Gewehr 43 in Call of Duty: Big Red One has a relatively decent accuracy and fast reload time. It is only found in the level Crucifix Hill, towards the end of the game. Still, many players prefer the M1 Carbine over the Gewehr 43. It is still a weapon to help you finish the level, if only for nostalgia.

Call of Duty 3
Practically the same as Call of Duty 2: Big Red One, but with a slower reload time. In the PS2 version of CoD3, the Gewehr 43 has the same skin as the Call of Duty 2: Big Red One version.

Call of Duty: World at War
The Gewehr 43 is unlocked at level 7 in the Call of Duty: World at War multiplayer. The gun has rectangular iron sights and is similar in most respects to the Soviet SVT-40. The Gewehr 43 can be unlocked with a Rifle Grenade, however. Between the two rifles, the Gewehr 43 has slightly less visual recoil. Both have the same amount, but the SVT-40 bounces slightly when shooting. The Gewehr 43 can also attach a Suppressor instead of a Flash Hider, which offers slightly superior noise reduction. If a Suppressor is attached, the Gewehr 43 will reload using the same animation as if the whole magazine was emptied even when there are shots remaining, but this does not increase reload time because the reload is hastened, making it the same speed as without a suppressor.

The Gewehr 43's recoil is extremely low. While the Aperture Sight makes the recoil more visible, it does not increase it. When aiming down the sights a player can fire as fast as they like without a noticeable drop in accuracy. In this respect it is significantly superior to the M1 Garand, with its restricted rate of fire. One should still consider its ammo capacity (10 rounds).

The Gewehr 43 is common in multiplayer, as it is unlocked early and is one of the easiest weapons to unlock the Rifle Grenade with. The SVT-40 is usually discarded after the Marksman III challenge as it does not attempt to equip a rifle grenade of its own. Most people highly recommend the Gewehr 43 because, as mentioned above, of its high accuracy, low recoil, and good power (30-40). Some of its flaws, more or less, is its relatively low ammo capacity, whereas the G3 of COD4 held 20 rounds, coupled with its qualities as a semi-automatic. It is a good overall weapon with flaws that can be easily be overcome.

Trivia

 * Strangely, the weapon's name in Call of Duty: World at War does not abbreviate the word "Gewehr," otherwise it would be called the G43 as most German rifles would be named (i.e. the G36C and G3).


 * In Call of Duty 2: Big Red One the Gewehr reloading animation is the same as the M1 Carbine's.