Sturmgewehr Mp-44 - The Firearms Forum

Roughrdr · 03-12-2005, 01:14 AM

Have had my eye on a Sturmgewehr mp44 (stg-44) for a while. this is a C.G.Haenel piece I am told. Other than what limited info I have found, are there any issues I need to be aware of concerning these Rifles? Would this be a good item to pick up, I generally do not collect German rifles, but this seems to be priced right (in my mind anyway).

Any further info would be appreciated.

ibtrukn · 04-01-2005, 09:12 AM

R/rdr as far as I no these were used almost exclusively on the Russian front, not 2 many survivors, so they R kinda scarce. BUT, this is 2nd hand info. U R aware that these R
subguns with a selector switch and R Class 3 weapons, unless "de-activated" to semi-auto. Takes 7:92X33 ammo, I unnerstan it is available. Keep me posted on the outcome, I have vested interest. IB

Roughrdr · 03-17-2006, 07:56 PM

Forgot all about this post.

I picked it up no problems. IT was a war time pick up the previous owner claimed. Takin his word on it, he was a vertren of WWII.

Had to get a new firing pin machined, old one worn, would not fire.

Shoots like a dream now.

The Rabbi · 03-17-2006, 10:54 PM

They are great shooters. Where are you getting ammo? Starline has been contacted about making brass, but they are not interested just yet (Need a few more people to let them know they want it)

As far as bullets go, one of out customers has been turning down bronze and it is working great for him but it aint cheap.

JohnK3 · 03-18-2006, 09:19 AM

There's no such thing as "deactivated to semi-auto" in the ATF's eyes.

"Once a machinegun, always a machinegun." The only way to "deactivate" so you don't fall under NFA regs is to cut the receiver in such a way as to prevent it from being reassembled into an operational weapon.

There's a larger group of people interested in 7.5Swiss who have let Starline know they want it, but they still won't make that brass. I doubt you'll ever get enough people to talk them into making 8mm Kurz.

Roughrdr · 03-18-2006, 11:55 AM

It came with roughly 2000 rounds which I purchesed seperatley. I have about the same less 50 now.

Noticed ammo is hard to get, so I am looking to see what I can do should I run out.

Also been looking to see what I can form to make it.

Light Coat · 03-23-2006, 08:11 PM

That's a nice old weapon. The ammo the 7.62x39 is based on the STG's fodder. That's just trivia. My understanding is that the bassis of the round is a shortened 8x57 case. I think the worst situation will be the dies to load it.

I believe that the law on NFA's is that they must not be capable of containing the necessary parts to be full auto. You can make semi only receivers; but, it's one heck of a lot of work making sure that they won't accept the parts. Open bolts in semi must be made to operate from the closed position.

I'm a little crusty on some of the laws. I haven't exactly been dealing with this stuff lately. Just got to darned expensive. Hope Kansas passes a new Class 3 act so that things can be a bit more sane here. Now that we are getting concealed my hopes are up.

sck · 03-26-2006, 11:25 PM

So, tell us, just how "priced right" was it? $20,000 -- $30,000 for a registered STG 44?

scudrunner · 03-29-2006, 07:40 PM

Hey r/rdr, Welcome to the MP-44 club. I have had mine for about 2 yrs now and they are truly a collector’s piece in just about any condition. Mine is is great shape with about 95% of the original finish intact!! (see photos). It is a joy to shoot. I try not to fire it often but when I do it NEVER has a hiccup. Mine was picked up in Germany by an 82nd AB 1Lt. It was surrendered to him by an SS Lt. It came with the original operators manual and parts bag, the guy even had the original amnesty form of 1968! It is a fully legal, NFA regestered, class III weapon now and an invaluable part of history. They were used mostly on the Eastern front during the war but some made it out to fight in the West too.

I have looked high and low for reloading components and here is the fruit of that labor! This is a link to Buffalo Arms; they make an exact copy of the bullet for the 7.92X33 Kurz.

http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,881.html

This next link is to Quality Cartridge. They have FACTORY brass, yup, that’s right, factory! You may have to get them on the phone as it is not listed on the site but they do have it, I bought a 1,000 pieces.

http://www.qual-cart.com/

This is where you may be able to find some parts. It's a link to International Military Antiques in New Jersey. I bought a few firing pins there and some other stuff.

http://www.ima-usa.com/

RCBS does make reloading dies for it and there is load data out there. Good luck and good shooting my friend!!

Roughrdr · 07-03-2006, 11:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sck

So, tell us, just how "priced right" was it? $20,000 -- $30,000 for a registered STG 44?

Ran me about 19 large, it's not the most pristine example I have ever seen, but is safe to shoot should I wish to do more. Guestimating 50% original finish, stock needs to be fixed, but I can handle that. No accesories, but I am not a die hard collector so at the moment is not a priority.

This one also had a amnesty form, and was able to get it transferred with no problems.

As for how the rifle was aquired, it's all been hearsay as the actual vetran passed on awhile back (never spoke to him) and got it from the son who relayed the story, if only in parts.

Sarge · 05-14-2007, 01:05 AM

Welcome to the fun factory!
I've had MP 43/44s for 50 yrs, got my current MP 43 shooter in 1985 from the vets widow. It had been registered in the 1968 amnesty. She said he was guarding a group of POWs and one of them came to him and asked if he wanted to know where a gun was in the brush. He went and looked and found this MP 43.
What is the ammo you got - WW 2 or east German? If WW 2 how boxed?
ibtrukn:
NO, these were not used exclusively on the Ost Front. That is where they were first used, but by wars end were in use in all war zones. They are not scarce. I have several and I know at least 25 guys who have one or more.
Here is a photo of my heard.
Bottom up: MP 43, MP 44, Stg 44, MP 43. One should also have a few spare parts.
Sarge

lumax · 07-26-2007, 11:29 PM

I was looking at a STG at a gun show that was a non gun. It had a cut receiver. The guy said that it was all original and not put together from parts. At close examination where it said STG, with a magnifying glass I could see a faint mark MP44 and STG was stamped on top of it. It was very hard to see. Could this be correct? Also the STG didn't have 44 after it. It just had STG. Any opinions on this would be appreciated. lumax

Sarge · 07-26-2007, 11:40 PM

Depends on how it was put back togather after being cut - It could still be illegal! Was it for sale?
Yes, at least one factory stamped StG over MP, on receivers already marked, when they got the word to change the markings. The 44 should still be viseable though, that wasn't changed. Also at least one factory - bnz - Never changed to StG.
Sarge

lumax · 07-26-2007, 11:57 PM

Sarge, thanks for your help. The MP44 mark is very faint. You can only make it out with a magnifying glass. When looking with the naked eye all you can see is STG. Yes it was for sale. He wanted $4000 for it. I did look at it for a long time & he let me write down all the markings on it which was very nice of him. I wasn't a 100% sure of what I was looking at because of all the different markings on it. Thanks again, lumax

lumax · 07-28-2007, 01:03 AM

Sarge, the dealer at the show had other guns and some of them were PPH and MG34s. All of them were incapable of firing. The STG I was talking about he said wasn't put together with parts except where it was cut there was a blank piece of metal welded into place, the bolt wouldn't move and the barrel was plugged. What I was curious about was that he said it wasn't put together but there is alot of different stampings on it. I wrote some of them down. For example on the piece that is left on the bottom of the gun before the blank piece is welded in, is COS FXO, WaAA4. On the metal part on the stock there is the same serial number as the gun which is 5882Y and BYF which I know is mauser. I am sure there is other marks on the gun but this is all that I saw. I am used to seeing all the same maker marks like on the model 98k's. I don't have a clue on who made that STG. Is there a good book that I can buy to learn more about them? $4000 is alot of money to pay for a gun that doesn't fire but I only want one for display anyway. I have the dealers number so if I am interested I can get the gun if he still has it available. Any information would be appreciated. lumax

AL MOUNT · 07-28-2007, 07:49 AM

This is a great thread.....

A bit of trivia I imagine most of you allready knew.....

Sturmgewehr translates into "Storm Rifle".....

Sarge · 07-31-2007, 01:21 AM

Actually in this usage, SturmGewehr translates to Assault Rifle. hitlers idea of furthering the war effort. It sounded so much better than Machine Pistol or it's original designation of Machine Carbine - MKb 42.
Sarge

AL MOUNT · 07-31-2007, 10:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sarge

Actually in this usage, SturmGewehr translates to Assault Rifle. Sarge

"In this usage".....I don't understand

If you go to

http://babelfish.altavista.com/tr

choose English to German translation and type in "storm rifle"

it comes back Sturmgewehr

Assault rifle comes back as "Angriff Gewehr"

"Blitzkrieg" translates to lightning war.....

Think there's any connection between "storm & lightning"...

I guess I'm just too nit picky.......

........ya think

Back to you sarge.....

.........

........

A375RANGER · 08-01-2007, 01:28 AM

Angriff translates better to "attack" when used as a military word.

Sturm can mean storm, in military terminology it is used as both a verb and noun to mean "assault".

The German Military Dictionary may be a better guide to translation than Bablefish for the military use of words.

A375RANGER · 08-01-2007, 01:40 AM

$4000 is way too much for basically a dummy gun. You can build semi MP44s but have to be 922r compliant which means you are going to need a few things like a US barrel and such.

A master with a wire feed can put together a cut reciever and the mods to make it semi-only are not very hard (the easiest part of the whole deal)

Use HKs and other guns as examples of how to be semi only. Grip stick will not take auto parts, receiver changed so auto grip sticks cannot go on, change bolt carrier to semi only, make reciever so unmodified bolt carrier cannot fit in. That is probably more than what is really required.

On most rewelds the trunnion and reciever will now be US made.

If you look around you can get a display gun for $1400-1600 and a parts kit that could be made semi for twice that, not counting buying US parts and all the welding time etc.

There are many ATF approval letters out there for builders concerning rewelds. Just do some online research.

AL MOUNT · 08-01-2007, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by A375RANGER

The German Military Dictionary may be a better guide to translation than Bablefish for the military use of words.

That's why I love this forum so much......

The information available is boundless .....

.......

......

lumax · 08-02-2007, 02:48 PM

A375RANGER, thanks for your reply. I checked the forum everyday & it seemed like I wasn't going to get any response to my thread after Sarge answered me. Do you have any idea who the maker was of this gun based on the information that I supplied? Thanks, lumax

A375RANGER · 08-03-2007, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lumax

A375RANGER, thanks for your reply. I checked the forum everyday & it seemed like I wasn't going to get any response to my thread after Sarge answered me. Do you have any idea who the maker was of this gun based on the information that I supplied? Thanks, lumax

Sorry, no I'm not an expert on the history of the guns. I just know a bit about putting them back together as semi's.

Collector grade pubs has a $70 book I havne't gotten yet that probably tells all you want to know.

Sarge · 08-05-2007, 12:24 AM

Sorry, I didn't learn my mediocre/fair German from an internet translater.
Ranger is right in the correkt German usage of SturmGewehr.

Ranger - since when is a semi version of anything a "dummy" gun? It still fires, just not FA. I also don't think 20-25% of the price for a "real" 44 is a bad price at all. I've got several of the real thing and would still buy one of the semi's - If I could find one for not more than $4K!

lumax - your 44 was built by Haneal (fxo) on a contrakt made (cos) receiver.
Not an uncommon mix on these. By the way cos (Merz-Werk, Frankfort) made lots of stamped metal parts for a wide variety of small arms.

Light Coat · 08-07-2007, 10:55 PM

Tells you how long I've been away from the '44s for. Used to have to scrounge for ammunition for them when I had mine. Had a whole family of sub-guns until I lost all intersest or moved back to this piissy anti-auto state.

Don't feel to vexed about that internet translator; you should see how it butchers and English to German translation. It is absolutley true that words take on a different meaning in a military context. Every good soldier knows that a cover goes on his head and not his bed. Anyway to the point; military dictionaries are very handy if you are dealing with other languages. I have bought as much dual language material from the time the Germans were using the old italic print as possible. Even if you can't read them, military journals and old issues of Signal are extremely interesting.

03-12-2005, 01:14 AM	#1
Roughrdr V.I.P. Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 361	Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Have had my eye on a Sturmgewehr mp44 (stg-44) for a while. this is a C.G.Haenel piece I am told. Other than what limited info I have found, are there any issues I need to be aware of concerning these Rifles? Would this be a good item to pick up, I generally do not collect German rifles, but this seems to be priced right (in my mind anyway). Any further info would be appreciated. __________________ In the game of life there are to many people out of bounds -->

04-01-2005, 09:12 AM	#2
ibtrukn Advanced Senior Member Join Date: May 2001 Location: central N.J. Posts: 4,335	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 R/rdr as far as I no these were used almost exclusively on the Russian front, not 2 many survivors, so they R kinda scarce. BUT, this is 2nd hand info. U R aware that these R subguns with a selector switch and R Class 3 weapons, unless "de-activated" to semi-auto. Takes 7:92X33 ammo, I unnerstan it is available. Keep me posted on the outcome, I have vested interest. IB

03-17-2006, 07:56 PM	#3
Roughrdr V.I.P. Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 361	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Forgot all about this post. I picked it up no problems. IT was a war time pick up the previous owner claimed. Takin his word on it, he was a vertren of WWII. Had to get a new firing pin machined, old one worn, would not fire. Shoots like a dream now. __________________ In the game of life there are to many people out of bounds

03-17-2006, 10:54 PM	#4
The Rabbi Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: San Antonio Texas Posts: 6	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 They are great shooters. Where are you getting ammo? Starline has been contacted about making brass, but they are not interested just yet (Need a few more people to let them know they want it) As far as bullets go, one of out customers has been turning down bronze and it is working great for him but it aint cheap. __________________ NFA dealer and Shooting Complex www.bullethole.com

03-18-2006, 09:19 AM	#5
JohnK3 Advanced Senior Member Join Date: May 2003 Posts: 1,636	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 There's no such thing as "deactivated to semi-auto" in the ATF's eyes. "Once a machinegun, always a machinegun." The only way to "deactivate" so you don't fall under NFA regs is to cut the receiver in such a way as to prevent it from being reassembled into an operational weapon. There's a larger group of people interested in 7.5Swiss who have let Starline know they want it, but they still won't make that brass. I doubt you'll ever get enough people to talk them into making 8mm Kurz.

03-18-2006, 11:55 AM	#6
Roughrdr V.I.P. Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 361	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 It came with roughly 2000 rounds which I purchesed seperatley. I have about the same less 50 now. Noticed ammo is hard to get, so I am looking to see what I can do should I run out. Also been looking to see what I can form to make it. __________________ In the game of life there are to many people out of bounds

03-23-2006, 08:11 PM	#7
Light Coat V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Middle of Nowhere, KS Posts: 466	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 That's a nice old weapon. The ammo the 7.62x39 is based on the STG's fodder. That's just trivia. My understanding is that the bassis of the round is a shortened 8x57 case. I think the worst situation will be the dies to load it. I believe that the law on NFA's is that they must not be capable of containing the necessary parts to be full auto. You can make semi only receivers; but, it's one heck of a lot of work making sure that they won't accept the parts. Open bolts in semi must be made to operate from the closed position. I'm a little crusty on some of the laws. I haven't exactly been dealing with this stuff lately. Just got to darned expensive. Hope Kansas passes a new Class 3 act so that things can be a bit more sane here. Now that we are getting concealed my hopes are up.

03-26-2006, 11:25 PM	#8
sck V.I.P. Member Join Date: Oct 2001 Posts: 117	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 So, tell us, just how "priced right" was it? $20,000 -- $30,000 for a registered STG 44?

03-29-2006, 07:40 PM	#9
scudrunner V.I.P. Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 252	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Hey r/rdr, Welcome to the MP-44 club. I have had mine for about 2 yrs now and they are truly a collector’s piece in just about any condition. Mine is is great shape with about 95% of the original finish intact!! (see photos). It is a joy to shoot. I try not to fire it often but when I do it NEVER has a hiccup. Mine was picked up in Germany by an 82nd AB 1Lt. It was surrendered to him by an SS Lt. It came with the original operators manual and parts bag, the guy even had the original amnesty form of 1968! It is a fully legal, NFA regestered, class III weapon now and an invaluable part of history. They were used mostly on the Eastern front during the war but some made it out to fight in the West too. I have looked high and low for reloading components and here is the fruit of that labor! This is a link to Buffalo Arms; they make an exact copy of the bullet for the 7.92X33 Kurz. http://www.buffaloarms.com/browse.cfm/4,881.html This next link is to Quality Cartridge. They have FACTORY brass, yup, that’s right, factory! You may have to get them on the phone as it is not listed on the site but they do have it, I bought a 1,000 pieces. http://www.qual-cart.com/ This is where you may be able to find some parts. It's a link to International Military Antiques in New Jersey. I bought a few firing pins there and some other stuff. http://www.ima-usa.com/ RCBS does make reloading dies for it and there is load data out there. Good luck and good shooting my friend!! Attached Images __________________ HAVE A NICE DAY, DAMMIT!! When seconds count the police are only minutes away! The Number 1 Rule Of Any Gunfight.....HAVE A GUN!! Last edited by scudrunner; 03-29-2006 at 07:50 PM..

05-14-2007, 01:05 AM	#11
Sarge Former Guest Join Date: May 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 69	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Welcome to the fun factory! I've had MP 43/44s for 50 yrs, got my current MP 43 shooter in 1985 from the vets widow. It had been registered in the 1968 amnesty. She said he was guarding a group of POWs and one of them came to him and asked if he wanted to know where a gun was in the brush. He went and looked and found this MP 43. What is the ammo you got - WW 2 or east German? If WW 2 how boxed? ibtrukn: NO, these were not used exclusively on the Ost Front. That is where they were first used, but by wars end were in use in all war zones. They are not scarce. I have several and I know at least 25 guys who have one or more. Here is a photo of my heard. Bottom up: MP 43, MP 44, Stg 44, MP 43. One should also have a few spare parts. Sarge Attached Images

07-26-2007, 11:29 PM	#12
lumax Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 4	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 I was looking at a STG at a gun show that was a non gun. It had a cut receiver. The guy said that it was all original and not put together from parts. At close examination where it said STG, with a magnifying glass I could see a faint mark MP44 and STG was stamped on top of it. It was very hard to see. Could this be correct? Also the STG didn't have 44 after it. It just had STG. Any opinions on this would be appreciated. lumax

07-26-2007, 11:40 PM	#13
Sarge Former Guest Join Date: May 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 69	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Depends on how it was put back togather after being cut - It could still be illegal! Was it for sale? Yes, at least one factory stamped StG over MP, on receivers already marked, when they got the word to change the markings. The 44 should still be viseable though, that wasn't changed. Also at least one factory - bnz - Never changed to StG. Sarge

07-26-2007, 11:57 PM	#14
lumax Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 4	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Sarge, thanks for your help. The MP44 mark is very faint. You can only make it out with a magnifying glass. When looking with the naked eye all you can see is STG. Yes it was for sale. He wanted $4000 for it. I did look at it for a long time & he let me write down all the markings on it which was very nice of him. I wasn't a 100% sure of what I was looking at because of all the different markings on it. Thanks again, lumax

07-28-2007, 01:03 AM	#15
lumax Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 4	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Sarge, the dealer at the show had other guns and some of them were PPH and MG34s. All of them were incapable of firing. The STG I was talking about he said wasn't put together with parts except where it was cut there was a blank piece of metal welded into place, the bolt wouldn't move and the barrel was plugged. What I was curious about was that he said it wasn't put together but there is alot of different stampings on it. I wrote some of them down. For example on the piece that is left on the bottom of the gun before the blank piece is welded in, is COS FXO, WaAA4. On the metal part on the stock there is the same serial number as the gun which is 5882Y and BYF which I know is mauser. I am sure there is other marks on the gun but this is all that I saw. I am used to seeing all the same maker marks like on the model 98k's. I don't have a clue on who made that STG. Is there a good book that I can buy to learn more about them? $4000 is alot of money to pay for a gun that doesn't fire but I only want one for display anyway. I have the dealers number so if I am interested I can get the gun if he still has it available. Any information would be appreciated. lumax

07-28-2007, 07:49 AM	#16
AL MOUNT Advanced Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: Cleaning my Thompson in The Foothills of the Ozark Mountains Posts: 3,108	Re: Mp-44 This is a great thread..... A bit of trivia I imagine most of you allready knew..... Sturmgewehr translates into "Storm Rifle"..... __________________ 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment 101st Airborne Division Vietnam 67-68

07-31-2007, 01:21 AM	#17
Sarge Former Guest Join Date: May 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 69	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Actually in this usage, SturmGewehr translates to Assault Rifle. hitlers idea of furthering the war effort. It sounded so much better than Machine Pistol or it's original designation of Machine Carbine - MKb 42. Sarge

08-01-2007, 01:28 AM	#19
A375RANGER Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 6	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Angriff translates better to "attack" when used as a military word. Sturm can mean storm, in military terminology it is used as both a verb and noun to mean "assault". The German Military Dictionary may be a better guide to translation than Bablefish for the military use of words.

08-01-2007, 01:40 AM	#20
A375RANGER Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Posts: 6	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 $4000 is way too much for basically a dummy gun. You can build semi MP44s but have to be 922r compliant which means you are going to need a few things like a US barrel and such. A master with a wire feed can put together a cut reciever and the mods to make it semi-only are not very hard (the easiest part of the whole deal) Use HKs and other guns as examples of how to be semi only. Grip stick will not take auto parts, receiver changed so auto grip sticks cannot go on, change bolt carrier to semi only, make reciever so unmodified bolt carrier cannot fit in. That is probably more than what is really required. On most rewelds the trunnion and reciever will now be US made. If you look around you can get a display gun for $1400-1600 and a parts kit that could be made semi for twice that, not counting buying US parts and all the welding time etc. There are many ATF approval letters out there for builders concerning rewelds. Just do some online research.

08-02-2007, 02:48 PM	#22
lumax Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 4	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 A375RANGER, thanks for your reply. I checked the forum everyday & it seemed like I wasn't going to get any response to my thread after Sarge answered me. Do you have any idea who the maker was of this gun based on the information that I supplied? Thanks, lumax

08-05-2007, 12:24 AM	#24
Sarge Former Guest Join Date: May 2007 Location: Colorado Posts: 69	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Sorry, I didn't learn my mediocre/fair German from an internet translater. Ranger is right in the correkt German usage of SturmGewehr. Ranger - since when is a semi version of anything a "dummy" gun? It still fires, just not FA. I also don't think 20-25% of the price for a "real" 44 is a bad price at all. I've got several of the real thing and would still buy one of the semi's - If I could find one for not more than $4K! lumax - your 44 was built by Haneal (fxo) on a contrakt made (cos) receiver. Not an uncommon mix on these. By the way cos (Merz-Werk, Frankfort) made lots of stamped metal parts for a wide variety of small arms. Last edited by Sarge; 08-05-2007 at 12:27 AM..

08-07-2007, 10:55 PM	#25
Light Coat V.I.P. Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Middle of Nowhere, KS Posts: 466	Re: Sturmgewehr Mp-44 Tells you how long I've been away from the '44s for. Used to have to scrounge for ammunition for them when I had mine. Had a whole family of sub-guns until I lost all intersest or moved back to this piissy anti-auto state. Don't feel to vexed about that internet translator; you should see how it butchers and English to German translation. It is absolutley true that words take on a different meaning in a military context. Every good soldier knows that a cover goes on his head and not his bed. Anyway to the point; military dictionaries are very handy if you are dealing with other languages. I have bought as much dual language material from the time the Germans were using the old italic print as possible. Even if you can't read them, military journals and old issues of Signal are extremely interesting.