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I don't recall exhibiting an example of the German Gewehr 41 (G41) before, so now we can address this oversight.
The weapon above was discovered on the battlefield in Normandy several years ago. Almost none of the woodwork remained but it soon became obvious why this weapon had been discarded and not retained by either the original owner or by a local after the cessation of fighting.
You will notice in the close up of the chamber on the right that a 7.92mm round has become lodged inside. Perhaps as time or his predicament did not allow it the German soldier decided to throw this weapon away.
The G41 owed it's existence to the experiences of the Wehrmacht in the assault on the Soviet Union. During 1941/42 the Germans were on the receiving end of Soviet self loading rifles in the shape of the Tokarev M38 or M40.
As a result, two firms; Walther and Mauser designed and submitted prototypes to the Army. The Mauser design was dropped in favour of the Walther model. The G41 used a blow back system, although this was not used in the later G43.
Both the G41 and G43 are highly prized on the gun collectors market and restored examples of these weapons can fetch very high prices indeed.
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