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Basic Information

The krummlauf was a curved, replacement barrel designed to be fitted to the MP44/StG44 assault rifle with the intent of allowing it to fire around corners. There were various models of krummlauf with curves ranging between 30' and 90' from the axis of the weapon, but only the 30' model was produced in any quantity. Intended applications included urban warfare and the close defence of AFVs from enemy infantry. As it turned out, turning a rifle bullet through a significant angle was hard on the barrel (causing it to wear out after a few hundred shots1. The greater the curve, the shorter the life) and on the bullet (often making it disintegrate). Coupled with the fixed angle2 and the bulky and awkward periscopic sight these problems seem to have made a rifle with one of these installed marginal at best as a weapon. It's also worth noting that the StG44 did not have a quick-change barrel and so fitting and replacing a krummlauf would likely need to be done by a unit armourer. This accessory was amongst many peculiar things developed in Germany towards the end of WW2 and would seem to be more effort than it was actually worth.

Israel has recently resurrected the "firing around corners" concept in the form of the Corner Shot device - which in some ways less ambitious, and in all ways more effective. The krummlauf's ancestor is probably the periscope rifle.


Wkipedia on the Krummlauf.

1. full source reference

Game and Story Use

  • A hilarious thing to find attached to the only available weapon - especially if the periscopic sight has gone missing.
  • Very unlikely to appear except in NW Europe around the end of WW2 … or in arms caches from that period or collections of antique weapons.
  • If writing stats for this device, note that it should play absolute hob with the rifle's ballistics, accuracy, power and reliability … and have a very limited lifespan.