Germany Makes Good Guns But These 5 Are Terrible

Charlie Gao

Technology, Europe

Just disgraceful.

Key point: Not all designs are good and these five were particular flops.

Germany has a reputation for producing good firearms. From the MP5 to the Gewehr 98, German guns have influenced countless designs and have seen service on every continent.

But sometimes things go wrong. Here’s what could be considered the 5 worst military arms made in Germany.

1. Mauser 71/84:

The second half of the 1800s saw firearms technology advance at a blistering pace. An obsolete rifle could mean a defeat on the battlefield, so designers and governments rushed to keep their standard infantry arm up to date.

The Mauser 71/84 was one of those stopgap designs. After Germany adopted the single shot Mauser 1871 shortly after its unification, it was procured in great number as it was one of the most cutting-edge designs of its time.

But the French soon adopted a repeating rifle with a tubular magazine designed by Alfred von Kropatschek in 1878. This caused Germany to scramble to find a way to turn their single shot 1871 Mauser into a repeating rifle as well.

Enter the Mauser 71/84. Utilizing a tube magazine that was basically a clone of the Kropatschek design, the 71/84 was a cheap and fast way to turn the Mauser into a repeating rifle.

However, the design had tons of issues, being Germany’s first repeating rifle. The magazine’s design was finicky, requiring a yank on the bolt handle to properly raise the round. The center of gravity shifted as the magazine was depleted, and the fully loaded rifle was relatively front heavy and unbalanced compared to the original 1871. The sights were also unsuited for harsh combat use.

The French Lebel which came only two years later had a far more reliable feeding mechanism, despite also using a tubular magazine. Germany again scrambled to catch up, and the 71/84 was replaced by the Mauser 1888 within 5 years.

2. VP70:

The first polymer-frame striker-fired pistol was a big flop. The VP70 was meant to be a cheap weapon to arm police or militia forces in Europe, so it featured simple controls, an optional shoulder stock, and the heavy use of polymer to keep costs down. Despite incorporating many innovations, the weapon itself was rather bad.