This is a good example of a late WWII German MP44 assault rifle, that was manufactured by the Erma Waffenfabrik in Erfurt Germany. The underside of the receiver is stamped with "cos" which stands for Merzwerke, Gebr. Merz Frankfurt (who was a supplier of stamped parts from 1942 to 1945) with an "Eagle/WaA44" Waffenamt proof and a "Eagle/280" Waffenamt proof. There were approximately 300,000 manufactured before the end of WWII and they are considered as the first true production assault rifles. They could fire in both a fully automatic and semi-automatic mode, chambered for the 7.92 x 33mm Kurz round. This weapon was intended to replace the MP40 SMG and 98k rifles, by using a shorter/lighter cartridge, with a greater effective range than the MP40s with a higher rate of fire than the standard K98 rifle. They were manufactured using various wartime expedient techniques, such as a sheet-metal stamped receiver and trigger housing with minimal machined parts, such as the bolt assembly and barrel. They also used a simple slab-sided wooden buttstock and the bakelite pistol grip panels. The receiver is stamped on the left side of the magazine housing with "1489n/44" and "MP44" on the upper side, (with the "8" in the serial number over stamped). The underside of the buttstock section is stamped "cos/489" and the rear of the trigger housing is also stamped with "1489". It is complete with one magazine that is stamped "fxo/37" and "MP43".