Hello bajtársak and fellow forumdwellers,
There was substantial protest against making the Pre-war Karabiner 98 Kurz with ZF-41 scope a Battle Pass gun so I have decided to swap out the Pre-war Kar with a Gewehr 33/40 which was even less common.
The first half of the suggestion will remain the same as before, I apologise for any inconvenience.
The idea of the ZF-41 was born in 1939, with German officers requesting an optic for the Karabiner 98 Kurz rifle, to enhance the abilities of the best shooters.
This was a very difficult undertaking, as the scope had to be sturdy, reliable, easy to use but also cheap enough to be mass produced.
The end result was the ZF-41, a short scope with 1.5x magnification, though calling it a designated marksmen optic rather than a scope would be more accurate to its true intention.
It is a logistical miracle, as the ZF-41 can be mounted on a Karabiner 98 Kurz, Gewehr 41, Mkb42(H) and even other weapons such as M1 carbine, after a short conversion.
Most of the troops really liked them, with about 100 000 produced before the war´s end, it was the only scope common German soldiers had access to (not counting captured Soviet PU scopes which were fielded in also impressive quantities) and allowed them to exploit their Karabiner 98 Kurz rifles to the fullest, hitting distant and small targets that would otherwise be impossible due to the natural deficiencies of the human eye.
However due to its mass availability some snipers also got armed with ZF-41 scopes, despite the continued protests of sniper schools, criticising the scope for its small magnification, poor eye relief and difficulty to use in low light conditions that made it unsuitable for sniping.
sight picture from the ZF-41
The ZF-41 itself is actually already in the game, mounted on the scoped Mkb42(H) and scoped Gewehr41 rifle.
Instead of integrating a mounting rail for scopes to the Karabiner rifle, attaching the ZF-41 requires a small modification that was done in factories. So not all K98K rifles can be attached with ZF-41 scopes, only rifles that were converted.
However, not only Karabiner 98 Kurz rifles, but about 400 Czech made Gewehr 33/40 were also converted to accept the ZF-41 short scopes. These rifles were made specifically for the Gebirgsjäger (mountain) troops.
This conversion was a bit more difficult than on the Karabiner 98 since some of the handguard had to be cut away in order to fit the rail for the ZF-41.
On top: a normal Gewehr 33/40
On the bottom, a G33/40 with ZF-41
Gewehr 33/40 with ZF-41 scope was even illustrated in WW2 German military manuals, however it does not seem that the weapon would have moved past fielded tests, abandoning further production as the whole production of G33/40 rifles completely ceased in 1942 in favour of the Karabiner 98 Kurz.
The Gewehr 33/40 with ZF-41 short scope should be available to the rifleman class, as it was historically used.
It would not be the first gun with a scope that is available to classes other than snipers.
The Japanese Type 97 LMG and the Soviet SVD-30 rifles also come with scope while not being available to the sniper class.
Finally, let’s have a word about the scope.
Currently, there are two ZF-41 scoped weapons in the game: the scoped Mkb42(H) and the scoped Gewehr41 rifle. Interestingly enough, they are implemented slightly differently.
Its worth keeping in mind that all rifles get 2x zoom in just by aiming, which is why most scopes are buffed up a little (sniper Mosin get 7x magnification with a 3.5x magnification scope and sniper M1 Garand gets 5x magnification with a 2.5x magnification scope).
The scoped Gewehr41 rifle is more zoomed in, and has more magnification (buffed for gameplay reasons) than the scoped Mkb42(H), however it’s actually the latter that is more realistic and the Gewehr 33/40 with ZF-41 should be implemented similar to that. Reinforcing that it’s meant for mid-range shooting rather than long range, which is the job of the actual sniper rifles.
- Yes
- No
- Against it being Battle Pass
- Against it being BR1
- Other (comment)
