MP43, MP44, and StG44 were different designations for what was essentially the same rifle, with minor updates in production. The variety in nomenclatures resulted from complicated circumstances in Nazi Germany. Developed from the Mkb 42(H) "machine carbine", the StG44 combined the characteristics of a carbine, submachine gun and automatic rifle. StG is an abbreviation of Sturmgewehr. The name was chosen for propaganda reasons and literally means storm rifle as in "to storm an enemy position" (i.e. "assault", leading to the modern terminology "assault rifle"). After the adoption of the StG44, the English translation "assault rifle" became the accepted designation for this type of infantry small arm.