The origin of this rifle can be traced back to the final years of World War II when Mauser engineers at the Light Weapon Development Group ("Abteilung 37") at Oberndorf am Neckar designed the MKb "Gerät" 06 ("Maschinenkarabiner Gerät 06" or "machine carbine device 06") prototype assault rifle chambered for the intermediate 7.92×33mm "Kurz" cartridge, first with the "Gerät" 06 model using a roller-locked short recoil mechanism originally adapted from the MG 42 machine gun but with a fixed barrel and conventional gas-actuated piston rod.