Evidently, the switch from Krupp Steel or Böhler Steel to Edelstahlwerk Freital 4 Ringe Gewehr Lauf Stahl / 4 Ring Weapons Grade Barrel Steel was all due to economics. East Germany had a shortage of foreign currency and had to source inland. Scrap Metal quality varied vastly and there was a dip in quality and everyone including the end user was forced to embrace the change. This is exactly the reason that many German Collectors give a hard knock on GDR weapons platforms.

Merkel may have been the exception and was not under the Ernst Thalmann Werke umbrella and was able to negotiate their barrel steel?

Hochachtungsvoll,

Raimey
rse