Attempts to incrementally improve the basic MG 34 design failed. However, the MG 34 did have fundamental drawbacks, such as sensitivity to extreme weather conditions, dirt and mud, and comparatively complex and expensive production. As the MG 34 Panzerlauf, it was used throughout the war as secondary armament on panzers and other vehicles. Switching between a bipod and a tripod required no special tools, as the mounting latch was spring-loaded. The MG 34 was also quite versatile not only was it able to be fed from belted ammunition or a saddle drum magazine, it could also be fired from a bipod, an innovative Lafette 34 tripod or various pintle mounts for armored vehicles. Equipped with a quick-change barrel and fed either with non-disintegrating metallic-link belts, or from a 50-round Gurttrommel (belt drum) or a 75-round spring-loaded saddle-drum Patronentrommel 34 magazines (with a simple change of the feed cover for a Trommelhalter magazine holder), the MG 34 could sustain fire for much longer periods of time than other portable squad-level weapons such as the American M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), Soviet Degtyaryov machine gun (DP-27) and the British Bren gun, which were fed by magazines, while also being much lighter and more portable than crew-served weapons like the Browning M1919, SG-43 Goryunov or Vickers machine guns (which also lacked quick-change barrels). It was envisaged and well developed to provide portable light and medium machine gun infantry cover, low level anti-aircraft coverage, and even sniping ability. It was developed to use the standard German 7.92×57mm Mauser full-power rifle round. The MG 34 is considered to be the first modern general-purpose machine gun or Einheitsmaschinengewehr. By changing its mount, sights and feed mechanism, the operator could radically transform an Einheitsmaschinengewehr for several purposes. This eventually led to the Einheitsmaschinengewehr (Universal machine gun) introducing an entirely new concept in automatic firepower. 1930s Wehrmacht reenactors with an MG 34 general-purpose machine gun mounted on a Lafette 34 tripod The twin-barreled Gast gun was developed with the goal of providing a high cyclic rate of fire weapon for anti-aircraft use which was reported to have reached cyclic rates of fire as high as 1,600 rounds per minute. The MG13 was the result of reengineering the Dreyse Water-cooled machine gun to fit the new requirement. The MG13 was one of the first developments toward a goal of producing a weapon that could perform multiple roles, rather than just one. History Before World War I Įven before World War I, the German military was already looking forward to replacing the heavy machine guns which proved to be such a success in that war. The MG 42 lent many design elements to the Swiss MG 51 and SIG MG 710-3, French AA-52, American M60 and Belgian MAG general-purpose machine guns and the Spanish 5.56×45mm NATO Ameli light machine gun. It also spawned the Yugoslav unlicensed nearly identical Zastava M53. The MG 42's lineage continued past Nazi Germany's defeat, forming the basis for the nearly identical MG1 (MG 42/59), chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO, which subsequently evolved into the MG1A3, and later the Bundeswehr's MG 3, Italian MG 42/59 and Austrian MG 74. The MG 42 was adopted by several armed organizations after the war, and was both copied and built under licence. This ability made it extremely effective in providing suppressive fire, and its unique sound led to it being nicknamed "Hitler's buzzsaw". It is most notable for its very high cyclic rate for a gun using full-power service cartridges, averaging about 1,200 rounds per minute compared to around 850 for the MG 34, and 450 to 600 for other common machine guns like the M1919 Browning, FM 24/29 or Bren gun. Entering production in 1942, it was intended to supplement and replace the earlier MG 34, which was more expensive and took much longer to produce, but both weapons were produced until the end of World War II.ĭesigned to use the standard German 7.92×57mm Mauser rifle round, be low-cost and easier to mass-produce, the MG 42 proved to be highly reliable and easy to operate. The MG 42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42, or "machine gun 42") is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. Iron sights, antiaircraft sight or telescopic sights MAGET (Maschinenbau und Gerätebau GmbH, Berlin-Tegel).
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