MG 34
The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG34, was a German machine gun that was
first produced and accepted for service in 1934, and first issued to
units in 1935. It was an air-cooled machine gun firing 7.92 x 57mm
Mauser rounds and had similar performance to other medium machine
guns.
However, it was also designed to perform both as a light machine gun
and also in heavier roles, in an early example of a general purpose
machine gun. In the light role, it was intended to be equipped with a
bipod and 50-round belt contained in a drum-shaped ammo basket, which
attached to the receiver. In the heavier role it was mounted on a
larger tripod and was belt-fed. In practice the infantry usually just
belt-fed the bipod version, resulting in it functioning as a classic
medium support weapon.
History
The MG34 was used as the primary infantry machine gun during the
1930s, and remained as the primary tank and aircraft defensive
weapon. It was to be replaced in infantry service by the related
MG42, but there were never enough of the new design to go around, and
MG34s soldiered on in all roles until the end of World War II. The
MG34 was intended to replace the MG13 and other older machine guns,
but these were still being used in WWII as demand was never met.
It was designed primarily by Heinrich Vollmer from the Mauser Werke,
based on the recently introduced Rheinmetall-designed Solothurn 1930
(MG30) that was starting to enter service in Switzerland. The
principal changes were to move the feed mechanism to a more
convenient location on the left of the breech, and the addition of a
shroud around the barrel. Changes to the operating mechanism improved
the rate of fire to between 800 and 900 rpm.
The new gun was accepted for service almost immediately and was
generally liked by the troops. It was used to great effect by German
soldiers assisting Nationalist Spain in the Spanish Civil War. At the
time it was introduced it had a number of advanced features and the
general purpose machine gun concept that it aspired to was an
influential one. However the MG34 was also expensive, both in terms
of construction and the raw materials needed (49 kg (108 lb) of steel
and its manufacture was too time-consuming to be built in the numbers
required for the ever expanding German army. It also proved to be
rather temperamental, jamming easily when dirty.
Characteristics
The MG34 could use both magazine-fed and belt-fed 7.92 mm ammunition.
Belts were supplied in a fixed length of 50 rounds but could be
linked up to make longer belts for sustained firing. A 250 round belt
was also issued to machine guns installed in fixed emplacements such
as bunkers. Ammunition boxes contained 250 rounds in five belts that
were linked to make one continuous 100 round belt and one 150 round
belt. The assault drums held a 50-round belt, or a 75-round "double
drum" magazine could be used by replacing the top cover with one made
specially for that purpose. A gun configured to use the 75-round
magazine could not be returned to belt-feed mode without changing the
top cover again. All magazine-feed MG34s had been withdrawn from
infantry use by 1941 with some remaining in use on armoured personnel
carriers.
Like most machine guns, the barrel is designed to be easily replaced
to avoid overheating during sustained fire.
In the light machine gun role it was used with a bipod and weighed
only 12.1 kg (26.7 lb). In the medium machine gun role it could be
mounted on one of two tripods, a smaller one weighing 6.75 kg (14.9
lb), the larger 23.6 kg (52 lb). The larger tripod, the MG34
Laffette, included a number of features such as a telescopic sight
and special sighting equipment for indirect fire. The legs could be
extended to allow it to be used in the anti-aircraft role, and when
lowered it could be placed to allow the gun to be fired "remotely"
while it swept an arc in front of the mounting with fire, or aimed
through a periscope attached to the tripod.
Variants
MG34/41
The MG34/41 was requested as the first war experiences in the
beginning of the World War II proved that a higher fire rate
generates more dispersion of the bullets. The MG34/41 could cope with
a fire rate of 1200 rpm. The weight of the MG34/41 was 14 kg,
slightly more than the original MG34 version. A limited number of
MG34/41 were produced. The MG34/41 was beaten in trials by the
MG39/41, later designated MG42.
MG34-T
Tanks normally used the MG34-T model, whose main difference was that
it had a different barrel sheath that was heavier and that it did not
have the normal ventilation holes like the MG34.
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first produced and accepted for service in 1934, and first issued to
units in 1935. It was an air-cooled machine gun firing 7.92 x 57mm
Mauser rounds and had similar performance to other medium machine
guns.
However, it was also designed to perform both as a light machine gun
and also in heavier roles, in an early example of a general purpose
machine gun. In the light role, it was intended to be equipped with a
bipod and 50-round belt contained in a drum-shaped ammo basket, which
attached to the receiver. In the heavier role it was mounted on a
larger tripod and was belt-fed. In practice the infantry usually just
belt-fed the bipod version, resulting in it functioning as a classic
medium support weapon.
History
The MG34 was used as the primary infantry machine gun during the
1930s, and remained as the primary tank and aircraft defensive
weapon. It was to be replaced in infantry service by the related
MG42, but there were never enough of the new design to go around, and
MG34s soldiered on in all roles until the end of World War II. The
MG34 was intended to replace the MG13 and other older machine guns,
but these were still being used in WWII as demand was never met.
It was designed primarily by Heinrich Vollmer from the Mauser Werke,
based on the recently introduced Rheinmetall-designed Solothurn 1930
(MG30) that was starting to enter service in Switzerland. The
principal changes were to move the feed mechanism to a more
convenient location on the left of the breech, and the addition of a
shroud around the barrel. Changes to the operating mechanism improved
the rate of fire to between 800 and 900 rpm.
The new gun was accepted for service almost immediately and was
generally liked by the troops. It was used to great effect by German
soldiers assisting Nationalist Spain in the Spanish Civil War. At the
time it was introduced it had a number of advanced features and the
general purpose machine gun concept that it aspired to was an
influential one. However the MG34 was also expensive, both in terms
of construction and the raw materials needed (49 kg (108 lb) of steel
and its manufacture was too time-consuming to be built in the numbers
required for the ever expanding German army. It also proved to be
rather temperamental, jamming easily when dirty.
Characteristics
The MG34 could use both magazine-fed and belt-fed 7.92 mm ammunition.
Belts were supplied in a fixed length of 50 rounds but could be
linked up to make longer belts for sustained firing. A 250 round belt
was also issued to machine guns installed in fixed emplacements such
as bunkers. Ammunition boxes contained 250 rounds in five belts that
were linked to make one continuous 100 round belt and one 150 round
belt. The assault drums held a 50-round belt, or a 75-round "double
drum" magazine could be used by replacing the top cover with one made
specially for that purpose. A gun configured to use the 75-round
magazine could not be returned to belt-feed mode without changing the
top cover again. All magazine-feed MG34s had been withdrawn from
infantry use by 1941 with some remaining in use on armoured personnel
carriers.
Like most machine guns, the barrel is designed to be easily replaced
to avoid overheating during sustained fire.
In the light machine gun role it was used with a bipod and weighed
only 12.1 kg (26.7 lb). In the medium machine gun role it could be
mounted on one of two tripods, a smaller one weighing 6.75 kg (14.9
lb), the larger 23.6 kg (52 lb). The larger tripod, the MG34
Laffette, included a number of features such as a telescopic sight
and special sighting equipment for indirect fire. The legs could be
extended to allow it to be used in the anti-aircraft role, and when
lowered it could be placed to allow the gun to be fired "remotely"
while it swept an arc in front of the mounting with fire, or aimed
through a periscope attached to the tripod.
Variants
MG34/41
The MG34/41 was requested as the first war experiences in the
beginning of the World War II proved that a higher fire rate
generates more dispersion of the bullets. The MG34/41 could cope with
a fire rate of 1200 rpm. The weight of the MG34/41 was 14 kg,
slightly more than the original MG34 version. A limited number of
MG34/41 were produced. The MG34/41 was beaten in trials by the
MG39/41, later designated MG42.
MG34-T
Tanks normally used the MG34-T model, whose main difference was that
it had a different barrel sheath that was heavier and that it did not
have the normal ventilation holes like the MG34.
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