MG 42
The MG42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42, or "Machine Gun
42") is a machine gun that was developed for and entered service with
Nazi Germany in 1942, during World War II. The 7.92 mm rifle caliber
weapon was developed from, and was intended to supplant the MG34
machine gun, though both were manufactured and used until the end of
the war. The MG42 has a proven record of reliability, durability,
simplicity, and ease of operation, but is most notable for being able
to produce a stunning volume of suppressive fire. The MG42 has one of
the highest average rates of fire of any single-barreled light machine
gun, between 1,200 and 1,500 rpm, resulting in a distinctive muzzle
report. There were other automatic weapon designs with similar
firepower at its inception, such as the Hungarian-Gebauer single-
barreled tank MGs and the Russian 7.62 mm GShak aircraft gun. However,
the MG42's belt-feed and quick-change barrel system allowed for more
prolonged firing in comparison to these weapons.
The MG42's lineage continued past Nazi Germany's defeat, forming the
basis for the nearly identical M52, MG1 (MG 42/59), and subsequently
improved into the still very similar MG2, which was in turn followed
by the MG3. It also spawned the Swiss SIG 710-3, MG42/59, and a 5.56
mm Spanish CETME Ameli machine gun, and lent many design elements to
the American M60. The Ameli and the MG3 were in service with many
armies during the Cold War and remain so into the 21st century.
History
During the 1930s the German Army introduced the MG34, considered to be
the first modern general purpose machine gun. Equipped with a quick-
change barrel, the MG34 could fire for much longer periods of time
than conventional weapons like the Browning Automatic Rifle or Bren,
while being much lighter than crew-served weapons like the Vickers
machine gun. The weapon was also quite versatile, able to be fed from
drums or belts, and mounted on bipods, heavy tripods, or various
pintle mounts for armored vehicles. It even became a primary defensive
gun for the Luftwaffe, in its MG81 form. However, it did have its
drawbacks, such as sensitivity to dust and comparatively expensive
production. One attempt at improvement was the MG34S, an incremental
improvement on the basic 34 design.
In order to address these issues, a contest was held for a true MG34
replacement. Of the number of proposals submitted, Metall-und
Lackierwarenfabrik Johannes Großfuß AG's proved to be the best design,
by far. Experts in pressed and stamped steel parts, the new design
required considerably less tooling and was much simpler to build — it
took 75 man hours to complete the new gun as opposed to 150 man hours
for the MG34, and cost 250 RM as opposed to 327 RM.
The resulting MG39 remained similar to the earlier MG34 overall, a
deliberate decision made in order to maintain familiarity. The only
major changes from the gunner's perspective were dropping the drum-
feed options, leaving it with a loose belt of ammunition only,
simplifying the weapon's open sights for aiming purposes and to
further increase the rate of fire. Although made of relatively cheap
parts, the prototypes also proved to be considerably more rugged and
resistant to jamming than the somewhat temperamental MG34. A limited
run of about 1,500 of its immediate predecessor, the MG39/41, was
completed in 1941 and tested in combat trials. It was officially
accepted, and the main manufacturing of the production design began in
1942; contracts going to Großfuß, Mauser-Werke, Gustloff-Werke, and
others. Production during the war amounted to over 400,000 units
(17,915 units in 1942, 116,725 in 1943, 211,806 in 1944, and 61,877 in
1945).
One of the weapon's most noted features was its comparatively high
rate of fire of about 1,200 rounds per minute, twice the rate of the
British Vickers machine gun and American Browning at 600 round/min. At
such a high rate the human ear cannot easily discern the sound of
individual bullets being fired, and in use the gun makes a sound
described as like "ripping cloth" and giving rise to the nickname
"Hitler's buzzsaw", or, more coarsely, "Hitler's zipper" (Soviet
soldiers called it the "linoleum ripper"). German soldiers called it
Hitlersäge ("Hitler's saw") or "Bonesaw". The gun was sometimes called
"Spandau" by British troops from the manufacturer's plates noting the
district of Berlin where some were produced. Despite its high rate of
fire, the Handbook of the German Army (1940) forbade the firing of
more than 250 rounds in a single burst and indicated a sustained rate
of no more than 300–350 rounds per minute to minimize barrel wear and
over-heating.
So distinct and terrifying was the weapon, that the United States Army
created training films to aid its soldiers in dealing with the
psychological trauma of facing the weapon in battle. The high rate of
fire resulted from experiments with preceding weapons, that concluded
that since a soldier only has a short period of time to shoot at an
enemy, it was imperative to fire the highest number of bullets
possible to increase the likelihood of a hit. This principle was also
behind the Vickers GO aircraft gun. The disadvantage of this principle
is that the weapon consumed exorbitant amounts of ammunition and
quickly overheated its barrel, making sustained fire problematic.
The MG42 weighed 11.6 kg in the light role with the bipod, lighter
than the MG34 and easily portable. The bipod, the same one used on the
MG34, could be mounted to the front or the center of the gun depending
on where it was being used. For sustained fire use, it was matched to
the newly-developed Lafette 42 tripod, which weighed 20.5 kg on its
own. The barrel was lighter than the MG34's and heated more quickly,
but could be replaced in seconds by an experienced gunner.
The optimum operating crew of an MG42 for sustained fire operation was
six men: the gun commander, the No.1 who fired the gun, the No.2 who
carried the tripod, and Nos.3, 4, and 5 who carried ammunition, spare
barrels, entrenching tools, and other items. For additional protection
the commander, No.1 and No.2 were armed with pistols, while the
remaining three carried rifles. This large team was often reduced to
just three: the gunner, the loader (also barrel carrier), and the
spotter. The gunner of the weapon was preferably a junior non-
commissioned officer (or Unteroffizier).
It was possible for operating crews to lay down a non-stop barrage of
fire, ceasing only when the barrel had to be replaced. This allowed
the MG42 to tie up significantly larger numbers of enemy troops. Both
the Americans and the British trained their troops to take cover from
the fire of an MG42, and assault the position during the small window
of barrel replacement. The high rate of fire of the MG42 sometimes
proved a liability, mainly in that, while the weapon could be used to
devastating effect, it could quickly exhaust its ammunition supply.
For this reason, it was not uncommon for all soldiers operating near
an MG42 to carry extra ammunition, thus providing the MG42 with a
backup source when its main supply was exhausted.
Operation
MG 42 Roller system The MG42 is roller-locked and recoil-operated
(short recoil) with gas assist. The roller-locked bolt assembly
consists of a bolt head, two rollers, a striker sleeve, bolt body, and
a large return spring, which is responsible for pushing the bolt
assembly into battery (the locked position) and returning it there
when it is unlocked and pushed backwards by the recoil of firing or by
the charging handle. As the striker sleeve is movable back and forth
within the bolt assembly, the return spring is also responsible for
pushing the striker sleeve forward during locking (described below).
The bolt assembly locks with the barrel's breech (the end the
cartridge is loaded into) via a prong type barrel extension behind the
breech. As it is recoil-operated and fired from an open bolt, the
weapon must be manually charged with the side-mounted charging handle.
The roller-locked recoil operation functions as follows: two
cylindrical rollers, positioned in tracks on the bolt head, are pushed
outwards into matching tracks in the barrel extension by the striker
sleeve and lock the bolt in place against the breech. Upon firing,
rearward force from the recoil of the cartridge ignition pushes the
striker assembly back and allows the rollers to move inwards, back to
their previous position, unlocking the bolt head and allowing the bolt
assembly to recoil, extracting the spent cartridge and ejecting it.
The return spring then pushes the bolt assembly forwards again,
pushing a new cartridge out of the belt into the breech, and the
sequence repeats as long as the trigger is depressed. The MG42 is only
capable of fully automatic fire. Single shots are exceptionally
difficult, even for experienced operators, due to the weapon's rate of
fire. Usual training aim is to be able to fire a minimum of three
rounds. The weapon features a recoil booster at the muzzle to increase
rearwards force due to recoil, therefore improving functional
reliability and rate of fire.
The MG42 fires from an open bolt, meaning the bolt (not the firing
pin) is held in a rearward position when the trigger is not depressed.
Depressing the trigger releases the bolt assembly, of which the firing
pin is a component.
The shoulder stock is designed to permit gripping with the left hand
to hold it secure against the shoulder. Considerable recoil otherwise
causes the stock to creep from its intended position. If the weapon is
not properly "seated" on the bipod, a prone gunner may be pushed back
along the ground from the high recoil of this weapon.
Variants and developments
Various configurations of MG42. The right-most object is a tripod for
anti-aircraft use.In 1944, the acute material shortages of the Third
Reich led to a newer version, the MG45 (or MG42V), which had a
different operation mechanism used retarded blowback as opposed to
roller locking, used steel of lesser quality, reduced weight to only 9
kg, retaining the horizontal cocking handle. First tests were
undertaken in June 1944, but development dragged on and eventually
only ten were ever built. The tested MG45/42V fired 120,000 rounds in
succession at a rate of fire around 1,350 rounds per minute. The MG42V
had some influence in the post-war development of roller-delayed
blowback system, as employed in Heckler & Koch modern small arms. The
MG45/MG42V should be considered a different firearm however as the
mechanisms of these guns were different from that of the MG42.
The American military tried to copy the MG42 during the war, the new
version being adapted for the .30-06 cartridge. Saginaw Steering Gear
constructed a working prototype designated as the T24 machine gun.
However, a design flaw in the prototype and the realization that the
cartridge might be too powerful for the gun's mechanism to easily cope
with resulted in the discarding of the project.
The MG42, with small modifications, resulted in the MG42/59 and
Rheinmetall MG3, which is the primary general purpose machine gun of
the modern German army (Bundeswehr). A number of other armies around
the world have adopted versions of the original, especially the MG3,
and it remains in widespread service today. Its belt-feeding mechanism
was adopted for the design of the M60 machine gun. The T161 beat the
FG 42-derived T52 during tests in the 1950s to become the M60. The
T161 used a different gas system and was easier to make than the T52,
but they both used a similar belt-feed and basic configuration. The
trigger mechanism of the FN MAG is a virtual copy of the MG42's and
the belt feed is also similar.
The final variant to date is the MG74, developed by Austria. The
modifications to the basic MG42/MG3 design include an extremely heavy
bolt (950 grams vs. the 675 gram MG3 bolt) which slows the rate of
fire to around 850-900 rounds per minute. In addition, a select fire
trigger group was added to allow semi-automatic fire (single shot)
compared to the traditional fully automatic only fire capability of
the original MG42 design. Manufactured by Steyr the MG74 also has a
modern polymer stock and handgrips usually colored a dark green. It is
chambered for the NATO 7.62 x51 round.
Rate of fire: Variable, from 850 rounds/min to 1,600 round/min or more
depending on installed bolt weight (different weight bolt components
introduced to regulate rate of fire, lighter assemblies providing
faster rates of fire). Throat erosion and component wear also
introduced significant variation. Up to 1,800 round/min on the MG45 or
without "recoil booster" (Rückstoßverstärker).
Parts changes:
Barrel: 3 to 7 seconds
Barrel and lock: 25 to 30 seconds
The MG42 was adopted by a number of armed organizations after the war,
and was copied or license-built as well. Yugoslavia license-built the
MG42 as the M52, retaining the 7.92x57mm caliber. By doing so, the
Yugoslavians retained the original weapon's design features, making
the M52 a nearly exact copy of the German MG42. The only major
difference is a slower rate of fire. The aiming range of the M52 is
2000 meters, and the terminal range of the bullet is 5000 meters, the
same as the MG42. MG42s captured in Yugoslavia at the end of World War
II were put into reserve of YPA as M52/42s. The last military use of
M52s in Yugoslavia was in 1999. Some quantities of M52s were exported
to Iraq in the 1980s and saw extensive action during both Gulf wars.
Back
42") is a machine gun that was developed for and entered service with
Nazi Germany in 1942, during World War II. The 7.92 mm rifle caliber
weapon was developed from, and was intended to supplant the MG34
machine gun, though both were manufactured and used until the end of
the war. The MG42 has a proven record of reliability, durability,
simplicity, and ease of operation, but is most notable for being able
to produce a stunning volume of suppressive fire. The MG42 has one of
the highest average rates of fire of any single-barreled light machine
gun, between 1,200 and 1,500 rpm, resulting in a distinctive muzzle
report. There were other automatic weapon designs with similar
firepower at its inception, such as the Hungarian-Gebauer single-
barreled tank MGs and the Russian 7.62 mm GShak aircraft gun. However,
the MG42's belt-feed and quick-change barrel system allowed for more
prolonged firing in comparison to these weapons.
The MG42's lineage continued past Nazi Germany's defeat, forming the
basis for the nearly identical M52, MG1 (MG 42/59), and subsequently
improved into the still very similar MG2, which was in turn followed
by the MG3. It also spawned the Swiss SIG 710-3, MG42/59, and a 5.56
mm Spanish CETME Ameli machine gun, and lent many design elements to
the American M60. The Ameli and the MG3 were in service with many
armies during the Cold War and remain so into the 21st century.
History
During the 1930s the German Army introduced the MG34, considered to be
the first modern general purpose machine gun. Equipped with a quick-
change barrel, the MG34 could fire for much longer periods of time
than conventional weapons like the Browning Automatic Rifle or Bren,
while being much lighter than crew-served weapons like the Vickers
machine gun. The weapon was also quite versatile, able to be fed from
drums or belts, and mounted on bipods, heavy tripods, or various
pintle mounts for armored vehicles. It even became a primary defensive
gun for the Luftwaffe, in its MG81 form. However, it did have its
drawbacks, such as sensitivity to dust and comparatively expensive
production. One attempt at improvement was the MG34S, an incremental
improvement on the basic 34 design.
In order to address these issues, a contest was held for a true MG34
replacement. Of the number of proposals submitted, Metall-und
Lackierwarenfabrik Johannes Großfuß AG's proved to be the best design,
by far. Experts in pressed and stamped steel parts, the new design
required considerably less tooling and was much simpler to build — it
took 75 man hours to complete the new gun as opposed to 150 man hours
for the MG34, and cost 250 RM as opposed to 327 RM.
The resulting MG39 remained similar to the earlier MG34 overall, a
deliberate decision made in order to maintain familiarity. The only
major changes from the gunner's perspective were dropping the drum-
feed options, leaving it with a loose belt of ammunition only,
simplifying the weapon's open sights for aiming purposes and to
further increase the rate of fire. Although made of relatively cheap
parts, the prototypes also proved to be considerably more rugged and
resistant to jamming than the somewhat temperamental MG34. A limited
run of about 1,500 of its immediate predecessor, the MG39/41, was
completed in 1941 and tested in combat trials. It was officially
accepted, and the main manufacturing of the production design began in
1942; contracts going to Großfuß, Mauser-Werke, Gustloff-Werke, and
others. Production during the war amounted to over 400,000 units
(17,915 units in 1942, 116,725 in 1943, 211,806 in 1944, and 61,877 in
1945).
One of the weapon's most noted features was its comparatively high
rate of fire of about 1,200 rounds per minute, twice the rate of the
British Vickers machine gun and American Browning at 600 round/min. At
such a high rate the human ear cannot easily discern the sound of
individual bullets being fired, and in use the gun makes a sound
described as like "ripping cloth" and giving rise to the nickname
"Hitler's buzzsaw", or, more coarsely, "Hitler's zipper" (Soviet
soldiers called it the "linoleum ripper"). German soldiers called it
Hitlersäge ("Hitler's saw") or "Bonesaw". The gun was sometimes called
"Spandau" by British troops from the manufacturer's plates noting the
district of Berlin where some were produced. Despite its high rate of
fire, the Handbook of the German Army (1940) forbade the firing of
more than 250 rounds in a single burst and indicated a sustained rate
of no more than 300–350 rounds per minute to minimize barrel wear and
over-heating.
So distinct and terrifying was the weapon, that the United States Army
created training films to aid its soldiers in dealing with the
psychological trauma of facing the weapon in battle. The high rate of
fire resulted from experiments with preceding weapons, that concluded
that since a soldier only has a short period of time to shoot at an
enemy, it was imperative to fire the highest number of bullets
possible to increase the likelihood of a hit. This principle was also
behind the Vickers GO aircraft gun. The disadvantage of this principle
is that the weapon consumed exorbitant amounts of ammunition and
quickly overheated its barrel, making sustained fire problematic.
The MG42 weighed 11.6 kg in the light role with the bipod, lighter
than the MG34 and easily portable. The bipod, the same one used on the
MG34, could be mounted to the front or the center of the gun depending
on where it was being used. For sustained fire use, it was matched to
the newly-developed Lafette 42 tripod, which weighed 20.5 kg on its
own. The barrel was lighter than the MG34's and heated more quickly,
but could be replaced in seconds by an experienced gunner.
The optimum operating crew of an MG42 for sustained fire operation was
six men: the gun commander, the No.1 who fired the gun, the No.2 who
carried the tripod, and Nos.3, 4, and 5 who carried ammunition, spare
barrels, entrenching tools, and other items. For additional protection
the commander, No.1 and No.2 were armed with pistols, while the
remaining three carried rifles. This large team was often reduced to
just three: the gunner, the loader (also barrel carrier), and the
spotter. The gunner of the weapon was preferably a junior non-
commissioned officer (or Unteroffizier).
It was possible for operating crews to lay down a non-stop barrage of
fire, ceasing only when the barrel had to be replaced. This allowed
the MG42 to tie up significantly larger numbers of enemy troops. Both
the Americans and the British trained their troops to take cover from
the fire of an MG42, and assault the position during the small window
of barrel replacement. The high rate of fire of the MG42 sometimes
proved a liability, mainly in that, while the weapon could be used to
devastating effect, it could quickly exhaust its ammunition supply.
For this reason, it was not uncommon for all soldiers operating near
an MG42 to carry extra ammunition, thus providing the MG42 with a
backup source when its main supply was exhausted.
Operation
MG 42 Roller system The MG42 is roller-locked and recoil-operated
(short recoil) with gas assist. The roller-locked bolt assembly
consists of a bolt head, two rollers, a striker sleeve, bolt body, and
a large return spring, which is responsible for pushing the bolt
assembly into battery (the locked position) and returning it there
when it is unlocked and pushed backwards by the recoil of firing or by
the charging handle. As the striker sleeve is movable back and forth
within the bolt assembly, the return spring is also responsible for
pushing the striker sleeve forward during locking (described below).
The bolt assembly locks with the barrel's breech (the end the
cartridge is loaded into) via a prong type barrel extension behind the
breech. As it is recoil-operated and fired from an open bolt, the
weapon must be manually charged with the side-mounted charging handle.
The roller-locked recoil operation functions as follows: two
cylindrical rollers, positioned in tracks on the bolt head, are pushed
outwards into matching tracks in the barrel extension by the striker
sleeve and lock the bolt in place against the breech. Upon firing,
rearward force from the recoil of the cartridge ignition pushes the
striker assembly back and allows the rollers to move inwards, back to
their previous position, unlocking the bolt head and allowing the bolt
assembly to recoil, extracting the spent cartridge and ejecting it.
The return spring then pushes the bolt assembly forwards again,
pushing a new cartridge out of the belt into the breech, and the
sequence repeats as long as the trigger is depressed. The MG42 is only
capable of fully automatic fire. Single shots are exceptionally
difficult, even for experienced operators, due to the weapon's rate of
fire. Usual training aim is to be able to fire a minimum of three
rounds. The weapon features a recoil booster at the muzzle to increase
rearwards force due to recoil, therefore improving functional
reliability and rate of fire.
The MG42 fires from an open bolt, meaning the bolt (not the firing
pin) is held in a rearward position when the trigger is not depressed.
Depressing the trigger releases the bolt assembly, of which the firing
pin is a component.
The shoulder stock is designed to permit gripping with the left hand
to hold it secure against the shoulder. Considerable recoil otherwise
causes the stock to creep from its intended position. If the weapon is
not properly "seated" on the bipod, a prone gunner may be pushed back
along the ground from the high recoil of this weapon.
Variants and developments
Various configurations of MG42. The right-most object is a tripod for
anti-aircraft use.In 1944, the acute material shortages of the Third
Reich led to a newer version, the MG45 (or MG42V), which had a
different operation mechanism used retarded blowback as opposed to
roller locking, used steel of lesser quality, reduced weight to only 9
kg, retaining the horizontal cocking handle. First tests were
undertaken in June 1944, but development dragged on and eventually
only ten were ever built. The tested MG45/42V fired 120,000 rounds in
succession at a rate of fire around 1,350 rounds per minute. The MG42V
had some influence in the post-war development of roller-delayed
blowback system, as employed in Heckler & Koch modern small arms. The
MG45/MG42V should be considered a different firearm however as the
mechanisms of these guns were different from that of the MG42.
The American military tried to copy the MG42 during the war, the new
version being adapted for the .30-06 cartridge. Saginaw Steering Gear
constructed a working prototype designated as the T24 machine gun.
However, a design flaw in the prototype and the realization that the
cartridge might be too powerful for the gun's mechanism to easily cope
with resulted in the discarding of the project.
The MG42, with small modifications, resulted in the MG42/59 and
Rheinmetall MG3, which is the primary general purpose machine gun of
the modern German army (Bundeswehr). A number of other armies around
the world have adopted versions of the original, especially the MG3,
and it remains in widespread service today. Its belt-feeding mechanism
was adopted for the design of the M60 machine gun. The T161 beat the
FG 42-derived T52 during tests in the 1950s to become the M60. The
T161 used a different gas system and was easier to make than the T52,
but they both used a similar belt-feed and basic configuration. The
trigger mechanism of the FN MAG is a virtual copy of the MG42's and
the belt feed is also similar.
The final variant to date is the MG74, developed by Austria. The
modifications to the basic MG42/MG3 design include an extremely heavy
bolt (950 grams vs. the 675 gram MG3 bolt) which slows the rate of
fire to around 850-900 rounds per minute. In addition, a select fire
trigger group was added to allow semi-automatic fire (single shot)
compared to the traditional fully automatic only fire capability of
the original MG42 design. Manufactured by Steyr the MG74 also has a
modern polymer stock and handgrips usually colored a dark green. It is
chambered for the NATO 7.62 x51 round.
Rate of fire: Variable, from 850 rounds/min to 1,600 round/min or more
depending on installed bolt weight (different weight bolt components
introduced to regulate rate of fire, lighter assemblies providing
faster rates of fire). Throat erosion and component wear also
introduced significant variation. Up to 1,800 round/min on the MG45 or
without "recoil booster" (Rückstoßverstärker).
Parts changes:
Barrel: 3 to 7 seconds
Barrel and lock: 25 to 30 seconds
The MG42 was adopted by a number of armed organizations after the war,
and was copied or license-built as well. Yugoslavia license-built the
MG42 as the M52, retaining the 7.92x57mm caliber. By doing so, the
Yugoslavians retained the original weapon's design features, making
the M52 a nearly exact copy of the German MG42. The only major
difference is a slower rate of fire. The aiming range of the M52 is
2000 meters, and the terminal range of the bullet is 5000 meters, the
same as the MG42. MG42s captured in Yugoslavia at the end of World War
II were put into reserve of YPA as M52/42s. The last military use of
M52s in Yugoslavia was in 1999. Some quantities of M52s were exported
to Iraq in the 1980s and saw extensive action during both Gulf wars.
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