"HITLER'S BUZZ SAW"'

Maschinengewehr 42

LOADING THE MG-42

SS-Leibstandarte Panzergrenadieren with MG-42

NORMANDY 1944

THE ATLANTIC WALL

GERMAN FALLSCHIRMJÄGER WITH MG-42

The MG 42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42, or "machine gun 42") is a 7.92mm universal machine gun that was developed in Nazi Germany and entered service with the Wehrmacht in 1942. It supplemented and in some instances, replaced the MG 34 general purpose machine gun in all branches of the German Armed Forces, though both weapons were manufactured and used until the end of the war.
The MG 42 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 MG 42 has one of the highest average rates of fire of any single-barreled man-portable machine gun, between 1,200 and 1,500 rpm, resulting in a distinctive muzzle report. There were other automatic weapon designs with similar firepower, such as the French Darne, the Hungarian-Gebauer single-barreled tank MGs, the Russian 7.62mm ShKAS aircraft gun and the British Vickers K machine gun. However, the MG 42's belt-feed and quick-change barrel system allowed for more prolonged firing in comparison to these weapons.
The MG 42's lineage continued past Nazi Germany's defeat, forming the basis for the nearly identical MG1 (MG 42/59), and subsequently evolved into the MG1A3, which was in turn followed by the MG 3. It also spawned the Swiss MG 51, SIG MG 710-3, Austrian MG 74, and the Spanish 5.56mm Ameli light machine gun, and lent many design elements to the American M60 and Belgian MAG. The MG 42 was adopted by a number of armed organizations after the war, and was copied or license-built as well.

SERVICE HISTORY

One of the weapon's most notable 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. 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. 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, much like the Germans' own World War I MG 08 had been nicknamed. Notwithstanding the MG 42's 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.
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 applying this principle was that the weapon consumed exorbitant amounts of ammunition and quickly overheated its barrel, making sustained fire problematic.
The method of barrel change made the MG 42 unsuitable for secondary or co-axial armament on World War II era German tanks with the exception of the Jagdpanzer IV. Early versions of the Jagdpanzer IV carried two standard (no modification made) MG 42's on both sides of the gun mantlet/glacis, firing through a ball slot which was protected by an armored cover (with the MG 42 retracted) when not in use. Later version Jagdpanzer IV's carried only one MG 42 on the left side.

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

 

Operation :	Recoil Operated Automatic
Feed :	75 round drum magazine 50 round drum magazine 50 round belt
Cartridge Name :	Gewehr Patrone 98 sS
Cartridge Size :	7.92mm x 57mm
Cartridge Total Weight :	27 grams
Bullet Weight :	12.8 grams
Weapon Length :	122 cm
Barrel Length :	53.3 cm
Empty Weight :	10.9 kg
Combat Weight :	11.6 kg
Muzzle Velocity :	820 meters per second
Practical Rate of Fire :	250 rounds per minute
Cyclic Rate of Fire :	1550 rounds per minute
Effective Range :	2000 meters
Scope Types :	Unknown
Bayonets :	None
Grenades :	None
Other :	Lafette 42 Tri-pod Dreifuss 34 AA Tri-pod

HUMAN MG BIPOD