MG 42
General-purpose machine gun in 7.92×57 mm Mauser with a cyclic rate of 1,200–1,500 rpm: its tearing sound earned it the Allied nickname 'Hitler's Buzzsaw'. Direct ancestor of the MG3, still in service today.
MG 42
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Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- MG 42
- Alias
- Maschinengewehr 42 — «La sega di Hitler» / «Hitler's Buzzsaw»
- Manufacturer
- Grossfuss / Mauser / Steyr
- Country
- Germany
- Year
- 1942
- Category
- Medium machine gun
- Status
- Historic
Ballistics
- Caliber
- 7,92×57 mm Mauser
- Muzzle velocity
- 755 m/s
- Rate of fire
- ~1200 rpm
- Effective range
- 1000 m
- Maximum range
- 3500 m
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 533 mm
- Overall length
- 1220 mm
- Empty weight
- 11.57 kg
Mechanics
- Operating system
- Corto rinculo di canna con booster
- Bolt / action
- Chiusura a rulli (roller-locked)
Feed
- System
- Nastro disintegrante DM1/DM6 da 50/250 colpi
- Standard capacity
- 250 rounds
Fire modes
Historical profile
Development
The MG 42 was developed by engineer Werner Gruner at Großfuß AG of Döbeln to simplify and accelerate production of the MG 34, which was too expensive and slow to build.
Adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1942, it halved unit cost and production times through massive use of stamped sheet metal, spot welding and modular parts.
Design
Chambered in 7.92×57 mm Mauser, it operates on short barrel recoil with a roller-locked action, an innovative system that delivered some of the highest cyclic rates ever recorded: 1,200-1,500 rpm.
The quick-change barrel system is further simplified: lateral extraction in less than 5 seconds, essential given the cyclic rate that overheats the barrel very rapidly.
Operational service
The extremely high cyclic rate produced the characteristic 'tearing canvas' sound nicknamed 'Hitler's Buzzsaw' or 'Bonesaw' by Allied troops, with significant psychological effects.
Deployed on all German fronts from 1942 to 1945, over 400,000 units were produced. It profoundly influenced squad doctrines centered on the automatic support weapon.
Legacy
The MG 42's roller-locked system was studied by postwar designers and gave rise, through the Spanish CETME, to the Heckler & Koch G3/MP5 family and numerous other weapons.
The MG 42 itself remains in production as the MG 3 (chambered in 7.62×51 mm NATO), in service with the German Army and over twenty other countries: an operational continuity of over 80 years.
Variants
Main users
Germania (Wehrmacht, Waffen-SS) · Germania Ovest (Bundeswehr) · Italia · Jugoslavia · Austria
Key components
- ●Stock — Shoulder rest.
- ●Receiver — Weapon body with internal mechanisms.
- ●Grip — Primary grip.
- ●Magazine — Cartridge feed.
- ●Barrel — Guides the projectile.
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Similar systems
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