Mg 51
«Maschinengewehr 51»
Medium machine gunSwitzerland1951Historic
Swiss general-purpose machine gun in 7.5×55 mm Swiss developed after World War II, robust and accurate, belt-fed and used on bipod, tripod or vehicle mount.
Medium machine gun//Switzerland
ID — MG-51
Designation
Mg 51
W+F Bern
Caliber
7.5×55 mm Swiss
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Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- Mg 51
- Alias
- Maschinengewehr 51
- Manufacturer
- W+F Bern
- Country
- Switzerland
- Year
- 1951
- Category
- Medium machine gun
- Status
- Historic
Ballistics
- Caliber
- 7.5×55 mm Swiss
- Muzzle velocity
- 840 m/s
- Rate of fire
- ~1000 rpm
- Effective range
- 1200 m
- Maximum range
- 3000 m
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 563 mm
- Overall length
- 1270 / 1270 mm
- Empty weight
- 16 kg
Mechanics
- Operating system
- Rinculo corto con rulli
- Bolt / action
- Short recoil
Feed
- System
- Nastro metallico non disintegrabile
- Standard capacity
- 200 rounds
Fire modes
SafeAuto
Historical profile
Developed after World War II from lessons learned from the German MG 42 and earlier Swiss systems, it was adopted as the new standard machine gun of the Swiss Army in 1951.
Renowned for strength, accuracy and excellent workmanship, it used the powerful GP11 cartridge but was also notably heavy compared with other contemporary GPMGs.
It served for decades as a squad, support and static weapon before being gradually complemented or replaced in specific roles by lighter systems such as the FN Minimi and later Swiss machine guns.
Variants
MG 51 su bipiedeMG 51 su treppiedePanzer-MG 51
Main users
Switzerland
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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