MG 42
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The MG 42 is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. Entering production in 1942, it
MG 42 with extended bipod
Wehrmacht reenactors with an MG 34 general-purpose machine gun mounted on a Lafette 34 tripod
A Waffen-SS soldier in 1944 carrying an MG 42 configured as a light support weapon with a folding bipod and 50-round basket drum containing the ammo belt.
MG 42 with its bipod unfolded
MG 34
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The MG 34 is a German recoil-operated, air-cooled machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower – the
MG 42
…Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. Entering production in 1942, it was intended to supplement and replace the earlier MG 34, which was more expensive and took much longer to produce, but both weapons were produced until the end of World War II. Designed to use the standard…
MG 42 with inserted Gurt 34 reusable non-disintegrating metal ammunition belt
German soldiers with an MG 34 using a 50-round Gurttrommel
A Wehrmacht infantry squad with the MG 34 in the light machine gun role
Machine gun team with MG34 at the Eastern Front