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MG 42
The MG42 was the World War II upgrade of the MG34. Though a different enough design to merit being listed as a different gun, the MG42 was an attempt by Wartime Germany to create a crew served machine gun that was easier to manufacture. The MG42 used stampings whereas the MG34 was a finely machined gun, thus slow to produce in large quantities. It was chambered in 7.92x57mm Mauser aka 8mm Mauser also tested after the war in .30-06 at Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Maryland.
Adopted by Germany in 1942, in an effort to reduce the machining time and cost inherent in the production of the MG34, the MG42 is perhaps the deadliest machine gun used during the war. With a cyclic rate of 1200 rounds per minute, individual shots are mostly indiscernible. The demoralizing and psychological effect of its very sound prompted the U.S. to make a training film for troops who would encounter it.
The gun is fed from a 50-round belt just as with the MG34. These belts can be linked together for upwards of 250 continuous rounds from one can, with any number of cans in tow given the situation or position. The gun is chambered in the 7.92x57mm Mauser cartridge, the same cartridge used in the well known K98k infantry rifles, and ammunition is interchangeable, although machine gun ammunition was often slightly more powerful in order to avoid jams and run the guns mechanism more reliably. It can be used with a fold-up bipod, or with the more complicated Lafette tripod, which could have optics and remote control firing capabilities. The MG42 was often seen mounted on an anti-aircraft tripod for use against low altitude aircraft.
Its downfalls were its notably high rate of fire which exhausted ammunition supplies very quickly. This was very apparent on the Russian front, where the weather often delayed much needed supplies. Its most effective use (as with most machine guns) was not in sweeping fire, but in concentrated direct fire using the shortest burst possible, and directing these bursts over the intended area.
MG42
Specifications
- Caliber: 7.92x57mm Mauser, .30-06
- Length: 48 inches
- Barrel Length: 20.18 inches
- Weight: Gun: 25.50 pounds
- Muzzle Velocity: 2475 feet per second
- Maximum range: is 3,500 meters
- Maximum effective range: is 914 meters
- Cyclic rate of fire: 1200-1350 rounds per minute
The MG42 machine gun appears in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| To Hell and Back | Audie Murphy | Audie Murphy | 1955 | |
| To Hell and Back | German Soldiers | 1955 | ||
| The Young Lions | German soldiers | 1958 | ||
| Darby's Rangers | German soldiers | 1958 | ||
| The Great Escape | German prison guards | 1963 | ||
| The Longest Day | German soldiers | 1963 | ||
| The Devil's Brigade | German soldiers | 1968 | ||
| Where Eagles Dare | German soldiers | 1968 | ||
| The Bridge at Remagen | German soldiers | 1969 | ||
| Fistful of Dynamite | 1971 | |||
| A Bridge Too Far | German soldiers | 1977 | ||
| Death Wish 3 | Martin Balsam | Bennett | 1985 | |
| The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission | Sonny Landham | Sam Sixkiller | 1985 | |
| The Dirty Dozen: Next Mission | German Soldiers | 1985 | ||
| The Park is Mine | Tommy Lee Jones | Mitch Garnett | 1985 | |
| Aliens | Jenette Goldstein | PFC J. Vasquez | Mocked up as M56 Smart Gun | 1986 |
| Aliens | Mark Rolston | Private M. Drake | Mocked up as M56 Smart Gun | 1986 |
| Stray Dog: Kerberos Panzer Cops | Yoshikatsu Fujiki | Inui | 1991 | |
| Saving Private Ryan | German soldiers | 1998 | ||
| Valkyrie | German soldier | 2008 | ||
| Brother's War | German and Soviet soldiers | 2009 |
Television
- German soldiers in Band of Brothers
- German soldiers in Combat!
- German soldiers in Rat Patrol
Video Games
- Battlefield: 1942 (mounted on german,japanese,soviet vehicle & on sand bag)
- Medal of Honor: Allied Assault (MG42 mounted) and in two expansion pack.(Spearhead and Breakthrough Expansion Pack)
- Medal of Honor: Underground mounted only.
- Return to Castle Wolfenstein (MG42 mounted)
- Wolfenstein (MG42 mounted, and as part of the fictional Particle Cannon)
Anime
MG3
The MG3 is the modern rendition of the MG42 machine gun. Changes include a chrome-lined barrel, a new friction ring buffer, an improved feeding mechanism, recalibrated sights and NATO compatibility.[1] The MG3 is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO.
Specifications
- Caliber: 7.62x51mm NATO
- Length: 48.22 inches
- Barrel Length: 22.24 inches
- Weight:
- :Gun: 25 pounds
- :Tripod: 36 pounds
- :Total: 61 pounds
- Muzzle Velocity: 2,690 feet per second
- Maximum range: is 3,500 meters
- Maximum effective range: is 1,200 meters
- Cyclic rate of fire: 700-800 or 1100-1200 rounds per minute depending on the Booster and Bolt
The MG3 machine gun appears in the following films and video games used by the following actors:
Film
- Used by Sailor (Randall 'Tex' Cobb) while in the Huey helicopter in Uncommon Valor
- Mounted on Jeeps in Hotel Rwanda
- Hatcher's men and Harvey (Jon Gries) in The Rundown (2003)
- Czech soldiers in The Living Daylights
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Steel Beasts | MG3A1 | Mounted on Leopard 2A4 tanks | 2000 | |
| Battlefield: Bad Company | 2008 | |||
| Counter-Strike Online | Terminator | Christmas Special Gold finishes |
2008 | |
| Socom Confrontation | 2008 | |||
| Battlefield 2 | MG3A1, coaxial mounting | Mounted on Leopard 2A6 tanks | 2005 | |
| Project Reality | Hand-held & fixed defensive mounting, with optional ELCAN scope & 75-round ammo drum | 2005 | ||
| Project Reality | MG3A1, coaxial mounting | Mounted on Leopard 2A6 tanks | 2005 | |
| Battlefield: Bad Company 2 | With optional C-More red dot sight or ACOG scope | 2010 |
Anime
- Rico in Gunslinger Girl
- Daedala forces in Canaan
- Hayate Ayasaki in Hayate the Combat Butler
CETME Ameli
A Spanish-made light machine gun externally based off the MG42/MG3, designed by CETME (Centre for Technical Studies of Military Equipment), chambered in 5.56x45mm NATO / .223 Remington. It has been in service from 1982 to the present day. Despite it's very close external resemblance to the German MGs, the weapon operates using a roller-locked delayed-blowback mechanism, similar to the the vast majority of Heckler & Koch weapons.
Specifications
- Caliber: 5.56x45mm NATO
- Length: 38.2 inches
- Barrel Length: 15.75 inches
- Weight: Gun: 14 pounds
- Cyclic rate of fire: 850 or 1200 rounds per minute
The CETME Ameli machine gun appears in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Video Games
| Game Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Release Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SOCOM: Confrontation | With 200-round ammo drum | 2008 |