This article is missing information about general development, date of use, non-military use etc. Please expand the article to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page.(July 2011)
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During World War II, the MG 34 was superseded by a new GPMG, the MG 42, although it remained in combat use.[6][7][8] The MG 42 was more efficient to manufacture, and more robust, as well as having an extremely high cyclic rate of fire of 1,200 to 1,500 rounds per minute.[6][7][8] One of the Einheits Maschinengewehr GPMG roles was to provide low level anti-aircraft coverage. A high cyclic rate of fire is advantageous for use against targets typically exposed to fire for a limited time span, like aircraft or targets minimizing their exposure by quickly moving from cover to cover. It was nicknamed "Hitler's buzzsaw" by Allied troops, and alongside the MG 34 it inflicted heavy casualties on Allied soldiers on all European and North African fronts of World War II.[6][8][9] Following the war the victorious Allied nations took an interest in the MG 34 and MG 42, influencing many post-war general-purpose machine guns, many still in use today. They lent design elements to the Belgian FN MAG and the American M60, while spawning the Zastava M53, Swiss M51, and Austrian MG 74. The MG 42's qualities of firepower and usability meant that it became the foundation of an entire series of postwar machine guns, including the MG 1 and MG 3 - the latter, as of 2022[update], is still in production.[6][7][8][10]
^James H. Willbanks (2004). Machine Guns: An Illustrated History of Their Impact. ABC-CLIO. p. 226. ISBN978-1-85109-480-6.
^. UK Army. Archived from the original on January 10, 2013.
^Jane's Guns Recognition Guide. Ian Hogg & Terry Gander. HarperCollins Publishers. 2005. page 375
^ abcMilitary Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. page 326
^ abcThe Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Chris Bishop. Sterling Publishing Company. 2002. page 245 & 246
^ abcd Jane's Guns Recognition Guide. Ian Hogg & Terry Gander. HarperCollins Publishers. 2005. page 376
^ abc Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. page 329
^ abcd The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II. Chris Bishop. Sterling Publishing Company. 2002. page 247
^ Military Small Arms of the 20th Century. 7th Edition. Ian V. Hogg & John S. Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. page 328 & 329
^ MG 34 and MG 42 Machine Guns. by Chris McNab. Published by Random House Publishing Group. Oct 23, 2012. Quote taken from leaf.
^Military Small Arms Of The 20th Century. Ian Hogg & John Weeks. Krause Publications. 2000. p379
^Weapons: An International Encyclopedia From 5000 B.C. To 2000 A.D. Diagram Visual, p. 217. ISBN0-312-03950-6.
January 19, 2023
general, purpose, machine, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, missing, information, about, general, development, date, military, please, exp. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article is missing information about general development date of use non military use etc Please expand the article to include this information Further details may exist on the talk page July 2011 This article s factual accuracy may be compromised due to out of date information Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information March 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message A general purpose machine gun GPMG is an air cooled usually belt fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns 1 A GPMG typically features a quick change barrel design calibered for various fully powered cartridges such as the 7 62 51mm NATO 7 62 54mmR 7 5 54mm French 7 5 55mm Swiss and 7 92 57mm Mauser 2 and be configured for mounting to different stabilizing platforms from bipods and tripods to vehicles aircraft boats and fortifications usually as an infantry support weapon or squad automatic weapon The MG 42 type general purpose machine guns in both bipod and tripod configurations The tall tripod on the right is for anti aircraft use Contents 1 History 2 Post WWII examples 3 Gallery 4 See also 5 ReferencesHistory EditThe general purpose machine gun GPMG originated with the MG 34 designed in 1934 by Heinrich Vollmer of Mauser on the commission of Nazi Germany to circumvent the restrictions on machine guns imposed by the Treaty of Versailles It was introduced into the Wehrmacht as an entirely new concept in automatic firepower dubbed the Einheitsmaschinengewehr meaning universal machine gun in German 3 4 5 In itself the MG 34 was an excellent weapon for its time an air cooled recoil operated machine gun that could run through belts of 7 92 57mm Mauser ammunition at a rate of 850 rounds per minute with lethality at ranges of more than 1 000 meters 4 5 The main feature of the MG 34 is that simply by changing its mount sights and feed mechanism the operator could radically transform its function on its standard bipod it was a light machine gun ideal for infantry assaults on a tripod it could serve as a sustained fire medium machine gun mounting on aircraft or vehicles turned it into an air defence weapon and it also served as the coaxial machine gun on numerous German tanks 4 5 During World War II the MG 34 was superseded by a new GPMG the MG 42 although it remained in combat use 6 7 8 The MG 42 was more efficient to manufacture and more robust as well as having an extremely high cyclic rate of fire of 1 200 to 1 500 rounds per minute 6 7 8 One of the Einheits Maschinengewehr GPMG roles was to provide low level anti aircraft coverage A high cyclic rate of fire is advantageous for use against targets typically exposed to fire for a limited time span like aircraft or targets minimizing their exposure by quickly moving from cover to cover It was nicknamed Hitler s buzzsaw by Allied troops and alongside the MG 34 it inflicted heavy casualties on Allied soldiers on all European and North African fronts of World War II 6 8 9 Following the war the victorious Allied nations took an interest in the MG 34 and MG 42 influencing many post war general purpose machine guns many still in use today They lent design elements to the Belgian FN MAG and the American M60 while spawning the Zastava M53 Swiss M51 and Austrian MG 74 The MG 42 s qualities of firepower and usability meant that it became the foundation of an entire series of postwar machine guns including the MG 1 and MG 3 the latter as of 2022 update is still in production 6 7 8 10 Post WWII examples EditGerman Rheinmetall MG 3 a direct descendant of the MG 42 still in service with the German Army and others and widely exported German Heckler amp Koch HK21 is based on the Heckler amp Koch G3 rifle and widely exported German Heckler amp Koch MG5 the new standard machine gun of the German Army Italian MG 42 59 a direct descendant of the MG 42 and a licensed MG 3 variant is still in service with the Italian military Belgian FN MAG which copied the MG 42 s feed system and trigger mechanism It is the most widely used GPMG among western armies Belgian American Mk 48 is a GPMG based on the FN Minimi light machine gun and M249 SAW American M60 which is based on the German FG 42 and uses the MG 42 s feed system and stamp steel construction 11 12 American M240 itself an FN MAG variant It replaced the M60 in U S service French MAS AA 52 which more or less copies the MG 42 feed system It has been largely phased out in favour of the FN MAG and FN Minimi Czechoslovakian Uk vz 59 is based on the Vz 52 and Vz 52 57 and originating with ZB vz 26 and Bren gun designs Russian PK PKM family of multi purpose machine guns is based on the AKM assault rifle featuring stamped receivers widely exported Russian AEK 999 is an improved version of the PK PKM Russian Pecheneg is a variant of the PK PKM with a fixed barrel and cooling jacket Yugoslav Zastava M84 is a direct copy of the Russian PK machine gun Polish UKM 2000 is based on the Russian PK machine gun People s Republic of China Type 80 is based on the Russian PK machine gun People s Republic of China Type 67 and later improved models People s Republic of China Type 88 Machine Gun People s Republic of China QJY 201 Japanese Sumitomo NTK 62 is a GPMG based on the FN MAG South African Vektor SS 77 is based on the Russian PK PKM South African Denel DMG 5 is based on the Vektor SS 77 and Russian PK PKM South Korean S amp T Motiv K12 is based on the K3 light machine gun Swiss MG 51 a direct descendant of the MG42 Swiss SIG MG 710 3 Swiss SIG MG 50 Austrian MG 74 a direct descendant of the MG 42 59 and since 1974 the standard machine gun of the Austrian Armed Forces Israeli IWI Negev NG 7 is a GPMG based on the IWI Negev light machine gun Canadian C6A1 FLEX an improved version of C6 that is a Canadian version of FN MAG Belgian FN EVOLYS is a multi caliber 3D printing and polymers material lightweight machine gun Gallery Edit MG 34 belt fed tripod version top and saddle drum magazine bipod version below MG 42 MG 42 59 MG3 MG 74 mounted on its tripod AA 52 M60 FN MAG PKM HK21A1 Type 62 Type 67 on a tripod field mount M240 Pecheneg UKM 2000P MK48 MOD 0 1 7 62mm Lightweight Machine Gun K12 MG5 Latvian soldiers with MG3 FN MAG and HK21 machine gunsSee also EditLight machine gun Heavy machine gun Squad automatic weapon List of firearms Fully powered cartridgeReferences Edit James H Willbanks 2004 Machine Guns An Illustrated History of Their Impact ABC CLIO p 226 ISBN 978 1 85109 480 6 General Purpose Machine Gun UK Army Archived from the original on January 10 2013 Jane s Guns Recognition Guide Ian Hogg amp Terry Gander HarperCollins Publishers 2005 page 375 a b c Military Small Arms of the 20th Century 7th Edition Ian V Hogg amp John S Weeks Krause Publications 2000 page 326 a b c The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II Chris Bishop Sterling Publishing Company 2002 page 245 amp 246 a b c d Jane s Guns Recognition Guide Ian Hogg amp Terry Gander HarperCollins Publishers 2005 page 376 a b c Military Small Arms of the 20th Century 7th Edition Ian V Hogg amp John S Weeks Krause Publications 2000 page 329 a b c d The Encyclopedia of Weapons of World War II Chris Bishop Sterling Publishing Company 2002 page 247 Military Small Arms of the 20th Century 7th Edition Ian V Hogg amp John S Weeks Krause Publications 2000 page 328 amp 329 MG 34 and MG 42 Machine Guns by Chris McNab Published by Random House Publishing Group Oct 23 2012 Quote taken from leaf Military Small Arms Of The 20th Century Ian Hogg amp John Weeks Krause Publications 2000 p379 Weapons An International Encyclopedia From 5000 B C To 2000 A D Diagram Visual p 217 ISBN 0 312 03950 6 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title General purpose machine gun amp oldid 1132641057, 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