The Probert Encyclopaedia of Warfare

MG34

The MG34 was a German short-recoil selective fire light machine-gun designed by Mauser-Werke as a dual purpose ground and anti-aircraft gun, and produced from 1934 to 1945. The MG45 took a 7.92 mm Mauser calibre round from a 50 round belt or a 75 round saddle drum magazine and had a cyclic rate of fire of 900 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 755 meters per second. The MG34 had a 629 mm long barrel and was fitted with a blade foresight and a leaf notch rearsight. It was introduced to the German army in 1936 and became their standard weapon until superseded by the MG42, though it remained in use around the world and was observed in action in the Lebanon in 1976.
Research MG34