The Probert Encyclopaedia of Warfare

MG42

The MG42 was a German short recoil automatic light machine-gun. It was designed during the late 1930's by Mauser in response to a request from the German army for a replacement of the MG34 which retained all the advantages of the MG34 but was cheaper and easier to mass produce. The prototype of the new gun was produced in 1938 and was first seen in action in 1942. The MG42 took a 7.92 mm Mauser calibre round from a 50 round belt and had a cyclic rate of fire of 1200 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 820 meters per second. The MG42 was later reintroduced to the German Army when it was reformed in NATO 7.62 mm calibre during the 1950s as the MG1, MG2 and MG3.
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