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World War II infantry weapons machine guns country trends Germany World War II infantry weapons machine guns country trends Germany
World War II Machine Guns: Country Trends--Germany
Figure 1.-- This German officer is showing Hitler Youth boys how to operate the MG-42 reportedly on December 27, 1944. The officer must have known the War was lost. And that the boys would likely be killed in a lost cause. The MG-42 is universally recognized as the fiest machine gun of the War. The Germans finally began nmaking stamped metal wreapons instead of the expensive, finely crafted weapons that Hitler preferred. The major problem with it was that German war industries could not deliver the amunition in the quantities it consumed. This looks to us like a movie promotional still, but is perfect in every detail.
The Germans gave more attention to the machine gun than any other World War II combatant country. The machine gun was central to German tactical doctrine. The job of the individual infantry soldier armed with rifels was to support the machinegun. The Germans had the much admired MG-34 during much of the War, one of the finest infantry weapons of the War. The Germans also produced the outstanding machine guns of the War--the MG-42. Both weapons had incredibly high rates of sustained fire. The Germans excelled in infantry weapons, the standard infantry rifle being a rare exception. The MG-34 like many other German weapons, was a very complicated weapons, difficult to manufacture and maintain in the field. Some World War I era MG-08s were still in the Wehrmacht inventory at the onset of the War. The principal German machine gun was the 7.92mm MG-34. It replaced the Maxim guns used in World War I. The MG-34 was a compromise gun with features of both light and heavy weapns. It could be mounted on both a stable tripod or on a lighter more mobile bipod. The Germans alsp produced related sub-machine guns, the much admired MP-38 and MP-40 machine pistols christened Schmeissers. The firing rate was an incredible 800-900 rounds per minute (rpm). This was the highest firing rate of any of the major World War II machine guns. It was, howver, not as important as it may seem. Unlike the countries the Germans were fighting, the Germans did not have the logistics capability to fully supply the gunners. And the high firing rate made it difficult to aim. An improved version, the MG-42 appeared in the second half of the War. This was probably the premier machine gun of the War. And it was made simpler and easier to manufacture. It was christened Spandau by the Allies. It was a belt-fed weapon, capable of 1,200 rounds-per-minute. The MG-42 was a stamped metal weapon and for this reason Hitler did not like it. The MG-42 did not have the feel of a finally crafted weapn which tended to impress Hitler. But stamping allowed the MG-42 to be produced inexpendively and in large numbers. The barrel could be chnaged in an amazing 5 seconds. After the War, the American would incorporate features of the MG-42 into a new machine gun for their army.
Overview
The Germans excelled in infantry weapons, the standard infantry rifle being a rare exception. The Germans gave more attention to the machine gun than any other World War II combatant country. The machine gun was central to German tactical doctrine. The job of the individual infantry soldier armed with rifels was to support the machinegun. The Germans produced the gun with the hihhest rate of fire. There were, however, issues with the German MG-34. The Hermans produced finely crafted, complicated weapons. This made them expensive and diffucult to manufacture. Which limited the numbers which could be produce and to maintain. in the field. Many if these issues were cirrected by the MG-42. An issue that vthe Germans could nit cirrect was that the amunition expenditure at the high rates were more than the Germany industry was capable of supplying. Besides cthe charge in the bullets, amunitiion required vast quantutiues of metal. Soldiers in the field were ordered to limit thir amnunition usage. During the latter half of the war, esoecially by 1944, German soldiers increasingly faced shortage of practically everything, inckuding amunition. Not only was ammunition increasingly difficult to obtain, but also repair parts for rifles, machine guns, submachine guns, and pistols. Even the cleaning kits, which were essential to keep weapon in good working order, became increasinly difficult to obtain. Notably, one reason that the Americans finally prevailed at Omaha on D-Say is that the German gunners began exhaustung their amunition supply.
Specific Weapons
The Germans used two primary machine guns during World War II. Both weapons had incredibly high rates of sustained fire. They could not be aimed accuratey, but the idea was to generate supressung fire. The M-34 solved the malor problem of the World War I MG-08, it was heavy and diffucult to easily move. The MG-34 was, however, a very complicated weapon. And complication in a war economy meant difficult and expensive to manufacture. Which of course limited the numbers which colud be manufactyred. The MG-42 was a stamped metal gun, meaning that it was much easier to manufacture. Its major weakness was that the barrel overheating during rapid fire. he problem for the Germans was to supply the quantity of amunition needed for rapid fire. German MG units were ordered to restict firing to conserve avilalable amunition. Perhaps the greatest problem for the Germans was that by the time the Germans perfected the machine gun with the MG-42 and were orderung it in substabtul numbers, they were runnung out of men to man it as massive and well arned and supported Allied and Soviet armies were closing in on the badly outnumbered Germans. And the Germans had lost their mobility advantage which swas at the core of early victories. A more mobileeneny reduced the value of this
MG-O8
The Maschinengewehr 08 (MG-08) was the German Army's standard machine gun during World War I. The number of this and other machine guns denoted the year of adoption. It was a refinement of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim gun. It was manufactyred in a number of variants during the War. The MG-08 was still being used at the time the War began. It was being phased out with the MG-34 but some were still in use. It continued to be used as a heavy machine gun in many German infantry divisions, but by the end of the war it had largely disappeared exceot by second-rate fortress units. The firing rate depends on the specific lock assembly used. Thge guns averaged about 500-600 rounds per minite (rpm). The MG-08 used a 250-round fabric belts of 7.92×57mm ammunition. It was water-cooled. It had a jacket around the barrel that held approximately 3.7 litres (0.98 US gal) of water. An optional attachment sight had a range calculator for indirect fire, permitting the gun to be operated from cover. Telescopic sights were developed. war.
Some of these World War I era 08s were still in the Wehrmacht inventory at the onset of the War.
MG-34
The Germans had the much admired MG-34 during much of the War, one of the finest infantry weapons of the War. German infantry tactics were built around the M-34. can be seen as the world’s first general purpose machine gun. It was lighter band thus more mobile that the World War I MG-08. The MG-34 like many other German weapons, was a very complicated weapons, difficult to manufacture and maintain in the field. The principal German machine gun was the 7.92mm MG-34. It replaced the Maxim guns used in World War I. The MG-34 was a compromise gun with features of both light and heavy weapns. It could be mounted on both a stable tripod or on a lighter more mobile bipod. The Germans alsp produced related sub-machine guns, the much admired MP-38 and MP-40 machine pistols christened Schmeissers. The firing rate was an incredible 800-900 rounds per minute (rpm). This was the highest firing rate of any of the major World War II machine guns. It was, howver, not as important as it may seem. Unlike the countries the Germans were fighting, the Germans did not have the logistics capability to fully supply the gunners. And the high firing rate made it difficult to aim. But the idea was suoressing fire not accuracy.
The Germans also produced the outstanding machine guns of the War--the MG-42. It was an improved version of the MG-34. Production began in 1942. It was intended to replace the MG 34, which was more expensive and took much longer to produce, but factories could not quickly change production lines. Both weapons were produced until the end of the War. 1942 was midway in the War and only late-1944 were large numbers were in the hands of German units. The MG-42 was probably the premier machine gun of the War. It was made simpler and easier to manufacture. Which is why it was produced in greater numbers than the MG-34. It was christened Spandau by the Allies. It was a belt-fed weapon, capable of 1,200 rounds-per-minute. The MG-42 was a stamped metal weapon and for this reason Hitler did not like it. The MG-42 did not have the feel of a finally crafted weapon which tended to impress Hitler. But stamping allowed the MG-42 to be produced inexpensively and in large numbers. The MG-42 could had a maximum firing rate of 1,550 rpm and averaged about 1,200 rpm. The MG 42 has a proven record of reliability, durability, simplicity, and ease of operation, but is most notable for its ability to produce a high volume of suppressive fire. American GIs called it Hitler's buzz saw. It fired 7.92 millimeter Mauser ammunition and was very reliable. After the War, the American would incorporate features of the MG-42 into a new machine gun for their army. It had serious a weakness--its rapid fire caused it to overheat. The gunner and conditions affected the overheating, but normally the barrel needed to be changed after 200 to 250 rounds. Obviously it did not make sense to create a weapon that could fire 1,550 rpm if you had to pause and change the barrel after only a fraction of that amount. Other World War II automatic machine guns had comparable firepower, however, the MG 42s belt-feed and quick-change barrel system permitted more prolonged firing than any comparable machine gun. The barrel could bed changed very quickly, but still the gunner had to pause. Machine-gun teams would have as many as six spare barrels on hand.
