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What's that German machine gun?

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  • What's that German machine gun?

    I'm back :)

    File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-088-3710-09, Russland, Fliegerleitoffizier auf Schützenpanzer.jpg - Wikimedia Commons

    What's that gun on the halftrack? MG34 or MG42?
    Pete

  • #2
    MG34; it has a round barrel with cooling holes. MG42 had a square-shaped heat shield with squarish holes down one side, easier and cheaper to manufacture that way. MG42 had a higher rate of fire than the 34, but the 34 was still used as a self-defense weapon on armored vehicles right up till the end of the War. The 42 was primarily used in the field as a crew-served weapon.
    "There is never enough time to do or say all the things that we would wish. The thing is to try to do as much as you can in the time that you have. Remember Scrooge, time is short, and suddenly, you're not there any more." -Ghost of Christmas Present, Scrooge

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    • #3
      Thx!

      I just noticed there is also an unknown weapon in a sister photo of the original one I posted:

      http://ww2db.com/image.php?image_id=8630

      I have zero idea what this one is...
      Last edited by temujin77; 19 Aug 09,, 02:34.
      Pete

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      • #4
        Probably something Czeck.

        -dale

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        • #5
          Originally posted by temujin77 View Post
          Thx!

          I just noticed there is also an unknown weapon in a sister photo of the original one I posted:

          [Photo] A German Luftwaffe Oberleutnant (Senior Lieutenant) performing air traffic control in the field in a specially-modified SdKfz. 251 vehicle, Russia, Oct 1943, photo 1 of 3 | World War II Database

          I have zero idea what this one is...
          Hmmm, my first thought was MG34 with the heavy "panzerlauf" barrel for vehicle (tank) mounts. Second thought was MG15/17 aircraft gun with "doppel trammel"(?) drums on vehicle mount. Probably the latter...
          Attached Files
          Last edited by sappersgt; 19 Aug 09,, 05:41.
          Reddite igitur quae sunt Caesaris Caesari et quae sunt Dei Deo
          (Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things which are God's)

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          • #6


            i think it is a MG34.

            Look at the characteristic butt design.
            Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none; be able for thine enemy rather in power than use; and keep thy friend under thine own life's key; be checked for silence, but never taxed for speech.

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            • #7
              Originally posted by Big K View Post


              i think it is a MG34.

              Look at the characteristic butt design.
              It is the 34 the 42 looks nothing like it

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              • #8
                Originally posted by dave lukins View Post
                It is the 34 the 42 looks nothing like it
                me dont say 42 :)



                Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none; be able for thine enemy rather in power than use; and keep thy friend under thine own life's key; be checked for silence, but never taxed for speech.

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                • #9
                  German machineguns rule. Actually most German guns are awesome. I wonder why we came up with the M60 rather than just change the MG42 to 7.62x51 and slow down the ROF.
                  "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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                  • #10
                    Originally posted by gunnut View Post
                    German machineguns rule. Actually most German guns are awesome...
                    but i think M1's advantage on rate of fire over K98 must have been played a major in some battles.

                    dont you think?
                    Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none; be able for thine enemy rather in power than use; and keep thy friend under thine own life's key; be checked for silence, but never taxed for speech.

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                    • #11
                      Originally posted by Big K View Post
                      but i think M1's advantage on rate of fire over K98 must have been played a major in some battles.

                      dont you think?
                      That was one of the few exceptions. Wehrmacht was never able to develop a self-loading rifle due to its insane requirement of NOT bleeding gas to operate a piston.

                      However, the K98 was more than a match for its contemporaries like the Krag (a 1 war weapon), the Mosin-Nagant, and the Enfield. Our 1903 Springfield was based on a K98.

                      MG34 and MG42 were lighter and just as reliable as the M1919. MP38 was cheaper to manufacture than the Thompson. If you discount the round used by the 1911, it really didn't have that many advantages over the Walther P38. You might say the 1911 is still around today but so is the P38. The drop block locking mechanism and the exposed barrel lives on in the Beretta M9.

                      Other than God himself, John Moses Browning, no one could consistently come up with guns as good as the Germans do.


                      edit: Have you noticed something? Germans have never used a revolver, at least in the 20th century. Their sidearms have always been auto pistols. Germans have no contributions to revolvers at all.
                      Last edited by gunnut; 19 Aug 09,, 18:56.
                      "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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                      • #12
                        Originally posted by gunnut View Post
                        German machineguns rule. Actually most German guns are awesome. I wonder why we came up with the M60 rather than just change the MG42 to 7.62x51 and slow down the ROF.
                        I guess a prime example of NMH (Not Made Here) syndrome. Doesn't always apply, M240, Beretta, Harrier, etc. I've heard the M60 was all the worst features of the Browning and the MG42. I"ve also heard it was a useful, dependable and reliable weapon. I don't know, I've never used one to any degree.
                        Reddite igitur quae sunt Caesaris Caesari et quae sunt Dei Deo
                        (Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things which are God's)

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                        • #13
                          Originally posted by sappersgt View Post
                          I guess a prime example of NMH (Not Made Here) syndrome. Doesn't always apply, M240, Beretta, Harrier, etc. I've heard the M60 was all the worst features of the Browning and the MG42. I"ve also heard it was a useful, dependable and reliable weapon. I don't know, I've never used one to any degree.
                          One gun writer had a beef with the M60. He complained that the M60's grip was rubber wrapped around metal. The rubber tends to disintegrate after a few years of use on the battlefield.

                          Another complaint for the M60 was the barrel change. It devolved from the MG42's quick change barrel. Flip a latch, pop the barrel out, put a new one in, re-latch, good to go. M60's procedure was more complex for no good reason. It sure is reliable, but unnecessarily complex. This is one instance where a German weapon was less complex than its American counter part.
                          "Only Nixon can go to China." -- Old Vulcan proverb.

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                          • #14
                            Originally posted by Big K View Post
                            but i think M1's advantage on rate of fire over K98 must have been played a major in some battles.

                            dont you think?
                            Sure the Garand is a better weapon. It's about tactics and doctrine. The German infantry are really support for their machine guns. Most of the infantry's firepower are in it's crew served weapons, tactics reflect that stressing the value of their machine guns.
                            Reddite igitur quae sunt Caesaris Caesari et quae sunt Dei Deo
                            (Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things which are God's)

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                            • #15
                              Originally posted by gunnut View Post
                              That was one of the few exceptions. Wehrmacht was never able to develop a self-loading rifle due to its insane requirement of NOT bleeding gas to operate a piston.
                              sorry i did not understand this, what is "not bleeding gas"?

                              Originally posted by gunnut View Post
                              However, the K98 was more than a match for its contemporaries like the Krag (a 1 war weapon), the Mosin-Nagant, and the Enfield. Our 1903 Springfield was based on a K98.
                              and Turkish M38's.

                              btw, are they valuable nowadays?

                              Originally posted by gunnut View Post
                              MG34 and MG42 were lighter and just as reliable as the M1919.
                              i just realised that we dont have a MG34/42vsM1919 Browning thread

                              Originally posted by gunnut View Post
                              Other than God himself, John Moses Browning, no one could consistently come up with guns as good as the Germans do.
                              BAR1918 & STG44...

                              Originally posted by gunnut View Post
                              edit: Have you noticed something? Germans have never used a revolver, at least in the 20th century. Their sidearms have always been auto pistols. Germans have no contributions to revolvers at all.
                              well, i am no expert but one second of thinking about Germans, they are obsessed with perfection and revolvers always seemed everything but not perfect to me
                              Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none; be able for thine enemy rather in power than use; and keep thy friend under thine own life's key; be checked for silence, but never taxed for speech.

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