the mg 34 and mg 42 were two revolutionary machine guns to enter service in world war
II and they are featured in hundreds of movies and video games even some science fiction these
weapons were iconic for a reason the mg 34 was easily the most advanced machine gun when
introduced to units in 1936. it had an impressive rate of fire between 800 to 900 rounds a minute
however this would greatly be surpassed by the mg-42
its successor which by 1943 was being produced in even greater numbers offering the germans an
even more powerful machine gun with a rate of fire between nine and fifteen hundred rounds per minute
the mg-42 is also far easier to produce and less sensitive to battlefield conditions
compared to the over-engineered mg 34 with its precision built and tightly milled parts
that's great looks like the fastest gun works
the rapid rates of fire for the mg 34 and mg-42 had pros and cons particularly when
you analyze the practical rate of fire which accounts for overheating both machine guns
for example if fired continuously for 150 rounds would need a quick barrel change
these machine guns were most effective when using controlled bursts only utilizing their high cyclic
rates of fire against targets exposed for a few seconds like against aircraft for which they are
both effective against spider web aa sights are mounted directly behind the front sight
a rear sight attachment is used in conjunction with the front spider web sites effect people
one specific quality relating to the rate of fire shown rarely in cinema
is the morale effect mg34s and mg42s played on allied soldiers
inexperienced or otherwise this was of notable concern for allied governments and here is an
example of one such US military video preparing soldiers to encounter these weapons in the field
listen to that fast that thing sprays a lot of lead
and you're scared because the german gun fires faster than anything you've run into before
also note the distinct sound of the mg-34 and mg-42
compared to the American light and heavy 30 caliber machine guns
this sound and the length of bursts are what producers should be looking for when making films
understandably weapons fire is not always perfect in a film
but it's nice when it is as these sounds translate into genuine fear for many soldiers one movie that
highlights this sound very well is Saving Private Ryan though there is one slight inaccuracy in this
scene which is around even from an mg42 loses virtually all kinetic energy when it hits water
having a density 800 times that of air these rounds would not kill beyond a few inches of water
between 1935 and 1945 577 000 mg 34s would be produced with 424 000 mg 42s
being produced between 1942 and 1945 with the mg 42 dominating later war production with its
easier to manufacture stamp metal parts nearly two mg 42s could be produced for every one mg 34
both guns would remain prolific throughout the army navy and panzer corps with the majority
of the panzer corps using the mg 34 internally in tanks throughout the war as its secondary
armament due to the ability to change the barrel without having to dismount the gun as the barrel
changes could be done straight back as opposed to being changed at the side like with the mg 42 in
the field this is actually an excellent and easy method for changing barrels and only takes five
to seven seconds obviously being much faster than in battlefield v and the gaming universe
mg34s or mg42s could be mounted outside tanks with the 42s more effective against enemy aircraft
interestingly in Saving Private Ryan the tiger 1 does not once use its mg34 such as we see the
tiger 131 do and fury the mg34 front-mounted machine gun was designed primarily to deal
with infantry the tank crews did often fire the machine guns at each other and attempt to crack
the armored glass viewports or kill any foolish tank commanders remaining outside their tanks
the Kriegsmarine primarily used mg-34s with mg-42s more desperately needed by the army with their
excellent resistance to mud and dirt in u-571 the mg-34 scene is particularly interesting because
the gun is used against the British lifeboat in the Atlantic which is somewhat opposite of the
actual historic event the movie u-571 is an americanization of a British event relating
to u110 which was captured by the british royal navy u-110 after being depth-charged surfaced
the British crew mistakenly opened fire on the u-boat crew which was attempting to surrender
thinking they were trying to man the u-boat's deck gun in the confusion the crew did not think to go
back below and destroy sensitive materials such as the enigma machine and code books
ultimately both the mg 34 and 42 were excellent general-purpose machine guns with the right
equipment they could fire 3.5 kilometers away and were effective against aircraft both are
highly accurate if used correctly with the mg-42 marginally less accurate due to its extreme rate
of fire with more significant vibration however the mg-42 outclassed all general-purpose machine
guns on the battlefield during world war ii with its reliability sometimes compared to
that of an AK-47 we must kill everything that we see for Hitler die devil stop
today many versions of the mg-42 live on most commonly the mg3 though it does seem there is a
place in the future for the mg32 as well presently even the Austrian army still uses versions of the
mg-42 with a select-fire trigger and a reduced rate of fire called the mg-74 named after the
year was introduced there are altogether over 30 armed forces using mg-42 derivatives today
machine gun probably mg-42
all right I'm johnny thanks for watching this video on two german world war ii machine guns
and some of the films they were featured in if you want to expand on this subject please do so
in the comments section below also feel free to correct criticize or debate I'm not a historian
just an amateur war movie fan so I'm always open to be proven wrong as always if you want
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