MG34 7.92mm general purpose machine gun
01. Original name | MG34 7.92mm general purpose machine gun | |
02. Other official names | Maschinengewehr 34 | |
03. Popular names | MG34 | |
04. Chamberings | 7.92×57mm Mauser | |
05. Designed by | Heinrich Vollmer | |
06. Design date | 1934 | |
07. In service date(s) | 1936–1945 (officially, German military) / 1936–present (other armies) | |
08. Adopted by | Nazi Germany; Algeria: supplied by Czechoslovakia; Biafra: probably supplied by Czechoslovakia; Republic of China People’s Republic of China, Independent State of Croatia, Cuba Czechoslovakia: produced at Brno during German occupation of Czechoslovakia. Production continues after the war. East Germany (post-war use on SK-1 armored car); France; Guatemala: received 1,000 MG34s in 1954 from Czechoslovakia; Hungary; Israel: supplied by Czechoslova; North Vietnam; Used by the NVA and Vietcong in the Vietnam War; Norway (Used and first converted to .30-06 Springfield designated MG34F1 and later to 7.62×51mm; NATO designated MG34F2 by the Heimevernet until mid 1990s); Syria: supplied by Czechoslovakia; Syrian National Coalition; Yugoslav Partisans | |
09. Production quantities | 577120. Manufacturers: Rheinmetall-Borsig AG; Soemmerda; Mauserwerke AG; Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG; Waffenwerke Brünn | |
10. Mechanism | Open bolt, Recoil-operated, Rotating bolt. | |
11. Weight | 12.1 kg (26.7 lb) 32 kg (70.5 lb) (with tripod) | |
12. Mountings | Shoulder mounted, integrated bipod, tripod or vehicle mounted. A very versatile light machine gun. (Einheitsmaschinengewehr .Universal machine gun) | |
13. Practicality in action | The MG 34 was developed to provide portable light and medium machine gun infantry cover, anti-aircraft coverage, and sniping ability. Its combination of exceptional mobility – being light enough to be carried by one man – and high rate of fire (of up to 900 rounds per minute) was unmatched. | |
14. Comments / Other information | MG 34 7.92mm General Purpose Machine Gun (Germany) (WW2) (filmed with bipod and tripod mounted). Rate of fire. 800–900 rounds/min Early versions: 600–1000 rounds/min selectable on pistol grip MG 34″S”: 1,700 rounds/min. MG 34/41: 1,200 rounds/min. Muzzle velocity. 765 m/s (2,510 ft/s) (s.S. Patrone) Effective firing range 200–2,000 m (219–2,187 yd) sight adjustments 3,500 m (3,828 yd) with tripod and telescopic sight Maximum firing range. 4,700 m (5,140 yd) 50/250-round belts, 50-round drum, or 75-round drum magazine with modification Introduced in 1934, chambered for the 7.92x57mm round: operated by recoil of a quick change barrel: cyclic rate about 850rpm: uses a non-disintegrating metal belt connectible in 50-round sections; weight unloaded 27lb; integral bipod and also used a buffered tripod which has limited controlled traverse but incorporated an automatic fire distribution mechanism. Generally considered to be the first general purpose machine gun, although it is heavy for use in the light role, and the lightness of the barrels (4.4lb) and high cyclic rate limit its medium role sustained fire capacity. Nevertheless, it demonstrated that a belt fed light machine gun was a feasible and desirable proposition which eventually led to the international decline of the magazine fed light machine gun as a category. Not an easy gun to manufacture and reputedly over-sensitive to dust/sand its successor, the MG42 was designed to avoid these limitations. |