The most potent squad level weapon is the machine gun. During WWI, German Spandau machine guns were the bane of enemy troops as their withering fire was enough to cause very high casualties. However, machine guns were generally heavy due to the need to water cool the barrels. The British developed the air cooled Lewis gun, though it was never quite as effective as the German guns.

However, the Lewis was what you might call a light machine gun as it could be hauled around with greater ease. It rarely used a hefty mount, relying, as did the American BAR on a bipod at the front of the gun. What was needed was a 'universal' machine gun that was light weight, able to be operated in both the heavy and light gun role and one that was relatively easy to maintain.

To meet this need, the Germans developed the MG 34. It was relatively light, could be operated at squad level, could also be placed on a sturdy, though heavy mount for the heavy machine gun role, and was somewhat easy to maintain. It also had a pretty respectable rate of fire; 900 rpm. This high rate of fire not only put out more bullets into a target in x amount of time, but had a few drawbacks. One is that the barrel got very hot and had to be changed somewhat often. A quick change barrel was part of the design and a good team could swap one out in a short time. The other is that it had a high rate of ammunition use. It also required a rather strong man behind the trigger to keep the gun on target. This latter trait was not much of an issue in the heavy machine gun role, thanks to the hefty mount, but in the light role it could be an issue.

The MG 34 was also not very tolerant of dirt and dust. It was built to very tight tolerances and so was prone to jamming if not kept clean. Not exactly a good trait in the desert or dry condition. However, the gun was built and used until the end of the war in both infantry use and as the gun of choice for armor.

Wanting an improved gun, the MG 42 was developed a few years into the war. This gun had an even higher rate of fire (1200 rpm) and was developed to slightly looser tolerances than the MG 34. This meant fewer issues with jamming. The gun was also made of stamped steel and so was half as expensive to build and could be built in less than half the time. Barrel changing was also simplified and could be changed in less than 10 seconds, a time that was quite important if you had enemy coming at you.

So effective were these guns that the very sound of them often brought fear and consternation to soldiers on the wrong end of it. With several set up in cross-fire, it made for a most effective block to the advance of enemy troops. Fortunately for the Allies, Germany was unable to produce weapons like this or any other in the quantities that came from the US and Soviet Union. However, it was a most successful gun and even now is still being used in slightly modified versions as the MG3 by nations all around the world.

The stjory of this gun is told by Chris McNab and goes fronm the early need for a 'universal' machine gun to the development of the MG 34, then the MG 42 and on to its post war use. It all makes for another superb book and if you are interested in weapons, then this book is very much a must have. Highly recommended.

December 2012

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