After the First World War (1914-1918) the Treaty of Versailles forbade the Germans from developing or producing any weapons, including tanks, submarines and automatic weapons. But with the rise of the Nazis in the 1930s and the resurrection of the German army, most of the restrictions under the Treaty were bypassed by the authorities, beginning to rearm for a new world war. By this time, German military strategists had developed the concept of a light portable multi-purpose machine gun.
Air instead of water
For some time, this solution was MG-13. Introduced in 1930, it was a reimagining of the World War I Dreyse Model 1918 water-cooled machine gun modified to be air-cooled. It was fed by a 25-round magazine or a 75-round drum and was adopted by the German army as the standard machine gun. In the end, the machine gun was installed on tanks and aircraft of the Luftwaffe, but in general it turned out to be costly to manufacture and allowed firing at a speed of only 600 rounds per minute. Therefore, this model was withdrawn from service already in 1934 and sold or placed instorage.
Swiss version
The relative failure that befell the MG-13 required additional testing. The Rheinmetall-Borsig company, which has been producing weapons since 1889, in order to circumvent the restrictions imposed by the Treaty of Versailles, organized the creation of the shadow company Solothurn in neighboring Switzerland and continued work on new air-cooling. During the First World War, machine guns, as a rule, were cooled with water, which complicated their maintenance and transportation. Tests took place from the early 1930s and soon ended with the creation of an improved model.
It was the Solothurn MG-30, created in 1930. The machine gun was used in neighboring Austria and Hungary, as well as in Germany, but the German authorities wanted a more convenient and portable weapon, prompting the development of the line. Soon the MG-15 was produced, which proved to be very useful as a defensive aircraft weapon and received large orders after the official adoption of the Luftwaffe.
Maschinengewehr 34
Further evolution of this line gave rise to the legendary MG-34 - a machine gun, also known as the Maschinengewehr 34, combining the best qualities of all previous models, including the MG-30 and MG-15. The result was so revolutionary that it became the first true single machine gun - a multi-purpose combat weapon capable of performing multiple functions without changing its basic design. Volmer, a weapons engineer, was named as its creator.
The German army quickly approved the newmachine gun, and it was put into service during 1936. It was originally produced by Mauserwerke AG, but soon merged with Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG and Waffenwerke Brunn. A total of 577,120 units were made between 1935 and 1945.
Key Features
In the basic configuration, the dimensions of the MG-34 machine gun are very impressive: its length is 1219 mm with a standard barrel of 627 mm, and its weight is 12.1 kg. It uses a unique short-stroke rotation of the sliding bolt from the recoil momentum of the muzzle recoil booster. The MG-34 is a machine gun whose caliber was chosen specifically for the proven 7.92x57 Mauser rifle cartridge. The rate of fire of these early models was 600–1000 rounds per minute, with a choice of single or automatic firing modes. The initial speed reached 762 m / s, which made it possible to hit a target at distances up to 1200 m. This distance could be increased using a specially designed machine tool for using the weapon as a heavy machine gun. The sight is standard, with a step of 100 m up to 2000 m.
Ergonomic design
The MG-34 light machine gun has a linear design, in which the shoulder support and the barrel are on the same imaginary line. This is done in order to provide more stable shooting, but not only. The stock is an ergonomic extension on the back of the box, while the box itself is slightly humpbacked, with a thin profile. The feed and ejection ports are easily visible from the front and the handle is lowered in the usual way. ATthe front of the box is a perforated casing, covering the trunk inside it. There is a conical flame arrester on the muzzle. When used as an infantry support weapon, a folding bipod is attached under the casing, which is extended at the junction. A machine gun of this length requires frontal support, especially when the shooter is in the prone position.
Air cooled
The weapon of this type has one disadvantage - dependence on natural cooling by air circulating around the barrel during firing. Therefore, the barrel is placed inside a perforated casing to allow such cooling to take place, but this solution does not allow for sustained fire, which is essential for support or suppression weapons. Short controlled bursts were the rule for such machine guns. The barrel had to be changed every 250 shots, and its total service life was 6,000 shots. To facilitate its change, German engineers provided for the possibility of unlocking the receiver and "turning" it out of the casing. The shooter accessed the barrel inside the casing through the open back of the assembly and could remove it for replacement. Then a new cold barrel was inserted, and the fire resumed as usual.
Firing modes
Fire opens when you pull the trigger, consisting of two parts. The upper section is marked with the letter E (Einzelfeuer) and is responsible for single shots, and the lower one is marked with the letter D (Dauerfeuer) and is designed for automaticfire. Thus, the fighter can control the supply of ammunition and the heating of the barrel.
Ammunition
The nutrition of the MG-34 was also given special attention. When stationary, the weapon is usually fed by a 50-round round drum or a 75-round saddle-type double drum (a legacy of the MG-15 design). To ease the load when used as a portable support weapon, a 50-round belt was used. If necessary, it could be combined with other tapes up to a full charge of 250 rounds. However, the use of the tape loads the mechanism and slows down the rate of fire.
Machine gun crew
After the MG-34 was tested in practice, it was armed with various parts of the German army - from special forces to infantry. One machine gun served the calculation, which consisted of at least two people. One fired and carried weapons in combat, while the other was in charge of ammunition, assisted with belts and handled delays. If necessary, additional team members could help them carry additional barrels, machine tools or additional ammunition.
Jack of all trades
Structurally, the MG-34 machine gun is so tactically flexible that it quickly took over all possible combat functions. But its main purpose was to support the infantry. For this, the machine gun was equipped with a bipod, and the soldiers used 50-round tapes. The speed of fire has always been a strong point of the weapon, but shooters preferred single shots or very short bursts for greater accuracy.
High rate of fire was necessary when the MG-34 machine gun (there is a photo of it in the review) served as an anti-aircraft gun to destroy low-flying enemy aircraft. For this, a machine with an anti-aircraft rack, front and rear sights of an anti-aircraft sight were attached.
The heavy machine gun MG-34 (see photo in the article) was attached to the Lafette 34 machine for continuous fire. This assembly included a built-in buffer mechanism that stabilized it during firing. In addition, an optical sight was installed on the receiver for better tracking and hitting a target at a distance.
MG-34 is a machine gun, the device of which allows it to be quickly disassembled in the field, which makes it possible to clean, lubricate and repair it in a short time. The precise mechanics of the device could be damaged by any debris on the battlefield, which is why it was so important to follow a strict maintenance regimen in order to clear the weapon of anything that could potentially cause it to stop at the most inopportune moment.
Fatal perfectionism
Another drawback of the MG-34 was a common problem with all pre-war firearms: production to high quality standards that require a lot of time, cost and effort. This led to the fact that the MG-34 combat machine gun was constantly in short supply throughout the war, as it was needed by all German services on all fronts. In the end, five factories were forced to manufacture it, and additional resources, time and energy were spent on creating additions to fulfill theirvarious functions. A good weapon proved too delicate in the harsh war environment, leading to the development of a simplified version - the equally legendary 1942 MG-42.
Modifications
MG-34 is a machine gun, work on the improvement of which was carried out during the war. The MG-34m featured a heavy casing, as it was intended to be used as an anti-personnel weapon, mounted on many German armored vehicles. The prototype MG-34s and its final version MG-34/41 received shortened barrels (about 560 mm) to increase the rate of fire in the role of an anti-aircraft machine gun and fired only automatic fire. The MG-34/41 was supposed to replace the MG-34, but this did not happen due to the emergence of the effective MG-42 series. The MG-34/41 was never officially adopted, although it was produced in some numbers.
MG-34 Panzerlauf served as a tank machine gun. These models used a heavier casing with far fewer holes. The stock was removed for a more compact profile in the limited space inside German armored vehicles. Nevertheless, a conversion kit was carried on board, allowing the Panzerlauf to be quickly converted into a ground light machine gun in case the vehicle had to be abandoned. The set includes a bipod, stock and scope.
One of the latest modifications of the MG-34 is the MG-81 machine gun, a defensive anti-aircraft weapon that replaced the obsolete MG-15. The MG-81Z (Zwilling) became an offshoot of this line, essentially connecting two MG-34s with a common launcher. The design was changed in such a way as to allow the machine gun to be fed from both sides. Its rate of fire reached an impressive 2800–3200 rounds per minute. Production of this series was limited as MG-34s were more needed elsewhere.
Despite the introduction of the MG-34/42 machine gun in 1942, production of the MG-34 continued until the end of the war in Europe in May 1945. Although the MG-42 was intended to replace the MG-34 as front-line weapons, he was never able to achieve his rather high performance and, ultimately, played the role of complementing the classic design of the 1930s.
Global recognition
The German machine gun MG-34 was used not only by Germany and not only during World War II. Its counterparts quickly spread throughout the world. Among the countries whose armies adopted it are Algeria, Angola, Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Finland, Guinea-Bissau, Hungary, Israel, Korea, North Vietnam, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Taiwan and Turkey. The machine gun was used during the Chinese Civil War (1946-1950), the Arab-Israeli conflict (1948), the Korean War (1950-1953), and Vietnam (1955-1975). Until now, it can be found in remote places where this legendary weapon still comes into battle.
