The
MG 42 (shortened from
German:
Maschinengewehr 42, or "machine gun 42") was a
7.92×57mm Mauser general purpose
machine gun that was developed in
Nazi Germany and entered service with the
Wehrmacht in 1942. It supplemented, and, in some instances, replaced the
MG 34 general-purpose machine gun in all branches of the German Armed Forces, though both weapons were manufactured and used until the end of the war.
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The MG 42 has a proven record of reliability, durability, simplicity, and ease of operation, but is most notable for its ability to produce a high volume of
suppressive fire. The MG 42 had one of the highest average
rates of fire of any single-barreled man-portable machine gun: between 1,200 and 1,500 rpm, which results in a distinctive muzzle report. There were other automatic weapon designs with similar firepower, such as the French
Darne, the Hungarian-
Gebauer single-barreled tank MGs, the Russian 7.62mm
ShKAS aircraft gun and the British
Vickers K machine gun. However, the MG 42's belt-feed and quick-change barrel system allowed for more prolonged firing in comparison to these weapons.
The MG 42's lineage continued past Nazi Germany's defeat, forming the basis for the nearly identical MG1 (MG 42/59), and subsequently evolving into the MG1A3, which was in turn followed by the
MG 3. It also spawned the
Swiss MG 51,
SIG MG 710-3, Austrian MG 74, and the Spanish
5.56mm Ameli light machine gun, and lent many design elements to the American
M60 and
Belgian MAG. The MG 42 was adopted by a number of armed organizations after the war, and was both copied and built under licence.