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The machine gun, definable as multiple shots with a single trigger pull using an automatic mechanism, existed long before WWII.
But the machine gun, as we know it today, didn't exist until WWII
Join me, as I shitpost away about the MG34/42 &why they changed machine guns forever https://twitter.com/MENA_Conflict/status/1290038822764519425
But the machine gun, as we know it today, didn't exist until WWII
Join me, as I shitpost away about the MG34/42 &why they changed machine guns forever https://twitter.com/MENA_Conflict/status/1290038822764519425
At the end of the 19th century, the machine gun had firmly planted itself into the arsenals and doctrines of all major powers. It's use in (brutally) suppressing insurrections, defeating poorly armed nations in the name of violent colonialism, and forever invalidating the concept
of massed warfare where men lined up shoulder to shoulder and volley fired at an opponent, made sure that no serious nation could be without machine guns, and lots of them. In many ways, the machine gun replaced direct fire cannons, with most artillery now further to the rear and
relying on indirect or longer range arced fire to deliver their payloads. In their place as the semi-static battlefield support to the attacking or defending infantry, was the crew served, belt (usually) fed, rapid firing machine guns. These were bulky, heavy, requiring a crew to
operate, and not very feasible to displace with, and certainly not capable of keeping up with the infantry. If attacked and pushed back, you almost certainly had to leave these heavy guns with their tripods behind. Between Britain, Germany, and Russia, the Maxim machine gun
(rebuilt as the Vickers in Britain) would be the basis for more machine guns than any other type in the war.
As the war progressed, and the bolt action rifle equipped troops struggled to overcome enemy defensive lines and their own machine guns, a new kind of weapon was
As the war progressed, and the bolt action rifle equipped troops struggled to overcome enemy defensive lines and their own machine guns, a new kind of weapon was
fielded (not completely new, a few examples existed pre-war): the light machine gun. There were serviced by a single soldier, shoulder fired, feeding from a magazine (of numerous zany designs like the top feeding drum on the Lewis or the Chauchat exposed mag). These guns were
still heavy, but far more portable than the crewed machine guns that remained in static positions. Early LMGs were malfunction prone, and required the user to carry bulky replacement magazines or be assigned an a-gunner to carry more ammo. But they allowed the infantry to
compete somewhat with the fixed machine guns that could stop an assault in its tracks, and allowed for more creative doctrinal approaches, letting a small unit punch above its weight, and gradually shifting the role of the infantry forever, as militaries moved to models that
either emphasized the role of the machine gun to protect the squad/platoon during movement, or conversely placed the squads duties as protection of the machine gun, the new center of gravity (this is of course an oversimplification). But some basic issues remained: the magazines
were heavy, limited how much ammo an individual could carry, and automatic fire rapidly depleted magazines, meaning sustained automatic fire couldn't really happen, with magazine changes needing to happen frequently (even a slow firing machine gun will eat up 30 rounds FAST).
By the wars end, in addition to the bolt action rifles and static machine guns that dominated the beginning of the war, a whole host of new infantry weapons would be adopted, created, or modified. Beyond the horrors of gas, planes, and new types of artillery, the infantry would
get functional grenade launchers, man portable mortars, submachine guns (thread on those here: https://twitter.com/MENA_Conflict/status/1290025634299645952 ), flamethrowers and... the light machine gun (hereafter LMG). Different nations adopted them in different concepts, be it LMG or automatic rifle, but the basic
idea was the same for everyone... except the Germans.
A shoulder fired, bipod supported, 20-30 round magazine fed automatic rifle in the same caliber as the service rifle.
Where the Germans were beginning to differ, was to essentially just take their existing semi-static
A shoulder fired, bipod supported, 20-30 round magazine fed automatic rifle in the same caliber as the service rifle.
Where the Germans were beginning to differ, was to essentially just take their existing semi-static
machine guns, and shrinking them to a man portable, two man crewed, belt fed machine gun. The MG08/15, a lightened version of the MG08, the mainstay of the Germany army, was developed. Somewhat of an in between, this gun was still far too heavy to keep up with assaulting troops
over long distances (40lbs unloaded), but it could be rapidly displaced for short assaults or carried away in retreat. Belt fed, using the same ammunition and belts as the full sized version, the MG08/15 was the beginning of a new world in machine gunnery.
With the war's end, nearly everyone had their own LMG and had either improved or adopted new heavy machine guns (not to be confused with today's definition of heavy machine guns, usually anything over 12.7mm, HMGs in this context were the semi-static full size machine guns).
The US would retool its WWI Browning MG into the lighter more portable M1919. The Brits would keep and tool around with their Vickers. The Russians with their original Maxim guns. These were all stockless, requiring a gunner be seated or at a minimum in a high prone position.
While they could be fired in an emergency without the tripod, no reasonable accuracy could be achieved without their tripod. Water cooling jackets remained on the Vickers and Maxim. 30-35lb guns with a 40-50lb tripod, the guns had been lightened from WWI and were intended to be
able to (and did) accompany the riflemen, but far too heavy to advance with the rifle squad.That role fell to the BAR, the Bren gun, the Degtyarev, etc etc.
Except for the Germans. Building on the lessons of WWI, the Germans developed the MG34, a shoulder fired, air cooled,
Except for the Germans. Building on the lessons of WWI, the Germans developed the MG34, a shoulder fired, air cooled,
belt fed, bipod supported (with a tripod issued for greater accuracy/stability as needed), true LMG. At 26lbs, the MG34 could be carried by a single gunner, but was doctrinally intended to be serviced by a gunner and an a-gunner, with further belts of ammunition spread throughout
the squad. The gun has a pistol grip and the bipods allowed the gunner to get extremely close to the earth, exposing the smallest possible target profile to the enemy. When lying behind the gun, the gunner assumed a firing position much closer to what his rifle toting squad mates
did. Simple to operate, load, and clear jams whilst remaining in the prone, and light weight enough to advance with the assault, the Germans entered the war with a machine gun no other power could match until after the war. Simplifying it further, a cheaper to produce, simpler to
manufacture machine gun would replace it and become the most iconic machine gun of the war: the MG42. More durable, less sensitive to austere environments (dust/dirt), the MG42 would remain the mainstay of the German rifle squad while the MG34 would largely move to aircraft
and vehicles. The weapon's cyclic rate of fire, between 1200-1400 rounds per minute would be its greatest liability, forcing gunners to exercise strong ammo conservation, firing with short trigger pulls rather than lengthy bursts. Rate reducers were designed to slow the bolt and
and reduce the rate of fire to 800-900 rpm, but this is still extremely fast.
Ammo conservation would feature prominently in German doctrine that stressed the need for precision firing at point targets where available over lengthy suppressive firing at area targets. Ammo
Ammo conservation would feature prominently in German doctrine that stressed the need for precision firing at point targets where available over lengthy suppressive firing at area targets. Ammo
consumption aside, the MG34/MG42 represented a humongous change in the way infantry combat could be waged, with the firepower previously limited to static positions or limited to support by fire positions in the rear, now capable of keeping pace with the advancing (or retreating)
infantry, to not only cover their assault, but to assault with them. The Bren, BAR, etc provided a boost to their rifle squads beyond their issued rifles, but nothing in WWII could compete pound for pound with the MG42.
This was borne out in the aftermath of WWII, when the
This was borne out in the aftermath of WWII, when the
General Purpose Machine Gun concept would be adopted by nearly every major power. A machine gun capable of filling the "heavy" and "light" machine gun roles, for general issue to the rifle squad or platoon. Every modern design would feature: a buttstock, pistol grip, bipods, and
in many instances would replicate the feed tray cover/feeding assembly of the MG42. The US M60 borrows heavily from the MG42, the German MG3 is essentially just a modernized MG42 in 7.62x51, and the Russian PKM, while its own design, adhered to these basic principles as well.
WWII was marked by an increasing reliance on automatic weapons of all types for small unit combat. But no single automatic weapon from the war would be as influential as the MG42, nor live on in so many different forms. END
