So I've 100% ranted about this before (at least twice) but here goes again, after today's "lol actually the MG42 was a bad gun because I don't understand how machine guns work" nonsense.

Because this usually comes up with Bren enthusiasts with no understanding of machine gunnery https://twitter.com/Cpl_Dont_Know/status/1390733690049896459

start talking shit, let me be clear: it's not just the Bren that sucks by comparison. It's also the BAR, the DP26, and every other magazine fed automatic rifle/light machine gun. I do enjoy ripping on Brit firearms supremacists, but the same criticisms apply to anyone trying to

defend weapons that were obsolescent by WWII and certainly after.

They remain an important part of firearms history because they were what was available and it's understandable that the major combatants didn't try and reinvent the wheel mid war, but there's a reason they no

longer exist today, or only so in niche situations, or again, because they're what's available.

So why is the MG42 important? It's not because German firearms were just superior in general. Not at all. As far as general issue rifles, SMGs, and pistols go German firearms were ok

but nothing more. The two notable categories of German firearms excellence (in WWII) are the MG34/42 and the StG44 (the first example of a widely issued *assault rifle*). So why? It all has its roots in WWI.

WWI is the first conflict most people think of typified by the use of

machine guns. For good reasons: they changed the face of modern warfare with every combatant employing one design or another. Machine guns were bulky, static (because of bulk), and crew operated weapons. Generally water cooled (adding further weight), weighing in excess of 75+lbs

machine guns were generally planted in place and abandoned in the retreat. The value of automatic fire was very apparent and the need to be able to keep it up once the assault pushed past the view/range of the MG birthed the light machine gun/automatic rifle. These smaller man

portable machine guns fed from a drum or magazine and could be carried in the assault to supplement the bolt action rifle of the average rifleman. These early light machine guns would further change the face of warfare as the machine gun stopped being a strictly defensive (or at

least static) weapon and rapid fire could be brought to bear on the enemy during the assault, in raids, even during the retreat (since it was light enough to carry by one man). But they had limitations. Magazines and drums are heavy, often awkward to load, and only carry so many

rounds, leading to significant pauses in firing. Belt fed guns, with their heavy sleeves for water, complex mechanisms for loading/feeding/extracting, were simply too heavy to be carried, so the mag fed LMG was it. In contrast to the static machine guns, LMGs featured a buttstock

pistol grip, and bipods making them a shoulder fired weapon that could be fired from the prone, important for troops on the move who didn't have the advantage of permanent cover. Germany sought to find a middle ground solution between static MGs and magazine fed LMGs with the

MG08/15, itself basically the static MG with a buttstock, pistol grip, and bipod added, feeding from belted ammunition. Intended to be deployed as part of a 2-man team (gunner & a-gunner), this was still a 40lb (unloaded) water cooled MG making it a difficult weapon to keep pace

with the rest of the infantry. Of note, while not the first MG to use it (aircraft MGs particularly used these), but the MG08/15 could employ a detachable drum that fed the belt directly onto the fed tray and kept them out of the dirt/mud, important with the clothe belts of the

time. Many modern MGs make use of this same feature as belts have improved & shrank with 100-200 rounds fitting in a single (lightweight) drum. At the time, while solving the issue of clothe belts, this presented the same issue as having to regularly reload mags/drums for LMGs.

The MG08/15 was not a popular design, its heavy weight being a serious hindrance (a Lewis gun with a 47rd drum weighed 30lbs, an unloaded MG08/15 weighed 40). But it was proof of concept that a belt fed MG could be employed by mobile infantry. And it was the baseline for further

development. In the post WWI years, Germany adopted several variants of magazine fed, air cooled LMGs, similar to variants listed above. The German air force had been using air cooled MGs since WWI, with the airflow of flight providing sufficient cooling for their MGs. Germany

recognized the weight issues with a water cooled LMG, and introduced the MG30, a left side feeding magazine fed, air cooled lightweight (21lbs unloaded) LMG (Alongside a few other designs). Eventually the design was modified to feed belted ammo, but by then it had been surpassed.

From the MG30 (and the astute among you will see the design influence) design was birthed the MG34, the first modern general purpose machine gun (at this point I have to plug @BuddNicholas, the undisputed internet library of MG34 and MG42 knowledge).

This air cooled, belt fed (capable of accepting drums), shoulder fired, 1-man portable, bipod supported machine gun, chambered in the same round as the rifleman's K98, functioned as Germany's LMG (what we'd call a MMG today) in its bipod role, but could be added to a tripod to

function as a "heavy" MG (per German doctrine) similar to the British Vickers, US Browning, Soviet Maxim etc. Tossed into a tank, or an airplane turret or wing, it filled the role of a vehicle MG. The first true GPMG had been born, capable of multiple roles. In the leadup to WWII

this is important for several reasons. The utility of the MG in mobile action had been proven by WWI. And lighter belt fed guns now existed. But these were still exclusively crew served requiring *at least* two people to move the gun, tripod, & ammo & more likely 3-4 people. The

tripod arrangement meant the gun was higher off the ground, subsequently making the gunners & loaders assume a higher profile (& more risk), & displacement (forward or back) meant pulling the gun out of its cradle, carrying both the gun & its tripod, & resetting up each time. In

a fraction of that time, an MG34 gunner, either by themselves or with an A-Gunner could simply: stand up, move forward, lie down, shoot again (or if at close range, fire from the standing). When prone, the MG34 gunner could fire from as low as the common rifleman, reducing their

profile & exposure to enemy fire.

A downside to air cooled MGs is the faster speed at which the barrel (& chamber) heat up, notable with the MG34 (& later MG42) with their high rate of fire. To solve this (& this was common to a number of MGs at the time), the MG34 featured a

rear that swiveled to the side to allow a barrel to slide out towards the gunner, avoiding having to lean up & forward, exposed to fire, & able to replace the barrel if necessary. This feature is often cited by detractors as a flaw, mistaking an ability for a necessity. As any

machine gunner will tell you, fire discipline & awareness of barrel heating is a responsibility of the gunner. *Any* MG will overheat if you don't pay attention to it. The MG34/42 are notable because if left with a poorly trained or scared MGer who is just firing as fast as they

can, yes, the high rate of fire will heat barrels up quite quickly. An overheated barrel is a risk of malfunction, especially cook offs (where the heat of the chamber is enough to set off a round prematurely, especially if there's a jam that leaves a round sitting in the chamber)

This is an issue even modern machine guns run into, which is why essentially ever modern belt fed LMG or MMG features a rapid change barrel (SAW, M240, PKM, etc). A properly trained MGer knows how to mitigate or avoid this altogether. It was no different with the MG34, gunners

trained to fire short bursts to: a) conserve ammo b) improve accuracy c) reduce risk of overheating.

So what does it all mean?

After WWII, the GPMG concept was recognized as the way forward in machine gunnery. *EVERY* GMPG to follow (+ many HMGs) would incorporate an air cooled

barrel, a pistol grip & buttstock (unless in an armor or aviation role), belt feeding (& generally open bolt), & easy to replace barrel. The MG34 would become replaced by the MG42, a refinement of the MG34, easier & cheaper to produce, & the design upon which most modern machine

guns would be either based on or borrow heavily from the concept.

While the concept of the automatic rifle would remain (born out in the early M16 in an automatic rifleman role, the RPK, and similar models), the LMG would stop (with few exceptions, largely rooted in supply of

existing models/manufacture not efficiency) to exist as a magazine fed option.

It does still exist today: the RPK-74, the recently adopted Marine Corps M27 IAR, and a few other examples. But these are treated doctrinally different, generally as automatic rifles not LMGs, than

belt fed machine guns. They supplement semi-automatic rifle but cannot replace the sustained fire of a belt fed machine gun.

Anyway, the free beer the brewery we get our grain from is starting to kick in. To reiterate: follow @BuddNicholas for more technical knowledge on this.

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