Good condition original M53 bolts (Yugo mfg). Ring around the firing pin hole but but usable. Compatible for use with 308 & 8mm. Compatible for use with MG42, M53, MG1, MG3 & Steyr 74. These do not include the anti-bounce stabilizer spring unless checked. Jan 06, 2008 short rivets for the bolt guide rails, the semi-auto bolt extension piece, and the cocking slide ratchet plate (this is not installed by WLA as it has to be fitted to the cocking slide that is included in your part set prior to installation) Price for a receiver in the white is $850 plus shipping.
Contents.History Before World War I Even before, the German military was already looking forward to replacing the heavy machine guns which proved to be such a success in that war. The was one of the first developments toward a goal of producing a weapon that could perform multiple roles, rather than just one. The MG13 was the result of reengineering the Dreyse Water cooled machine gun to fit the new requirement.
The twin barreled was developed with the goal of providing a high cyclic rate of fire weapon for anti-aircraft use which was reported to have reached cyclic rates of fire as high as 1,600 rounds per minute. Wehrmacht reenactors with a MG 34 general-purpose machine gun mounted on a Lafette 34 tripodThis eventually led to the Einheitsmaschinengewehr (Universal machine gun) introducing an entirely new concept in automatic firepower. By changing its mount, sights and feed mechanism, the operator could radically transform an Einheitsmaschinengewehr for several purposes.The is considered to be the first modern or Einheitsmaschinengewehr. It was developed to use the standard German 7.92×57mm Mauser full-power rifle round.
It was envisaged and well developed to provide portable and infantry cover, anti-aircraft coverage, and even sniping ability. Equipped with a quick-change barrel and fed either with, or from a 50-round Gurttrommel (belt drum) or a 75-round spring-loaded Patronentrommel 34 magazines (with a simple change of the feed cover for a Trommelhalter magazine holder), the MG 34 could sustain fire for much longer periods of time than other portable such as the American and the British, both of which were fed by, while also being much lighter and more portable than crew-served weapons like the or machine guns (which also lacked quick-change barrels). The MG 34 was also quite versatile; not only was it able to be fed from belted ammunition or a saddle drum magazine, it could also be fired from a bipod, an innovative Lafette 34 tripod or various pintle mounts for armored vehicles. Switching between a bipod and a tripod required no special tools, as the mounting latch was spring-loaded.
As the MG 34 Panzerlauf, it was used throughout the war as secondary armament on and other vehicles. One attempt at improvement was the MG 34S, an incremental improvement on the basic 34 design. The MG 34S could cope with a cyclic fire rate of 1,200 rounds per minute. Later in the war, the MG 34 was used as the basis for the 's flexible defensive gun that had a cyclic fire rate of 1,200-1,600 rounds per minute. However, the MG 34 did have its drawbacks, such as sensitivity to dirt and mud, and comparatively complex and expensive production.
Development of the MG 42. MG 42 with its bipod unfoldedThe German tactical doctrine of the era based a 's firepower on the in the role so that the role of the rifleman was largely to carry ammunition and provide covering fire for the machine gunners.
The advantage of the general purpose machine gun concept was that it added greatly to the overall volume of fire that could be put out by a -sized unit.This meant that German forces deployed far more machine guns per equivalent-sized unit than the Alliesand that Allied troops assaulting a German position almost invariably faced the firepower of the MG 42. It was possible for operating crews to lay down a non-stop barrage of fire, pausing only when the barrel had to be replaced. This allowed the MG 42 to tie up significantly larger numbers of enemy troops. The Americans and the British trained their troops to take cover from the fire of an MG 42, and assault the position during the small time window of barrel replacement, which took around 4 to 7 seconds (estimated).The German military kept issuing rifles and did experiment with semi-automatic rifles throughout World War II. They fielded the series of which fewer than 150,000 were built, and the series of which 402,713 were built. They introduced the first in 1943 – the / / series, of which 425,977 were built.
Due to the relatively limited production of semi-automatic and assault rifles, the Karabiner 98k of which over 14,600,000 were built remained the primary service weapon until the last days of World War II, and was manufactured until the surrender in May 1945.The Allied nations squad tactical doctrines of World War II centered on the rifleman, with the machine gun serving a support role, and they utilised weapons with cyclic fire rates of typically 450–600 rounds per minute. The American military had standardized a rifle in 1936 (the ) that could be effectively fired more rapidly than the preceding bolt-action rifles.
The Allied nations had machine guns with similar rates of fire, but mounted them almost exclusively in aircraft, where the fleeting opportunities for firing made such high rates necessary. The only similar Allied weapon was the, and that was used by ground forces only in specialized circumstances.Light machine gun fire support role. Machine gun team in YugoslaviaA German infantry Gruppe (squad) consisted of ten men; a non-commissioned officer or squad leader, deputy squad leader, a three-man machine gun team (machine gunner, assistant gunner/loader and ammunition carrier) and five riflemen. As personal small arms the squad leader was issued a or as of around 1941 a, the machine gunner and his assistant were issued and the deputy squad leader, ammunition carrier and the riflemen were issued rifles.
The riflemen carried additional ammunition, explosive charges or a machine gun tripod as required and provided security and covering fire for the machine gun team. Two of the standard issue bolt-action rifles in the squad could be replaced with semi-automatic rifles and occasionally, assault rifles could be used to re-arm the whole squad, besides the machine-gun.Medium machine gun fire support role. The MG 42 mounted on the Lafette 42 tripodIn the German (HMG), each platoon served four MG 34/MG 42 machine guns, used in the sustained fire mode mounted on tripods. Wehrmacht reenactors with a MG 42 mounted on a motorcycle sidecarOne of the Einheitsmaschinengewehr (Universal machine gun) roles was to provide low-level anti-aircraft coverage. A high is advantageous for use against targets that are exposed to a general-purpose machine gun for a limited time span, like aircraft or targets that minimize their exposure time by quickly moving from cover to cover.
For targets that can be fired on by a general-purpose machine gun for longer periods than just a few seconds, the cyclic firing rate becomes less important. As a consequence, one of the MG 42's most notable features was in its high cyclic rate of fire of about 1,200 to 1,500 rounds per minute, twice the rate of the Vickers and Browning machine guns, which fired at a rate of about 600 rounds per minute. The ear could not easily discern the sound of individual being fired, instead hearing a sound described as like 'ripping cloth' or a buzzsaw.The MG 42's high cyclic rate of fire sometimes proved a liability mainly in that, while the weapon could be used to devastating effect, it could quickly exhaust its ammunition supply. For this reason, it was not uncommon for all soldiers operating near an MG 42 to carry extra ammunition, thus providing the MG 42 with a backup source when its main supply was exhausted. Another disadvantage of the MG 42 was that the high cyclic rate of fire led to the barrel overheating quickly during rapid fire.
After around 150 rounds of rapid fire, the gun operator would open a side hatch (leading to the barrel) and replace the hot barrel with a new cool(er) one. Non-observance of this technical limitation renders the barrel prematurely unusable. The machine gun crew member responsible for a hot barrel change was issued protective asbestos gloves to prevent getting burned.The German military instructed that sustained fire must be avoided at all costs. They ruled that the results of sustained fire were disappointing and that the expenditure of ammunition involved was 'intolerable.' In the bipod-mounted light machine gun role, MG 42 users were trained to fire short bursts of 3 to 7 rounds and strive to optimize their aim between bursts fired in succession. For its medium machine gun role, the MG 42 was matched to the newly developed Lafette 42.
In the tripod-mounted medium machine gun role, MG 42 users were trained to fire short bursts and bursts of 20 to 50 rounds and strive to optimize their aim between bursts fired in succession. As a consequence of factors like the time spent reloading, aiming, changing hot barrels if necessary to allow for cooling, the MG 42's practical was 154 rounds per minute, versus 150 rounds per minute for the MG 34. Design details.
MG 42 with auxiliary anti-aircraft 'spider web' ring sight mountedThe MG 42 is a, air-cooled, machine gun with a quick change barrel.The MG 42 weighed 11.57 kg in the light machine gun role with the, lighter than the MG 34 and easily portable. The bipod, the same one used on the MG 34, could be mounted to the front or the center of the gun depending on how and where it was being used.The roller-locked bolt assembly consists of a bolt head, two rollers, a striker sleeve, bolt body, and a large return spring, which is responsible for pushing the bolt assembly into battery (the locked position) and returning it there when it is unlocked and pushed backwards by the recoil of firing or by the charging handle. As the striker sleeve is movable back and forth within the bolt assembly, the return spring is also responsible for pushing the striker sleeve forward during locking (described below). The bolt assembly locks with the barrel's breech (the end the cartridge is loaded into) via a prong type barrel extension behind the breech. As it is recoil-operated and fired from an open bolt, the weapon must be manually charged with the side-mounted charging handle.The roller-locked recoil operation functions as follows: two cylindrical rollers, positioned in tracks on the bolt head, are pushed outwards into matching tracks in the barrel extension by the striker sleeve and lock the bolt in place against the breech. Upon firing, rearward force from the recoil of the cartridge ignition pushes the striker assembly back and allows the rollers to move inwards, back to their previous position, unlocking the bolt head and allowing the bolt assembly to recoil, extracting the spent cartridge and ejecting it down. The return spring then pushes the bolt assembly forwards again, pushing a new cartridge out of the belt into the breech, and the sequence repeats as long as the trigger is depressed.
The MG 42 is capable only of fire. Single shots are difficult, even for experienced operators, due to the weapon's rate of fire. The usual training objective is to be able to fire a burst of no more than three rounds. The weapon features a at the muzzle to increase rearwards force due to recoil, therefore improving functional reliability and rate of fire.The cyclic firing rate of the MG 42 can be altered by installing different bolts and recoil springs. A heavier bolt uses more recoil energy to overcome inertia, thus slowing the cyclic rate of the machine gun.
Heavy bolts also were used along with stiffer. The standard MG 42 bolt weight for a normal rate of fire is 550 g (19.40 oz).The shoulder stock is designed to permit gripping with the left hand to hold it secure against the shoulder.The open-type line has a relatively short 430 millimeters (16.9 in) radius and consists of a '∧-type' height adjustable front sight on a folding post and a leaf rear sight with an open V-notch sliding on a ramp, graduated from 200 to 2,000 meters (219 to 2,187 yd) in 100 meters (109 yd) increments. An auxiliary anti-aircraft 'spider web' ring sight is kept in the maintenance kit, that can be fitting on the barrel jacket to be used in conjunction with a folding anti-aircraft rear peep sight that is attached by a hinge to the rear sight element base.The 530 millimeters (20.9 in) long barrel of the MG 42 could be quickly changed by the machine gun crew and weighed 1.75 kg (3.9 lb) including the locking piece. The barrels could have traditional.
Polygonal rifling was an outgrowth of a process developed by German engineers before World War II. The process addressed the need to produce more durable machine gun barrels in less time than those produced with traditional methods. Later produced barrel bores featured to make them more durable. The different versions meant that the service life of an MG 42 barrel varied between 3,500 and 8,000 rounds assuming the barrel was used according to regulation that prohibited rapid firing over 150 rounds. Excessive overheating caused by rapid firing about 500 rounds through a barrel resulted in unacceptable wear of the bore rendering the barrel useless.The method of barrel change made the MG 42 unsuitable for secondary or co-axial armament on World War II era German tanks with the exception of the.
Early versions of the Jagdpanzer IV carried two standard (no modification made) MG 42s on both sides of the gun mantlet/glacis, firing through a ball slot which was protected by an armored cover (with the MG 42 retracted) when not in use. Later version Jagdpanzer IVs carried only one MG 42 on the left side.The MG 42 incorporated lessons hard-won on the. Both the cocking handle and the catch for the top cover to the working parts were designed so that the gunner could operate them wearing arctic mittens or with a stick or rod. This was vital for winter conditions where contact by bare flesh on cold metal could cause severe injury, such as instant. The MG 42 also functioned well in other climates; dust and dirt in North Africa and Italy was less likely to jam the MG 42 than the more temperamental MG 34.The MG 42 belt-feed mechanism was copied and used in the design of the.
The trigger mechanism of the or MAG-58 is a virtual copy of the MG 42's and the MAG-58's belt-feed is also very similar.Lafette 42 tripod. Main article:In 1944, the material shortages of the led to the development of a newer version, the (or MG 42V), which had a different operation mechanism that used as opposed to roller locking.
For this reason, the MG 45 is considered a different type of firearm, as the mechanisms of these two guns are different. It used steel of lesser quality, which reduced weight to 9 kg, while retaining the horizontal cocking handle.
First tests were undertaken in June 1944, but development dragged on and eventually only ten were built. The tested MG 45/42V fired 120,000 rounds in succession at a cyclic rate of fire around 1,350 rounds per minute.The MG 42V had some influence in the post-war development of system, as employed in issued, and small arms.T24 machine gun.
T24 machine gun prototype mounted on a tripodThe was a prototype reverse engineered copy of the German MG 42 general-purpose machine gun developed during World War II as a possible replacement for the and for infantry squads. The T24 was chambered for the cartridge.By February 1943, US ordnance authorities published the first report on the MG 42, following testing of a captured gun. The quick barrel changing and belt feed systems were considered some of the best design features. The US Army wanted to be able to manufacture this general-purpose gun because it was technically advanced and much easier to make than the World War II US light and medium machine guns and it was decided to convert several MG 42s to fire.30-06 Springfield M2 ball ammunition.Saginaw Steering Gear Division of General Motors received a contract to construct two working converted MG 42 prototypes designated as the T24 machine gun. It could also be used on an. The gun was made as an almost exact copy of the MG 42 which was chambered in 7.92×57mm Mauser. Some engineering changes were to use a barrel chambered for the.30-06 Springfield service round and an extremely increased weight 47 oz (1,332 g) bolt and stiffer return spring in an effort to reduce the cyclic rate consistent with US rate requirements.
Saginaw Steering Gear did not adjust the prototypes for the 6.35 mm (0.25 in) longer.30-06 Springfield (7.62×63mm) cartridge case.When one of the two T24 machine gun prototypes was fired at, it fired only one shot and failed to eject the cartridge. A second attempt had the same result. The other prototype was plagued with excessive ejection failures and to a lesser extent failures to feed. The average cyclic rate of fire of the tested weapon was 614 rounds per minute. During January to February 1944 Aberdeen Proving Ground tests unsatisfactory functioning led to substitutions and changes of various parts in an effort to place the weapon in a position to continue the test, but all efforts failed. Firings were discontinued in February 1944 after 51 malfunctions and firing a total of 1,583 rounds by authorization of Major C. Balleisen, O.C.O.
When it became evident the weapon required further development. In March 1944 the US military concluded that functioning of the T24 machine gun prototype was unsatisfactory and recommended that further development was required before this weapon be subjected to the lengthy and severe standard light machine gun test.However, the realization that the.30-06 Springfield cartridge was too long for the prototype gun's mechanism to easily and reliably work with resulted in the discarding of the project. Saginaw Steering Gear did not get the opportunity to correct the flaws that caused the inability to obtain reliable uninterrupted automatic functioning and ready the weapon for mass production before World War II ended. Swiss built W+F Bern MG 51The Swiss or 7.5 mm Maschinengewehr 1951 was based on the design of the MG 42 chambered for. The final design, which appeared in 1950, was in most respects still similar to the MG 42, although many components were produced by machining instead of stamping, which increased the weight, the stability and the production costs of the machine gun.
To prevent short shots changed the locking system from roller to flapper locking. The resulting weapon had a cyclic rate of fire of 1,000 rounds per minute, was in the light machine gun role 4.4 kg (9.70 lb) heavier than the German MG 42, and much more finely made and finished.M53. Yugoslavian built Zastava M53, a near exact copy of the MG 42. Note that the example in the photo is missing the trigger group.In this MG 42 variant was built at the state-owned company as the using original German, retaining the 7.92×57mm Mauser chambering. By doing so, the Yugoslavs retained the original weapon's design features, making the M53 a near exact copy of the German MG 42. The only major differences were a slower 950 rounds per minute cyclic rate of fire and no sight mount. The aiming range of the M53 is 2,000 m (2,187 yd), and the terminal range of the bullet is 5,000 m (5,468 yd), the same as the MG 42.
MG 42s captured in Yugoslavia at the end of World War II were put into reserve of as M53/42s. The last military use of M53s in Yugoslavia was in 1999. Some quantities of M53s were exported to Iraq in the 1980s and saw extensive action during both.
M53 was known under the nickname. Markings on an original MG 42 retrofitted to a MG 3At the end of World War II the original technical drawings and data for the MG 42 were captured by the Soviets. These would eventually find their way to Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. The MG3 (originally the MG 1 launched in 1958) is the MG 42 design rechambered to.
It is the primary general-purpose machine gun of the modern. A number of other (NATO) armies around the world have adopted the MG3, and it remains in widespread service today.The MG 3 and its preceding variants all share a high level of parts interchangeability with the original MG 42. Like the MG 42, the MG3 cyclic rates of fire can be altered by exchanging the standard weight (about 650 g (22.93 oz)) bolt used for the standard 1,100–1,200 rounds per minute rate of fire for an extra weight (about 900 g (31.75 oz)) bolt for a reduced 800–950 rounds per minute rate of fire. It must be noted that those bolts also are used along with different recoil springs.The Italian licensed MG 3 variant produced by Beretta, Whitehead Motofides and Franchi since 1959, features an extremely heavy 1,200 g (42.33 oz)) bolt which reduces the cyclic rate of fire to around 800 rounds per minute.MG 74. The MG 74 of the Austrian Federal Army, is a modification of the MG 42The final variant to date is the MG 74, developed by Austria and since 1974 it is the standard machine gun of the.After its founding in 1955, the Austrian army was equipped with old guns temporarily out of U.S.
Starting in 1959 these were largely replaced by the MG 42 with modified barrel and bolt for the new. But to introduce a modern weapon of its own production the Office of Defence Technology, in cooperation with and developed a gun specifically for the Austrian Army. The German MG 42/59 that was introduced in 1959 with the to replace the U.S. Machine guns, served as the basis, which was similar to the Austrian 7.62 mm MG 42. Targets were to reduce, among other things, the cyclic rate of fire and weight and have more versatile sights and mount.
The development of the weapon was completed in 1974. It replaced from this year the MG 42 as the MG 74 of the Austrian Federal Army.The modifications to the basic MG 42 design include an extremely heavy bolt (950 g (33.51 oz) vs. The 675 g (23.81 oz) MG 3 bolt) which reduces the cyclic rate of fire to around 850 rounds per minute. Rate of fire can be varied up to cyclic rate of fire to around 1,150 rounds per minute, if necessary, by changing the bolt and recoil spring.
In addition, a select fire trigger group was added to allow semi-automatic fire (single shot) compared to the traditional fully automatic only fire capability of the original MG 42 design. The MG 74 also has a modern polymer stock and handgrips to save weight. Usually colored a dark green, adjustable rear sight (35° horizontal, vertical 15°) and additional anti-aircraft sight can be mounted optional. SIG MG710. Sig MG 710-3The Swiss general-purpose machine gun was based on the design of the MG42V/MG45 using a slight modification of the roller-delayed action and chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO.
Its cyclic rate of fire is 900 rounds per minute. The first version looks very much like the MG42.
Influence on other designs The MG 42's belt-feed mechanism was copied and used in the design of the.The trigger mechanism of the or MAG-58 is a virtual copy of the MG 42's and its belt-feed is also very similar.Users. MG 42s (second and third from left) in a training camp of the, in, 1973.:.: M53.: M53.: evaluation only.: Used ex-German MG-42s. Two of an intended batch of ten MG 42s were converted in Norway to and designated as MG42F1. The conversion project abruptly ended as most of Norway's stockpile of MG 42s was sold abroad at the same time.: known as m/944.: 440 received from Germany in 1943.: used during the. – Produced as M53.
– MG-42 and M53See also. British regular infantry carried GPMG., Spanish GPMG. US regular infantry carried GPMG., modern successor of the MG 42., Soviet aircraft ordnance, only machine gun that could fire faster than the MG 42., Swiss GPMG derived from the MG 42.References.