What is this machinegun?

Saw this on eBay, just says German paratrooper. What is the MG?

David

Maybe a wooden MP40 dummy for jump training? Doesn't really look like a gun to me.

Yes, they used wooden guns in training. Most FJs didn't jump with weapons other than pistols.

Rudi said:

Yes, they used wooden guns in training. Most FJs didn't jump with weapons other than pistols.

Click to expand...

Exactly, it was the major problem of jumping Fj's, there weapons, besides their pistol were dropped seperate in containers, so when they landed they were basically unarmed and it took a while to get combat organized, to shorten this time they landed with gliders on missions were they hadn't the time to fetch their containers and get in to action.

Googling several variations of 'wooden training MP-40' failed to bring up any mention or images. These must have been really rare.

I always wondered why the FJ didn't jump with their MP-40s slung across their chests. They didn't wear reserve 'chutes.