Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About The MG42 (But Were Afraid To Ask)
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heavy_mech
RKI- Reasonably Knowledgable Individual
Not to be that guy but guilty. It was on the 60 both times. Did not catch in the puss however.
biggymu
Well-known member
I had one with my Mg42. It tore the bottom of the case off the previous round and fed the next round into the broken case. I opened the top cover and saw what happened, slammed the cover closed and the round cooked off and went downrange. Luckily for me it happened quicker than that guy.
With the MG42’s cyclic rate, a cook off is easily possible and should be expected if any round is left in the chamber. Depending on ammo, the gun would many times get one round off and you would have to cock it again, leaving you vulnerable if not paying close attention.
If you are inexperienced and rip through a 250 round belt, that barrel looks like it came out of a forge, and the rifling is ruined.
With the MG42’s cyclic rate, a cook off is easily possible and should be expected if any round is left in the chamber. Depending on ammo, the gun would many times get one round off and you would have to cock it again, leaving you vulnerable if not paying close attention.
If you are inexperienced and rip through a 250 round belt, that barrel looks like it came out of a forge, and the rifling is ruined.
My next video in my Machine Gun Instruction Series is ready! FYI I spent most of the last year working with, shall we say, "Europe's Largest and Finest Collection of... EXTREMELY Temperamental Weapons" including many of the most popular machine guns, sub-machine guns and assault rifles, and I have A LOT to say on the topic of malfunctions... BELIEVE ME...
So, here's the next video in my series on Machine Guns talking about the different kinds of malfunctions that machine guns can experience and how to fix them (on an MG42 of course).
In otherwords, everything *you need to know* to get back into the fight BEFORE your trench gets a visit from... "composers" and... "musicians"...
So, here's the next video in my series on Machine Guns talking about the different kinds of malfunctions that machine guns can experience and how to fix them (on an MG42 of course).
In otherwords, everything *you need to know* to get back into the fight BEFORE your trench gets a visit from... "composers" and... "musicians"...
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mostpeople
Senior Member
Cool!
mostpeople
Senior Member
Historical use cases would be a good topic to touch on.
What sense did you have in mind?
The main uses, beyond "point and shoot at that there thing what you don't like" were "Over shooting friendly troops" and "Indirect Fire".
Let's just say that those operations are... "complicated"
mostpeople
Senior Member
That’s the sort of thing I mean, I have no idea how any of that worked but it would be fascinating to learn it.
I just hope that I can make enough sense of this crazy German technology to explain it to other people!
But the gears are turning, and I'm starting to make those neural connections
The first video in my series on the MG42 Field Lafette is live! In this video I describe each of the major parts of the Lafette, and establish a nomenclature that will serve as a foundation for subsequent videos.
The next video will explore the different roles the Lafette was intended to fill, as well as look at the different configurations the Lafette could be used in.
The next video will explore the different roles the Lafette was intended to fill, as well as look at the different configurations the Lafette could be used in.
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heavy_mech
RKI- Reasonably Knowledgable Individual
Plunging fire is certainly a thing in the defense especially. Knowing the gun and accurate ranging is essential.
Desert_Faux
Senior Member
I’ve been enjoying your videos very much! The newest one with the clear audio is awesome!
Can you do a video on an original grip assembly? Or do you not have access to that in Poland? How it all works, parts breakdown, assembly, disassembly etc.
Cheers!
Can you do a video on an original grip assembly? Or do you not have access to that in Poland? How it all works, parts breakdown, assembly, disassembly etc.
Cheers!
Thanks!
I describe the original trigger group as best as I can in the "Firing Sequence" Video, and show a photo of the basic parts.
It's pretty simple:
-Trigger is pulled, trigger rotates on Trigger Axis Pin
-The second pin on the trigger, the sear Pin, pushes up on the front part of the sear, which causes the back half of the sear to drop down, releasing the bolt.
Many machine guns are about this simple, but in the MG42 they added a disconnecter around the sear. It holds the sear down, so that even if you let go of the trigger, the sear does NOT pop back up, UNTIL the bolt recoils, trips the disconnector and gets caught by the sear.
This is the same trigger group in the M240B and M249.
Taking it apart isn't anything spectacular. The biggest issue is having a screw driver for those special nuts that the German's like to use on everything (like on the Mauser bayonet), that hold the two grips panels in place.
Once the grip panels come off, the pins that hold the sear and trigger just fall out, and the trigger, sear and the trigger spring come with it.
Putting that semi-auto trigger group back together, on the other hand... is an ABSOLUTE nightmare... it took me like 5 or 6 tries to get it right...
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You know what... I've actually been thinking of a making a video on The Safety because believe it or not, the safety selector is a big deal when it comes to the safe handling of machine guns (spoiler: it's NOT the primary means of safing the gun!)
And for such a video I will need to show how the safety works to block the sear, so I'll see what I can do for you
Desert_Faux
Senior Member
Hey thanks for the info!
That would be awesome!
Cheers!
That would be awesome!
Cheers!
In my latest video I introduce the Doctrine that the Germans applied to the Field Lafette during WW2, as well as discuss the history of the concepts of Light Machine Gun and Heavy Machine Gun, what those concepts meant to the Germans, and how through the development of the "Universal Machine Gun" embodied by the MG34 and MG42, changed the concept of the Machine Gun forever.
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