History

During the 1930s the German Army introduced the MG34, considered to be the first modern general purpose machine gun. Equipped with a quick-change barrel, the MG34 could fire for much longer periods of time than conventional weapons like the Browning Automatic Rifle or Bren, while being much lighter than crew-served weapons like the Vickers machine gun. The weapon was also quite versatile, able to be fed from drums or belts, and mounted on bipods, heavy tripods, or various pintle mounts for armored vehicles. It even became a primary defensive gun for the Luftwaffe, in its MG81 form. However, it did have its drawbacks, such as sensitivity to dust and comparatively expensive production. One attempt at improvement was the MG34S, an incremental improvement on the basic 34 design.

In order to address these issues, a contest was held for a true MG34 replacement. Of the number of proposals submitted, Metall-und Lackierwarenfabrik Johannes Großfuß AG's proved to be the best design, by far. Experts in pressed and stamped steel parts, the new design required considerably less tooling and was much simpler to build — it took 75 man hours to complete the new gun as opposed to 150 man hours for the MG34, and cost 250 RM as opposed to 327 RM.

The resulting MG39 remained similar to the earlier MG34 overall, a deliberate decision made in order to maintain familiarity. The only major changes from the gunner's perspective were dropping of most of the drum-feed options, leaving the weapon to fire with a loose belt of ammunition or from a single 50-round drum magazine fitted to the gun's receiver, and simplifying the weapon's open sights for aiming purposes; all these changes being intended to increase, maintain, or accommodate the gun's high practical rate of fire. Although made of relatively cheap parts, the prototypes also proved to be considerably more rugged and resistant to jamming than the somewhat temperamental MG34. A limited run of about 1,500 of its immediate predecessor, the MG39/41, was completed in 1941 and tested in combat trials. It was officially accepted, and the main manufacturing of the production design began in 1942; contracts going to Großfuß, Mauser-Werke, Gustloff-Werke, and others. Production during the war amounted to over 400,000 units (17,915 units in 1942, 116,725 in 1943, 211,806 in 1944, and 61,877 in 1945).

One of the weapon's most noted features was its comparatively high rate of fire of about 1,200 rounds per minute, twice the rate of the British Vickers machine gun and American Browning at 600 round/min. At such a high rate the human ear cannot easily discern the sound of individual bullets being fired, and in use the gun makes a sound described as like "ripping cloth" and giving rise to the nickname "Hitler's buzzsaw", or, more coarsely, "Hitler's zipper" (Soviet soldiers called it the "linoleum ripper"). German soldiers called it Hitlersäge ("Hitler's saw") or "Bonesaw". The gun was sometimes called "Spandau" by British troops from the manufacturer's plates noting the district of Berlin where some were produced, much like the Germans' own World War I Maschinengewehr 08 had been nicknamed. Despite its high rate of fire, the Handbook of the German Army (1940) forbade the firing of more than 250 rounds in a single burst and indicated a sustained rate of no more than 300–350 rounds per minute to minimize barrel wear and over-heating.

So distinct and terrifying was the weapon, that the United States Army created training films to aid its soldiers in dealing with the psychological trauma of facing the weapon in battle. The high rate of fire resulted from experiments with preceding weapons, that concluded that since a soldier only has a short period of time to shoot at an enemy, it was imperative to fire the highest number of bullets possible to increase the likelihood of a hit. This principle was also behind the Vickers GO aircraft gun. The disadvantage of this principle is that the weapon consumed exorbitant amounts of ammunition and quickly overheated its barrel, making sustained fire problematic.

The MG42 weighed 11.6 kg in the light role with the bipod, lighter than the MG34 and easily portable. The bipod, the same one used on the MG34, could be mounted to the front or the center of the gun depending on where it was being used. For sustained fire use, it was matched to the newly-developed Lafette 42 tripod, which weighed 20.5 kg on its own. The barrel was lighter than the MG34's and heated more quickly, but could be replaced in seconds by an experienced gunner.

The optimum operating crew of an MG42 for sustained fire operation was six men: the gun commander, the No.1 who fired the gun, the No.2 who carried the tripod, and Nos.3, 4, and 5 who carried ammunition, spare barrels, entrenching tools, and other items. For additional protection the commander, No.1 and No.2 were armed with pistols, while the remaining three carried rifles. This large team was often reduced to just three: the gunner, the loader (also barrel carrier), and the spotter. The gunner of the weapon was preferably a junior non-commissioned officer (or Unteroffizier).

It was possible for operating crews to lay down a non-stop barrage of fire, ceasing only when the barrel had to be replaced. This allowed the MG42 to tie up significantly larger numbers of enemy troops. Both the Americans and the British trained their troops to take cover from the fire of an MG42, and assault the position during the small window of barrel replacement. The high rate of fire of the MG42 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 MG42 to carry extra ammunition, thus providing the MG42 with a backup source when its main supply was exhausted.

Singleplayer/Co-Op

The MG42 can be picked up now and then in some of the missions.

Multiplayer

Damage 90-130 (SP), 30 (MP)
Damage Multipliers Head: 3, Chest: 1, Limbs: 1 (SP), Head: 1.4, Chest: 1, Limbs: 1 (MP)
Magazine Size 125 rounds (SP), 50 (MP)
Maximum Ammunition 500 rounds (SP), 300 rounds (MP)
Reload Time 6 seconds
Range 1024-2400 m (SP), 1500-2000 m (MP)
Penetration Large
Fire Mode Automatic
Ammunition 7.92x57mm
Unlocked at lvl 33

One of the best Machine Guns in the game, is the MG42, it is good for close, medium, and long range, has good power, and a high rate of fire.

Even though this gun is good for close range, in some instances it is not going to be a Sub Machine Gunner, and while this gun has a large clip of 50 rounds, it takes a long time to reload, if you have to reload you want to be where you know a enemy is not going to come up on you.

Challenges