| Maschinengewehr 42 "Hitler's buzzsaw" (or "Hitler's zipper") "Hitlersäge" "Spandau" | |
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| General Historical Information | |
| Place of origin | Germany |
| Type | Machinegun |
| Effective range | 1000 metres |
| Rate of Fire | +/- 1200 rpm |
| Ammunition | 7.92mm |
| General Ingame Information | |
| Debut in FHSW | As handweapon: Debut in FH
As Anti-Air: v0.4 |
| Used by | Germany Italy |
| Used in vehicles | Pzkpfw IV Ausf. J Improved King Tiger Jagdtiger Puma VK 16.02 "Leopard" VK 16.02 "Leopard" Ausf. G VK 16.02 "Leopard" Ausf. F VK 16.02 "Leopard II" Stug auf Leopard (L/70) |
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The MG 42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42, or "machine gun 42") is a 7.9mm general purpose machine gun that was developed in Nazi Germany and entered service with the Wehrmacht in 1942. It supplemented, and, in some instances, replaced the MG 34 general-purpose machine gun in all branches of the German Armed Forces, though both weapons were manufactured and used until the end of the war.
The MG 42 has a proven record of reliability, durability, simplicity, and ease of operation, but is most notable for its ability to produce a stunning volume of suppressive fire. The MG 42 has one of the highest average rates of fire of any single-barreled man-portable machine gun: between 1,200 and 1,500 rpm, which results in a distinctive muzzle report. There were other automatic weapon designs with similar firepower, such as the French Darne, the Hungarian-Gebauer single-barreled tank MGs, the Russian 7.62mm ShKAS aircraft gun and the British Vickers K machine gun. However, the MG 42's belt-feed and quick-change barrel system allowed for more prolonged firing in comparison to these weapons.
The MG 42 weighed 11.6 kg in the light role with the bipod, 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 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 had polygonal rifling and was lighter than the MG 34's and heated more quickly, but could be replaced in seconds by an experienced gunner.
The optimum operating crew of an MG 42 for sustained fire operation was six men: the gun commander, the No.1 who carried and 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).
U.S. and British doctrine of the era centered around the rifleman, with the machine gun serving a support role. German doctrine was the reverse, with the machine gun placed in a central role and rifleman employed in support. This meant that German forces deployed far more machine guns per equivalent-sized unit than the allies, and that allied troops assaulting a German position almost invariably faced the firepower of the MG42. 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 MG 42 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 MG 42, and assault the position during the small window of barrel replacement. The high rate of fire of the MG 42 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.
In Forgotten Hope Secret Weapon, the MG 42 can both used on vehicles as well as stationary and via pick-up kits. There are two pick-up kits. One with the bipod, the other with the tripod. The Bipod kit have only a knife and the machinegun. The bipod can be used as well (Key 6). Without using the bipod, the accuracy is lower then with bipod shooting. However, you can moe and shoot when you not use the bipod ingame. With the tripod, the kit contains a knife, a Walther P38 pistol. You can not run and shoot on the same time and you need to employ the tripod for shooting. There are three tripod-positions. Low (you lay down on the ground and shoot only to ground targets), high (you sit on the ground and shoot only to ground targets) and anti-aircraft (you stand and you can shoot both on ground as well on targets in the air).
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