MG.42 in Stalingrad?

Discussions on the small arms used by the Axis forces.
Gotz von Berlichingen
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MG42

#31

Post by Gotz von Berlichingen » 04 Dec 2005, 20:02

I actually owned an MG42 about ten years ago, I have since sold it. I will never forget the first time I fired it as I almost sawed my nephew in half. I was standing up holding the gun fairly loosly at my waist and in my excitment was not paying much attention to were anyone around me was. Well my nephew who was about ten at the time was to my right and slightly in front of me. I was totally unprepared for the reaction when I pulled the trigger. The gun not only pushed me back but pulled to the right as well. I assume due the rifling twist of the barrel. I only let off the trigger just in time before I sawed him in half. I still think about it to this day, probably the dumbest thing I've done with a firearm. Definitly only shoot from the bipod or tripod till you get used to it. It is a blast to shoot due to the very high cyclic rate of fire, but you need plenty of money to feed it ammo.

Armeiro
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#32

Post by Armeiro » 05 Dec 2006, 02:18

MG39/41 prototype,picture came from a russion site,save picture and zoom in. :wink:
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Cool-E
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#33

Post by Cool-E » 05 Dec 2006, 04:02

Armeiro wrote:MG39/41 prototype,picture came from a russion site,save picture and zoom in. :wink:

That gun was captured by the Russians in 1945, not at Stalingrad. There is infomation about it in the Myrvang book

gewehrdork
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Re: MG.42 in Stalingrad?

#34

Post by gewehrdork » 10 Dec 2006, 22:14

Taikouchi wrote:They were rare in Stalingrad, but the few that made it there were prized. Waffen-SS units were issued equipment and firearms before the Heer and usually got the good stuff. Actually thinking about it, I remeber reading someplace that most Waffen-SS units were decently equiped for the winter with wool tunics and greatcoats.



Tak ; You need to read up some more on the SS. As for small arms they got the bottom of the barrel until later in 1942. You see the HEER controlled small arms distribution , and politically speaking the Heer hierarchy loathed the SS and did what they could to get first pick and restrict SS allotments of small arms production. It was not until the SS had proven itslef a very effective firebrigade on the eastern front that politics were shelved ( although unwillingly by Heer ) and the SS started to receive weapons equal to quality and numbers that a similar Heer formation would have.Note this was the main reason Himmler initiated conentration camp assembly of small arms from often substandard and rejected 98k parts.

Pyro Predator
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Video

#35

Post by Pyro Predator » 11 Dec 2006, 18:56

I also agree that most games about World War II aren't historically accurate. One that is very close though is the Brothers In Arms series which I believe has very accurate weapons and very accurate maps since they are based on actual areas where the combat took place. I always thought the MG-42 was in Stalingrad and will have to check a book I have on it but I do believe that most are right and it wasn't the MG-42 but the early war MG that the Germans used.

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DARIVS ARCHITECTVS
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#36

Post by DARIVS ARCHITECTVS » 16 Dec 2006, 09:14

I have an all original C&R MG-42 in 8mm and lafette with optics. It gets used occasionally at the range. The reason the gun went wide to the right was because you were holding it on the right side of yorur body, not because of the rifling. If you fired an MG-42 with a 5.5 pound trigger pull by accident then your were careless where your finger was and/or the sear was worn and the gun was unsafe. You have to squeeze darn hard to fire a 42. The roar of a 42 in 8mm is something you never forget, and if you shoot it several times you learn how hard to lean into the stock as you squeeze the trigger to compensate precisely for the hard recoil push it gives. You can get very accurate with practice on the bipod and be able to blast a man at 60 yards with every burst from the (sturmfeuer). The MG-42 was never used at Stalingrad. It made its first appearance in Afrika. It's getting a lot ore expensive to shoot the 42 in 8mm. Most people use a feed plate, feed cover, and barrels designed for the MG-3 and .308 Nato ammo to reduce shooting costs, but I prefer the original 8mm. The sound is a tad bit lower in pitch.

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Timber
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#37

Post by Timber » 18 Dec 2006, 20:12

Now I could be wrong, but isn't this picture from Stalingrad ??:
Image

Either that or early after I'd presume.

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Panzerfaust60
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#38

Post by Panzerfaust60 » 18 Dec 2006, 22:21

No Timber, I think it's Libstandarte Adolf Hitler in Karkow

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Timber
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#39

Post by Timber » 18 Dec 2006, 23:20

Ok thanks, that makes alot more sense...

Anyways the MG-42 was put into service in 1942, as the designation suggests.

Bunduki
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#40

Post by Bunduki » 01 Jan 2007, 22:50

Jane's Infantry Weapons (1976 edition) notes that the first prototypes of the MG42 go back to 1938, produced by Dr Grunow, the pressed metal specialist of the Johannes Grossfuss company. The design of the locking mechanism is variously attributed to either Louis Stange (the designer of the Mg34) or to Edwarde Stecke of Warsaw, who patented the design of the bolt in 1937.

A four year design and development period seems very reasonable!

The British army first met the MG42 in May 1942 during the Battle of Gazala.

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faf_476
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#41

Post by faf_476 » 05 Jan 2007, 12:02

I think guys this could help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MG42

Just read It.. :)

krassmann
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#42

Post by krassmann » 13 May 2007, 14:24

It is extremely doubtful that the MG42 was ever used in Stalingrad . What is
clear however Mg42 was in the Kaukasus in Sept 1942 . There is a German Newsreel
dated Sept 1942 showing Gebirgsjaeger using one .. Definitely no Waffen SS in
Stalingrad .. Feb 1943 The three elite SS Divs. were well equiped with MG42 for the assault on Kharkov here is a photo from my private collection MG42 in 1944
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michaelangelo25
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#43

Post by michaelangelo25 » 09 Jul 2007, 17:17

MG34/41 has few MG34 parts. It does use the MG34 bipod and a few small parts that fit in the receiver. It is similar in exterior appearance to the MG34. It has a full auto trigger group like the MG42 in action. It has a 5 cm. shorter barrel jacket and a bolt similar to that of the MG81. The bolt is wider which necessitates a wider receiver. There is one on display at the Aberdeen Proving Ground Museum in Maryland. They have both a MG34S and a MG34/41. The Springfield Armory Museum in Springfield, Mass has a MG34S. These are the few known functional examples in the US. This weapon is not listed in either form on the BATF curios list which leads me to believe that there are no tranferable examples in the US. I think this defines rare.

Robert Moore
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Kavellerie-Schutzenregiment "Gross-Deutschland"

#44

Post by Robert Moore » 04 Jan 2008, 19:38

Hello, All,

Just one quick question. Does anyone know anything about Kavellerie-Schützenregiment "Gross-Deutschland", if such a unit ever existed?

If so, I would be very interested in finding out who commanded it during its existence, its assigment(s), and its fate.

I would appreciate any assistance.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely

Terry Moore
üü

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Russ Schulke
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MG-42 on Stalingrad front line!

#45

Post by Russ Schulke » 17 Mar 2008, 22:44

MG-42 on Stalingrad front line!

Here is part of a strength report from Infantry Regiment 54 (100 Jäger Division) from October 22, 1942 that clearly shows MG-42’s on the front lines during the battle. :)

Image


Russ :wink:

Image

http://www.fireonthevolga.com

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