max mg42 german machine gun - MG42 GERMAN MACHINE GUN WWII by De Espona

The MG42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42, or 'Machine Gun 42') was a machine gun that was developed for and entered service with Nazi Germany in 1942, during World War II. The 7.92 mm rifle caliber weapon was developed from, and was intended to supplant the MG34 machine gun, though both were manufactured and used until the end of the war.

The MG42 has one of the highest average rates of fire of any single-barreled light machine gun resulting in a distinct muzzle report. It has a proven record of reliability, durability, simplicity, and ease of operation, but most notably for being able to produce a stunning volume of suppresive fire. The MG42's lineage continued past Nazi Germany's defeat, forming the basis for the nearly identical MG1 (MG 42/59), and subsequently improved into the still very similar MG2, which was in turn followed by the MG3. It also spawned the Swiss SIG 710-3, MG42/59, and a 5.56 mm Spanish CETME Ameli machine gun, and lent many design elements to the American M60. The Ameli and the MG3 were in service with many armies during the Cold War and remain so into the 21st century.