MG 34

The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG 34, is a German recoil-operated air-cooled machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It accepts the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, and is generally considered the world's first general-purpose machine gun.

The versatile MG 34 was arguably the most advanced machine gun in the world at the time of its deployment. Its combination of exceptional mobility – being light enough to be carried by one man – and high rate of fire (of up to 900 rounds per minute) was unmatched. It entered service in great numbers following Hitler's repudiation of the Versailles Treaty in 1936, and was first combat tested by German troops aiding Franco's Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War.

History

The MG 34 was based on a 1930 Rheinmetall design, the MG 30. The Swiss and Austrian militaries had both licensed and produced the MG 30 from Rheinmetall shortly after patent. The MG 30 design was adapted and modified by Heinrich Vollmer of Mauser Industries. Vollmer modified the feed mechanism to accept either drum magazines or belt ammunition. He also increased the rate of fire. The MG 34's double crescent trigger dictated either semiautomatic or fully automatic firing modes.