The MG34/42, I own and test fired these famous German Weapons of ww2 fame. There has been so much material printed on these weapons, That I will not go into. I am so impressed with the high rate of fire the MG42 has, If I shoot a full ammo box of 250 rounds. Using 5 Belts with a started tab. The MG42 fires at an incredible rate of fire 1200-1500 rpm. Now with a 250 round belt, each section holds 50 rounds. This means the MG42 fires 25 rounds a second. The Germans had a very high logistic problem with keeping the weapon fed and no other MG in the world sense 1945 has seen more service life in combat like the MG42.
It is the best of the best in the field, Too bad the US Military did not adopt it. But what do you expect after ww2. The people who tested it knew it was better, but some in the US Government sabotaged the program. And did not want to admit their once enemy had a better gun. Th US Government did test a new design at Aberdeen proving Grounds, MD. But the gun looked too much the German weapon, so Some idiot Government made them change the weapon to a more US design, The M-60 of Vietnam fame. the biggest piece of junk this county produced. Now replaced by the 249 SAW. If I have a choice, I will used my MG42.
