#Maschinengewehr

A classic like the MG3 machine gun should be pronounced in its original language, don’t you think? Just listen to the words: Das Maschinengewehr: “The machine rifle”.

The story of how Hungary came to equip its armed forces with Swiss machine guns, like many origins in WWII, goes back to WWI.  The treaty of Versailles prohibited or significantly inhibited arms production by any former Central Powers countries, Hungary being one of them.  Many small arms designers impacted by the same regulations turned to outside countries to circumvent these regulations, Switzerland being a favorite choice of the Germans.  Therefore Louis Stange (whose resumé also includes the FG42, MG39Rh, MG 81, MG 15, and the MG 34) of Rheinmetall took his MG 30 design to Switzerland to be produced by Solothurn Waffenfabrik (A company which was in itself a bit of a Rheinmetall creation).

The highlight of any training within the military? Shooting fully automatic firearms for sure, as well as blowing things up, and in Today’s Photo, you can see soldiers of the Austrian Bundesheer working their issued Maschinengewehr 74.

The woes continue for famed gunmaker Heckler & Koch. Apparently, the Bundeswehr’s procurement of the new HK121 7.62x51mm machine gun, designated MG5, has been delayed significantly, though the reasons why are vague.  DW.com reports: