Caliber 7.92mm
Cartridge: 7.92mm x 57mm Mauser
Length: 48 in (1219mm)
Weight : 25.25 lbs. (11.5 kg)
Muzzle Velocity: 2478 ft. (755m) per second
Effective Range: 1100 yds. (1000m)
Rate Of Fire: 1200 rounds/min. (cyclic)
Magazine: 50 round link belt

The MG-42 machine gun was designed to replace the German MG-34. The MG-42 was to be mass produced and to be more rugged in the field than the hand-crafted MG34 which demanded more maintenance and care. The result of these efforts created perhaps the world's best machine gun with a unique delayed blowback system of firing. Durable, dependable and possessing an incredible rate of fire made this weapon the pride of German infantry and the scourge of the Allies.

Its distinctive firing sound of ripping canvas punctuated the battlefield and was easily recognizable by Americans for the MG 42 fired three times as fast as any machine gun in the American arsenal.

By 1944 the German squad and its tactics revolved around the MG-42. The squad's main focus in a firefight was to get the MG42 up and firing on the enemy as quickly as possible, with the rest of the squad ready to bring more ammo to the gun if need be. In addition, the gunner of the squad's MG-42 was the unit's best and steadiest soldier. The MG-42 may be fired from its bipod (Light MG), on a tripod (Medium) or from a tripod and with a heavy barrel (Heavy).

Special Rules

The MG42 was an extremely useful field weapon that was uniquely suited for modern warfare. It had several unique advantages over other countries' machine guns, largely due to its post-WWI development (unlike the BAR, Vickers, etc.)

Rate Of Fire: The MG42 had the highest rate of fire of any infantry machine gun during World War II. In fact the German infantryman was taught to conserve on ammunition and only employ the high rate of fire when neccisary. In the game an extra die (for a total of 5) can be added at any time as long as the following requirments are met:

1. Must be on a tripod (MMG or HMG).
2. Must have a full crew in good order.

Jamming When ever the weapon is using a high rate of fire, 5 dice instead of 4, the Jam number will decrease to a 19. This represents the more frequent need to change belts, barrels and dud rounds.

Tripod / Bipod The MG42 was designed to fit on an ingenious tripod system. This system was designed so as to fit a MG42 with no modifications to the gun, in fact the bipod on the MG42 would remain as it "sat" in the tripod. Because of the tripod system, the MG42 can be removed from the tripod (at the cost of 1 action) and be used as a LMG with no penalty.

Fallshirmjagergewehr 42