MG42 Country Germany Type Machine gun Manufacturer Johannes Grossfuss Introduction 1942 Specifications Weight 11.57 kg (25.5 lb) Length 1220 mm (48 in.) Cartridge 7.92x57mm Mauser Action Recoil-operated, roller-locked bolt Rate of fire 1200 rounds/min (varied between 900 and 1,500 rounds/min with different bolts) Muzzle velocity 755 m/s (2,475 ft/s) Effective range 1000 m (1,100 yd) Feed system 50 or 250-round belt

The MG42 (Maschinengewehr 42, or \"Machine Gun 42\") is 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 a proven record of reliability, durability, simplicity, and ease of operation, but is most notable for being able to produce a stunning volume of suppressive fire. The MG42 has one of the highest average rates of fire of any single-barreled light machine gun, between 1,200 and 1,500 rpm, resulting in a distinctive muzzle report. Furthermore, the belt-feed and quick-change barrel system of the MG42 allowed for more prolonged firing in comparison to comparable weapons. Production during the Second World War amounted to over 400,000 units (17,915 units in 1942, 116,725 in 1943, 211,806 in 1944, and 61,877 in 1945). The MG42 lineage continued past the defeat of Nazi Germany, forming the basis for the nearly identical M52, 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.