MG 34 and MG 42 Machine Guns

MG 34 and MG 42 Machine Guns

Author: Chris McNab

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2012-10-20

Total Pages: 155

ISBN-13: 1782003096

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With the MG 34, the German Wehrmacht introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower – the general-purpose machine gun (GPMG). In itself the MG 34 was an excellent weapon: an air-cooled, recoil-operated machine gun that could deliver killing firepower at ranges of more than 1,000m. Yet simply by changing its mount and feed mechanism, the operator could radically transform its function. On its standard bipod it was a light machine gun, ideal for infantry assaults; on a tripod it could serve as a sustained-fire medium machine gun. During World War II, the MG 34 was superseded by a new GPMG – the MG 42. More efficient to manufacture and more robust, it had a blistering 1,200rpm rate of fire. Nicknamed 'Hitler's buzzsaw' by Allied troops, it was arguably the finest all-round GPMG ever produced, and alongside the MG 34 it inflicted heavy casualties. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork and drawing upon numerous technical manuals and first-hand accounts, this study explores the technological development, varied roles and lasting influence of the revolutionary MG 34 and MG 42 machine guns and their postwar successors.


The MG34 Machinegun

The MG34 Machinegun

Author: Guus de Vries

Publisher: Propaganda Photo

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9789078521037

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This is the first detailed publication on the MG34, Germany's most important machine gun of World War II. It contains a description of the development, production and use, the accessories and markings of the MG34, including many pictures and descriptions of prototypes and variants that have never been depicted or described before.


Hitler's War

Hitler's War

Author: Harry Turtledove

Publisher: Del Rey

Published: 2009-08-04

Total Pages: 513

ISBN-13: 034551565X

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A stroke of the pen and history is changed. In 1938, British prime minister Neville Chamberlain, determined to avoid war, signed the Munich Accord, ceding part of Czechoslovakia to Hitler. But the following spring, Hitler snatched the rest of that country, and England, after a fatal act of appeasement, was fighting a war for which it was not prepared. Now, in this thrilling alternate history, another scenario is played out: What if Chamberlain had not signed the accord? In this action-packed chronicle of the war that might have been, Harry Turtledove uses dozens of points of view to tell the story: from American marines serving in Japanese-occupied China and ragtag volunteers fighting in the Abraham Lincoln Battalion in Spain to an American woman desperately trying to escape Nazi-occupied territory—and witnessing the war from within the belly of the beast. A tale of powerful leaders and ordinary people, at once brilliantly imaginative and hugely entertaining, Hitler’s War captures the beginning of a very different World War II—with a very different fate for our world today. BONUS: This edition contains an excerpt from Harry Turtledove's The War that Came Early: West and East.


The FN MAG Machine Gun

The FN MAG Machine Gun

Author: Chris McNab

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2018-07-26

Total Pages: 81

ISBN-13: 1472819683

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For six decades, the 7.62mm FN MAG has been a dominant general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) in worldwide arsenals. Three qualities have guaranteed this enduring status – reliability, ease of operation, and firepower. Several nations have license-produced the weapon as their standard GPMG, including the British (as the L7) and the Americans (M240), and in total more than 80 nations have adopted the FN MAG. The machine gun has also been modified extensively for vehicular, naval, and aircraft platforms, demonstrating versatility in the air, on sea, and on land. In this book, Chris McNab charts the technical evolution of this extraordinary weapon, created by Belgian company Fabrique Nationale d'Herstal. From the jungles of South East Asia, to the deserts of the Middle East, and the icy battlefields of the Falklands, this study explores the origins, development, combat use, and legacy of the FN MAG machine gun, a dominant weapon in its field for more than a half-century.


Glock

Glock

Author: Paul M. Barrett

Publisher: Crown

Published: 2013-01-15

Total Pages: 322

ISBN-13: 0307719952

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The Glock pistol is America’s Gun. It has been rhapsodized by hip-hop artists and coveted by cops and crooks alike. Created in 1982 by Gaston Glock, the pistol arrived in America at a fortuitous time. Law enforcement agencies had concluded that their agents and officers, armed with standard six-round revolvers, were getting "outgunned" by drug dealers with semi-automatic pistols; they needed a new gun. With its lightweight plastic frame and large-capacity spring-action magazine, the Glock was the gun of the future. You could drop it underwater, toss it from a helicopter, or leave it out in the snow, and it would still fire. It was reliable, accurate, lightweight, and cheaper to produce than Smith and Wesson’s revolver. Filled with corporate intrigue, political maneuvering, Hollywood glitz, bloody shoot-outs—and an attempt on Gaston Glock’s life by a former lieutenant—Glock is not only the inside account of how Glock the company went about marketing its pistol to police agencies and later the public, but also a compelling chronicle of the evolution of gun culture in America.


Ju 88 Aces of World War 2

Ju 88 Aces of World War 2

Author: Robert Forsyth

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing

Published: 2019-01-22

Total Pages: 97

ISBN-13: 1472829212

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The fully illustrated story of the Luftwaffe aces piloting Germany’s versatile heavy fighter attacking Allied convoys and defending the Reich against bombing raids.


Machine Guns

Machine Guns

Author: Ian V. Hogg

Publisher:

Published: 2002

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780873492881

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Follow the development of the machine gun from its earliest beginnings and discover its influence on warfare as retired Master Gunner Ian Hogg narrates a chronological history. Explore the various designs, mechanisms, strengths and weaknesses and employment of machine guns made around the world. Learn the history behind Germany's general-purpose machine gun and why countries all over the world copied it. Includes detailed specifications and background information on each model with a 16-page colour section of historically significant guns.


Kursk 1943

Kursk 1943

Author: Roman Toeppel

Publisher: Helion

Published: 2021-11-15

Total Pages: 230

ISBN-13: 9781914059629

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The Battle of Kursk in the summer of 1943 was one of the greatest battles in military history involving more than 3 million soldiers, 10,000 tanks and 8,000 aircraft. While many books have been written on this allegedly most decisive battle of the Second World War, many legends live on, above all because of misleading information that recur in most publications - even in the most recent ones. Based on almost 20 years of research reassessing the primary sources, Roman Toeppel sheds light on the phase of decision-making, the preparations and the development of the battle in an engaging style that grips the reader's attention from the first page on. The author concentrates on little-known developments and events leading the reader to astonishing results. He also gives entirely new insights into the historiographic appraisal of this battle, putting thoroughly researched facts against erroneous popular beliefs, myths and legends that have been passed down among historians for generations.