The MG34 (German: Maschinengewehr 34) is a German 7.92mm light machine gun from the Second World War. The first prototypes of this weapon were made in 1934, and serial production began in 1934 and continued until 1945. The initial velocity of the missile was up to 755 m / s, and the theoretical rate of fire - 900 rounds per minute. Scooters firing range from a gun mounted on a tripod was up to 1,800 meters. The weight of the weapon without a base or tripod is 11.5 kilograms.
The MG34 was developed by the Mauser company as a new, universal, light machine gun of the German army, intended to replace the MG 08 and the LMG 08/15 from the World War I times. The work on the weapon progressed very quickly and already in 1934, i.e. a few months after its commencement, it was completed. As a result, however, a highly innovative weapon was created that could be fed with ammunition from both a drum magazine and an ammunition belt, could be mounted on a tripod (acting as a heavy machine gun), and be used based on a bipod. What's more - the MG34 could fire both single and continuous fire. In terms of performance, reliability and ballistic properties, it was one of the best weapons in its class in the world, but it was also time-consuming to manufacture and required careful handling. Hence, the MG42 rifle was developed, which was largely based on the MG34, but was simpler to use and manufacture, and cheaper. The MG34 machine gun was the staple rifle of the German army from the beginning of World War II, and despite being put into production in 1943, the MG42 was still manufactured and used as a secondary weapon on German armored vehicles and tanks.
The 98k carbine (other designations: Kar98k or K98k) is a German 7.92 mm bolt-action rifle from the interwar period and World War II. The first prototypes of this weapon were created in the 1920s, but serial production for the German army began in 1935 and lasted until 1945. Over 11 million were created in its course. pieces of this weapon! The initial velocity of the projectile fired from this rifle was up to 1100 m / s. The total length of the Kar98k is approx. 111 cm, and the weight of the unloaded weapon slightly exceeded 4 kg.
The 98k rifle was developed at the Mauser-Werke factory, in fact based on the Gewehr 98 rifle, which was used by the German army in 1898! The main aim of the new rifle was to shorten its length, and in particular to shorten the barrel, which would improve the ergonomics of its use. At the same time, the magazine feeder was also improved. Interestingly, the rifle was initially produced for export, and its production for the German Wehrmacht began only in 1935. It quickly became the basic repeating rifle of the German army and remained in this role until the end of World War II. It is worth adding that during the war its design was systematically simplified, which, however, did not significantly affect its ballistic properties. The rifle 98k has earned a reputation as a solid, reliable and accurate, but generating considerable recoil, which could have unpleasant consequences for a poorly trained shooter.
MP 40 (Ger. Maschinenpistole 40 ), commonly known as the "Schmeiser", is a German 9mm submachine gun from the World War II period. The first prototypes of this weapon were created in 1939, and serial production began in 1940 and lasted until 1944. The initial velocity of the projectile fired from this weapon was up to 380-400 m / s, and the theoretical rate of fire was up to 500-550 rounds per minute. Effective firing range it was up to 150-200 meters. The weight of the loaded weapon is 4.61 kilograms.
The MP 40 was developed for the needs of the German armed forces in order to replace the MP 18 and MP 28 submachine guns obsolete in the late 1930s, but above all as a much more simplified and more reliable development of the MP 38 pistol, while retaining almost all of its advantages ballistic properties. However, the main design change concerned the breech chamber, which was much cheaper to produce, and at the same time minimized the risk of jamming the weapon. Ultimately, the MP 40 turned out to be a successful weapon, used by the Wehrmacht on virtually all fronts of World War II. It is worth noting that Heinrich Vollmer is widely regarded as the main designer of the MP 40, but Hugo Schmeisser and Berthold Geipel also contributed to the creation of this weapon. On the other hand, the production of the MP 40 was primarily the responsibility of the Steyr-Mannlicher plants, but also Erma Werke and Haenel.