The MG 34 is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower – the Einheitsmaschinengewehr – and is generally considered the world's first general-purpose machine gun (GPMG). Both the MG 34 and MG 42 were erroneously nicknamed "Spandau" by Allied troops, a carryover from the World War I nickname for the MG 08, which was produced at the Spandau Arsenal.
The MG 42 is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machine gun used extensively by the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS during the second half of World War II. Entering production in 1942, it was intended to supplement and replace the earlier MG 34, which was more expensive and took much longer to produce, but both weapons were produced until the end of World War II.
The Maschinengewehr 30, or MG 30 was a German-designed machine gun that saw some service with various armed forces in the 1930s. It was also modified to become the standard German aircraft gun as the MG 15 and MG 17. It is most notable as the design pattern that led to the MG 34 and MG 42, and thus is one of the major ancestors of many of the weapons in service which would later find widespread use into the 21st century.
The FN Minimi is a Belgian 5.56mm or 7.62mm light machine gun, also classified as a squad automatic weapon developed by Ernest Vervier for FN Herstal. Introduced in the late 1970s, it is in service in more than 75 countries. The weapon is manufactured at the FN facility in Herstal and their U.S. subsidiary FN Manufacturing LLC.
The Stoner 63 is a 5.56×45mm NATO modular weapon system. Using a variety of modular components, it can be configured as an assault rifle, carbine, top-fed light machine gun, belt-fed squad automatic weapon, or as a vehicle mounted weapon. Also known as the M63, XM22, XM23, XM207 or the Mk 23 Mod 0 machine gun, it was designed by Eugene Stoner in the early 1960s. Cadillac Gage was the primary manufacturer of the Stoner 63 during its history. The Stoner 63 saw very limited combat use by United States forces during the Vietnam War. A few were also sold to law enforcement agencies.
The RPK, sometimes inaccurately termed the RPK-47, is a Soviet 7.62×39mm light machine gun that was developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the early 1960s, in parallel with the AKM assault rifle. It was created to standardize the small arms inventory of the Soviet Army, where it replaced the 7.62×39mm RPD machine gun. The RPK continues to be used by the military of the post-Soviet states and certain African and Asian nations. The RPK is also manufactured in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, and Serbia.
The M1917 Browning machine gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; it has also been used by other nations. It was a crew-served, belt-fed, water-cooled machine gun that served alongside the much lighter air-cooled Browning M1919. It was used at the battalion level, and often mounted on vehicles. There were two main iterations: the M1917, which was used in World War I and the M1917A1, which was used thereafter. The M1917, which was used on some aircraft as well as in a ground role, had a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. The M1917A1 had a cyclic rate of 450 to 600 rounds per minute.
The Maschinengewehr 08, or MG 08, was the German Army's standard machine gun in World War I and is an adaptation of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim gun. It was produced in a number of variants during the war. The MG 08 served during World War II as a heavy machine gun in many German infantry divisions, although by the end of the war it had mostly been relegated to second-rate fortress units.
The MG 3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 that fired the 7.92×57mm Mauser round.
The Heckler & Koch MG4 is a belt-fed 5.56 mm light machine gun designed and developed by German firearm manufacturer Heckler & Koch. It was developed in the late 1990s and first seen publicly in September 2001. It has been selected to replace the 7.62 mm MG3 general-purpose machine gun in the Bundeswehr at the squad support level; it will complement the MG3 in other roles. It will also be the secondary armament of the new Puma infantry fighting vehicle. Overall, it is designed to be light, provide maximum safety to the user and function reliably under adverse conditions using a wide range of ammunition from different manufacturers, without the need to adjust the gas system. It was known as the MG43 prior to its adoption by the Bundeswehr.
A medium machine gun (MMG), in modern terms, usually refers to a belt-fed machine gun firing a full-powered rifle cartridge, and is considered "medium" in weight. Medium machine guns are light enough to be infantry-portable, but still cumbersome enough to require a crew for optimal operational efficiency.
The Sturmgewehr 57 is a selective fire battle rifle designed by Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft of Switzerland. The Stgw. 57 assault rifle uses a roller-delayed blowback system similar to the blowback system of the Heckler & Koch G3 and CETME rifles. As an assault rifle, the model AM 55 entered service in the Swiss Army in three designations F. ass. 57 7.5mm and 7.5mm Stgw. 57. Technologically, the Stgw. 57 was the mechanical and design basis for the export-variations of the SG 510 family of small arms. After thirty-three years, from 1957 to 1990, the Swiss Army replaced the Stgw. 57 with the SIG SG 550, a lighter-weight assault rifle.
The Karabiner Modell 1931 is a magazine-fed, straight-pull bolt-action rifle. It was the standard-issue rifle of the Swiss armed forces from 1933 until 1958 though examples remained in service into the 1970s. It has a 6-round removable magazine, and is chambered for the 7.5×55mm Swiss Gewehrpatrone 1911 or GP 11, a cartridge with ballistic qualities similar to the 7.62×51mm NATO/.308 Winchester cartridge. Each rifle included a 6-round detachable box magazine with matching stamped serial number. A stripper clip can be used to load the magazine from the top of the receiver.
The HK21 is a German 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, developed in 1961 by small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and based on the G3 battle rifle. The weapon is in use with the armed forces of several Asian, African and Latin American countries. It was also license-manufactured by Fábrica de Braço de Prata in Portugal as the m/968 and in Mexico by SEDENA as the MG21. In the German military (Bundeswehr) and the federal police (Bundespolizei) it is designated "G8".
The Parabellum MG 14 was a 7.92 mm caliber World War I machine gun built by Deutsche Waffen und Munitionsfabriken. It was a redesign of the Maschinengewehr 08 machine gun system intended for use on aircraft and zeppelins. Like the earlier Vickers machine gun, it used a toggle action that broke upwards rather than downwards, the opposite way to the MG 08, making for a much more compact receiver. The fusee spring was replaced with an internal spring design, the breech block was completely different and the spent cartridges dropped out the bottom of the receiver, rather than being ejected forward through a hole under the breech from the receiver. There appear to be no action or receiver parts interchangeable with the MG 08. The MG 08's belt-style ammunition feed was enclosed in a drum, the recoil casing was lightened and the cooling jacket was modified for air- instead of water-cooling. The rate of fire was 700 rounds/minute. The belt was reduced to 30 mm in width.
The 7.5 mm Maschinengewehr 1951 or Mg 51 is a general-purpose machine gun manufactured by W+F of Switzerland. The weapon was introduced into Swiss service when the Swiss Army initiated a competition for a new service machine gun to replace the MG 11 heavy machine gun and the Furrer M25 light machine gun adopted in 1911 and 1925 respectively.
The Maschinengewehr Modell 1911 or MG 11 is a Swiss heavy machine gun which was introduced before and during World War I. The MG 11 has a close constructive relationship with the German MG 08 heavy machine gun.
The Heckler & Koch MG5 is a belt-fed 7.62×51mm NATO general-purpose machine gun manufactured by German firearm manufacturer Heckler & Koch. The MG5 resembles the 5.56×45mm NATO Heckler & Koch MG4 light machine gun, which was adopted into German military service in 2015.
The Lmg.-Pistole Mod. 1941/44 – also known as Furrer MP 41/44, MP41/44 and LMG-Pistole – was the first submachine gun manufactured in Switzerland for the Swiss Army. The weapon used a complicated toggle-operated short recoil mechanism for its operation and it corresponds to that of the Furrer M25, which is why it is also called Lmg.-Pistole.
Adolf Furrer was a Swiss military officer and small arms designer. He used to be the director of the Waffenfabrik Bern and held the rank of Oberstbrigadier in the Swiss Army.
Switzerland 
