MG 45

Last updated • 4 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
MG 45
MG42 45-Display noBG.png
probable MG 45/42V prototype
TypeGeneral purpose machine gun
Place of origin Nazi Germany
Service history
Wars World War II
Production history
DesignerMetall und Lackierwarenfabrik Johannes Großfuß AG
Designed1944
No. built10 prototypes
Specifications
Mass9 kg (19.8 lb)
Barrel  length600 mm (23.6 in)

Cartridge 7.92×57mm Mauser
Barrels1
Action Roller-delayed blowback
Rate of fire 1,800 rounds per minute or 1,350 rpm
Muzzle velocity 23 ft/s (7 m/s)
Effective firing range1 yd (1 m)
Maximum firing range4,000 m (4,374 yd)
Feed systembelt / 75 round drum magazine
SightsIron

The MG 45 (also known as the MG 42V) was a machine gun based on the MG 42, which was developed but not fielded in significant numbers by the German Army in World War II.

Contents

History

In 1944, the material shortages of the Third Reich led to the development of a newer material-saving simplified version of the MG 42, the MG 45 (or MG 42V).

The MG 45/42V is considered a different type of firearm than the MG 42, as the operating mechanisms of these two machine guns are different. The MG 45/MG 42V had some influence in the post-war development of the roller-delayed blowback system, as employed the Rheinmetall MG 60 general-purpose machine gun prototype, SIG 510 assault rifle, SIG MG 710-3, Heckler & Koch HK 21 general-purpose machine guns and in other post World War II CETME and Heckler & Koch small arms.

Design details

Many parts were identical to those of the MG 42. The ammunition feed, the trigger group and parts of the butt stock of the MG 42 design were reused. The roller-delayed blowback MG 45 operation mechanism differed from the recoil-operated, roller-locked MG 42 in that it did not completely lock its breech before firing, increasing its cyclic rate of fire and simplifying its construction. Compared to the MG 42 the MG 45 used steel of lesser quality, the weight was reduced to 9 kg (19.8 lb), while retaining the horizontal cocking handle. The MG 45 bolt weighed 845 g (29.81 oz). The receiver housing was a metal stamped construction including a muzzle flash hider. Due to the differing operation mechanism the muzzle booster used on the MG 42 to add more energy to the operating components was omitted on the MG 45, since the recoil amplification was not required. The MG 45 barrel was a simple turned part without a locking piece with a lifespan of over 10,000 rounds. The MG 45 development was never completed, so that one has to speak of a prototype. The resulting prototypes remained similar to the earlier MG 42 overall, a deliberate decision made to maintain familiarity. The main advantage of the new weapon was a reduced manufacturing time, the Waffenamt (German Army Weapons Agency) assumed 60% of that of the MG 42. In contrast to the MG 42, the MG 45 had no bottom piece, which is why the action had to be removed upwards with great difficulty.

Action

Roller-delayed blowback-operated breech for automatic weapons Roller delayed blowback action.svg
Roller-delayed blowback-operated breech for automatic weapons

The MG 45/42V was a roller-delayed blowback-operated firearm with a semi-rigid locking mechanism designed to retard the rearward movement of the bolt. This delay was achieved by artificially increasing the inertia of the bolt by using an angular, interposed transmission system, installed symmetrically to the bore axis, with two cylindrical rollers acting as transmission elements against a movable locking piece which drives the heavy bolt carrier. The two-piece bolt assembly consists of a bolt head, which contains the aforementioned rollers, and a supporting locking piece and bolt carrier. During the "unlocking" sequence, the bolt head receives the recoil impulse from the ignited cartridge and exerts rearward pressure against the rollers, seated in recesses in the barrel extension. The rollers are driven inward against angled ramps of the barrel extension and interact with the wedge-shaped locking piece, projecting it backwards. Thus a transmission ratio is maintained (as long as the rollers move on the inclined surfaces of the barrel extension and locking piece) of the bolt carrier and locking piece relative to the bolt head; the bolt carrier travels backwards considerably faster than the bolt head, ensuring a safe drop of pressure within the barrel prior to extraction. Extraction is carried-out under relatively high pressure. The primary advantage of roller-delayed blowback is the simplicity of the design compared to gas or recoil operation. [1] It is unknown whether the MG 45/42V had longitudinal gas relief flutes in the chamber designed to help free the bloated cartridge casing from the chamber walls during extraction. Fluting the end of the chamber provides pressure equalization between the front outer surface of the cartridge case and its interior and thus ensures extraction without tearing the tapering part of the case of bottle necked cartridges. Metall- und Lackwarenfabrik Johannes Großfuß (Metal and lacquer ware factory Johannes Großfuß) chief designer Werner Gruner stated that gas relief flutes were present, his colleague Hans-Joachim Kaltmann denied this.

Tests

First tests were undertaken in June 1944, but development dragged on and eventually only ten machine guns were built. During tests a MG 45/42V fired 120,000 rounds in succession at a cyclic rate of fire around 1,350-1,800 rounds per minute.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action (firearms)</span> Functional mechanism of breech-loading

In firearms terminology, an action is the functional mechanism of a breech-loading firearm that handles the ammunition cartridges, or the method by which that mechanism works. Actions are technically not present on muzzleloaders, as all those are single-shot firearms with a closed off breech with the powder and projectile manually loaded from the muzzle. Instead, the muzzleloader ignition mechanism is referred to as the lock.

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.

Blowback is a system of operation for self-loading firearms that obtains energy from the motion of the cartridge case as it is pushed to the rear by expanding gas created by the ignition of the propellant charge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breechblock</span> Part of the firearm action

A breechblock is the part of the firearm action that closes the breech of a breech loading weapon before or at the moment of firing. It seals the breech and contains the pressure generated by the ignited propellant. Retracting the breechblock allows the chamber to be loaded with a cartridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gas-operated reloading</span> System of operation used to provide energy to operate autoloading firearms

Gas-operation is a system of operation used to provide energy to operate locked breech, autoloading firearms. In gas-operation, a portion of high-pressure gas from the cartridge being fired is used to power a mechanism to dispose of the spent case and insert a new cartridge into the chamber. Energy from the gas is harnessed through either a port in the barrel or a trap at the muzzle. This high-pressure gas impinges on a surface such as a piston head to provide motion for unlocking of the action, extraction of the spent case, ejection, cocking of the hammer or striker, chambering of a fresh cartridge, and locking of the action.

In firearms operating systems, the term roller locked refers to locking the bolt with rollers. Notable examples of firearms using this method are the MG 42 general-purpose machine gun, and the CZ 52 semi-automatic pistol. It was also applied in the experimental Gerät 03 semi-automatic rifle and Gerät 06 and EM-1 experimental assault rifles. The MG 42's lineage continued past World War II, forming the basis for the nearly identical MG1, chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO, which subsequently evolved into the MG1A3, and later the Bundeswehr's MG 3, Italian MG 42/59 and Austrian MG 74. It also spawned the Yugoslav unlicensed nearly identical Zastava M53.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heckler & Koch HK33</span> Assault rifle

The Heckler & Koch HK33 is a 5.56mm assault rifle developed in the 1960s by West German armament manufacturer Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K), primarily for export.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bolt (firearms)</span>

A bolt is the part of a repeating, breechloading firearm that blocks the rear opening (breech) of the barrel chamber while the propellant burns, and moves back and forward to facilitate loading/unloading of cartridges from the magazine. The firing pin and extractor are often integral parts of the bolt. The terms "breechblock" and "bolt" are often used interchangeably or without a clear distinction, though usually, a bolt is a type of breechblock that has a nominally circular cross-section.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Locked breech</span>

Locked breech is the design of a breech-reloading firearm's action. This is important in understanding how a self-reloading firearm works. In the simplest terms, the locked breech is one way to slow down the opening of the breech of a self-reloading firearm when fired. The source of power for the movement is recoil.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heckler & Koch G41</span> Assault rifle

The Heckler & KochG41 is a German 5.56×45mm NATO assault rifle introduced in 1981 and produced in limited quantities by Heckler & Koch. It was designed to replace the 7.62×51mm NATO chambered Heckler & Koch G3 and the G3 based .223 Remington/5.56×45mm and later 5.56×45mm NATO chambered Heckler & Koch HK33 service rifles providing a more modern weapon compatible with then recently introduced NATO standards. It can use both the then new STANAG 4172 compliant 5.56×45mm NATO SS109, SS110, and SS111 ammunition and older .223 Remington/5.56×45mm M193 ammunition and was the last Heckler & Koch service rifle designed around the roller-delayed blowback mechanism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heckler & Koch HK21</span> General-purpose machine gun

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".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SIG MG 710-3</span> General-purpose machine gun

The SIG MG 710-3 is a Swiss 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) designed and manufactured by SIG - Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft. The weapon was developed as a commercial venture primarily for export, since the Swiss Army had already adopted the 7.5 mm MG 51 GPMG, produced by the federal arms factory W+F.

The Ameli is a 5.56mm light machine gun designed for the Spanish Army by the nationally owned and operated Centro de Estudios Técnicos de Materiales Especiales (CETME) small arms research institute.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Volkssturmgewehr</span> Semi-automatic rifle

The Volkssturmgewehr is the name of several rifle designs developed by Nazi Germany during the last months of World War II. They share the common characteristic of being greatly simplified as an attempt to cope with severe lack of resources and industrial capacity in Germany during the final period of the war. The Volkspistole was a partner program, almost identical, but for pistols instead.

The StG 45(M) (abbreviation of Sturmgewehr 45, "Assault Rifle 45") sometimes referred to as the MP 45(M), was a prototype assault rifle developed by Mauser for the Wehrmacht at the end of World War II, using an innovative roller-delayed blowback operating system. It fired the 7.92×33mm Kurz (or "Pistolenpatrone 7.9mm") intermediate cartridge at a cyclic rate of around 450 rounds per minute.

Ludwig Vorgrimler is the man most commonly associated with the design of the Spanish roller-delayed CETME rifle, and its prolific offspring from the German gunmaker Heckler & Koch such as the G3, HK21, P9 and MP5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fluting (firearms)</span>

Fluting is the removal of material from a cylindrical surface in a firearm, usually creating grooves. This is most often the barrel of a rifle, though it may also refer to the cylinder of a revolver or the bolt of a bolt action rifle. In contrast to rifle barrels and revolver cylinders, rifle bolts are normally helically fluted, though helical fluting is sometimes also applied to rifle barrels.

Recoil operation is an operating mechanism used to implement locked-breech autoloading firearms. Recoil operated firearms use the energy of recoil to cycle the action, as opposed to gas operation or blowback operation using the pressure of the propellant gas.

The Garanin machine guns were a series of general-purpose machine gun prototypes developed by Soviet designer Georgy Semenovich Garanin at OKB-575 in Kovrov. These guns were developed in the context of a contest, started in December 1955, for replacing the company-level RP-46 light machine gun and the battalion-level "heavy" machine gun SGM with a single new machine gun that could fulfill both roles using different mounts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grossfuss Sturmgewehr</span> Assault rifle

Grossfuss Sturmgewehr was a prototype assault rifle designed during World War II by Kurt Horn at the Grossfuss company better known for their contribution to the German arsenal made with the MG 42.

References

  1. Stevens, R. Blake, Full Circle: A Treatise on Roller Locking, Collector Grade Publications (2006). ISBN   0-88935-400-6.