Did the Germans run out of ammo?

No. German soldiers never ran out of ammunition. Except in Stalingrad at the end of the siege. The German Sixth Army needed 200 tons of food and ammunition per day, but the Luftwaffe could only deliver up to (average) of 100 tons per day.

How many rounds can a MG42 shoot?

You’ve been in combat long enough to know that the German gun spits out 1,550 rounds of high-velocity, 7.92 millimeter ammunition per minute, a rate of fire that roughly works out to 25 rounds per second.

How did the MG42 fire so fast?

Originally Answered: Why can the MG42 shoot so fast? It is recoil operated with a booster at the muzzle—the recoil energy of the round cycles the action, and gas pressure trapped inside the booster over the muzzle helps cycle the barrel as well. The combination means an exceptionally fast cycle time.

Why does Germany still use the MG42?

This ability made it extremely effective in providing suppressive fire, and its unique sound led to it being nicknamed “Hitler’s buzzsaw”. The MG 42 was adopted by several armed organizations after the war, and was both copied and built under licence….

Which is better mg34 or MG 42?

Designed and put into service in 1942, the MG 42 with its stamped metal parts was cheaper, easier to produce, more reliable, more user-friendly and arguably more lethal than the MG 34. The new gun boasted a nearly 100\% increase in range to 2000 meters and 50\% increase in rate of fire to 1500 rounds per minute.

How did the MG-42 affect American soldiers during the war?

When faced with such a scenario, many GIs were simply frozen with fear. In fact, the MG-42 was so intimidating that the War Department created a training film to combat the weapon’s psychological effect on soldiers. The film, which downplayed the German machine gun’s lethality, was shown to infantry replacements that had not seen combat.

How good was the German MG-42 machine gun?

In spite of its tendency to overheat, the MG-42 was an excellent weapon that was light-years of ahead of the US counterpart, the Browning M-1919A4 machine gun. Germany produced roughly 400,000 MG-42s during the war, some of which are still in active service.

Why was the MG-42 machine gun called the buzz saw?

Not so for the MG-42 machine gun, which received a more ominous nickname that left little doubt about the capabilities of the weapon. German troops called it the “ Knochensäge ”—“bone saw” in English. GIs altered the translation and began calling it “Buzz Saw” or “Hitler’s Buzz Saw.”

Why did the Wehrmacht dip their guns in lacquer to prevent rust?

The unprotected steel would have normally soon rusted but, as no soldier in the German Wehrmacht could have rust on his arms and ammunition, the Aryan masterminds of the greater German Reich had come upon the solution of dipping the cartridges in transparent lacquer to prevent rusting.