MG3

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MG3
MG3
general information
Military designation: MG3
Country of operation: Germany, Pakistan, Turkey and others
Developer / Manufacturer: Rheinmetall
Manufacturer country: Germany, u. a. Pakistan, Turkey
Production time: 1966 to 1977 in Germany; Licensed production in Pakistan and Turkey
Weapon Category: Machine gun
Furnishing
Overall length: 1225 mm
Weight: (unloaded) 11.5 kg
Sight length : 430 mm
Barrel length : 565 mm
Technical specifications
Caliber : 7.62 × 51 mm NATO
Possible magazine fillings : 120, 150 cartridges
Ammunition supply : Ammunition belt
Cadence : 1200 rounds / min
Fire types: Continuous fire
Number of trains : 4th
Twist : right
Visor : Open sights
Closure : Support roller lock
Charging principle: Recoil loader with a briefly returning barrel
Lists on the subject
Disassembled MG3 in a Bundeswehr room (1982)
 A MG42 converted to MG3
A MG42 converted to MG3

The MG3 is the standard machine gun (MG) introduced by the Bundeswehr in 1969 . It is a further development of the German MG42 machine gun from the Second World War. It was manufactured by the Rheinmetall company . The MG3 was exported to numerous countries. Among other things, it is still manufactured under license in Pakistan by POF (Pakistan Ordnance Factories) and in Turkey by MKE. The weapon was modified accordingly. With the MG 74, the Austrian Armed Forces developed a comparable weapon from the MG42. Furthermore, under the designation "MG3 KWS", the manufacturer in cooperation with other suppliers offers a possibility to increase the combat value of the weapon .

After the Second World War, Rheinmetall in Düsseldorf began manufacturing the MG42 / 58 and MG42 / 59 in NATO caliber 7.62 × 51 mm. Since there were no more technical drawings of the MG42, the MG was constructed using reverse engineering using the existing MG42. These weapons came to the Bundeswehr as MG1. Original weapons that were taken over from the stocks of the Federal Border Guard and adapted to the NATO caliber were given the designation MG2. The direct forerunner of the MG3 was the MG1 A3. In addition to the DM1 belt, it could also use the M13 and DM60 decay belts and had a modified recoil amplifier. The MG1 A3 were produced around 1965 and later rebuilt; from 1966 the MG3 came into the force. The other predecessor weapons were gradually converted to this status. The MG3 was produced in Germany at Rheinmetall until 1977. It is still used by the Bundeswehr, for example. B. when deployed in Afghanistan .

The successor to the Bundeswehr is the MG5 .

technology

Cutaway model of the closure

The first change compared to the MG42 was the introduction of the 7.62 × 51 mm NATO caliber for the MG. Other changes affected the barrel, housing, cover, breech, bipod and recoil amplifier .

The theoretical rate of fire has been reduced slightly from 1500 to 1200 rounds / min, among other things by using a heavier bolt and installing a different closing spring. Due to necessary activities, such as changing the hot barrel with the cold barrel in the barrel protector, which must be carried out after 150 rounds of continuous fire with combat ammunition or 100 rounds of maneuver ammunition without cooling down to hand warmth, this value drops in practice to around 300 rounds / min .

The weapon can be used as vehicle armament , hand weapon of the infantry on bipods or shoulder-supported, for air defense on tripods and rotating ring mounts as well as on a portable field mount with a corner mirror and optical magnifying sight. In addition, two machine guns on an axially parallel mount (twin base mount or "ZwiSoLa") can be used simultaneously with mechanical remote control for anti-aircraft defense. The units of the Bundeswehr also use the MG3 as an on-board machine gun in helicopters of the Bell UH-1 D type during missions abroad (see also Doorgunner ). It used to be used in the CH-53G , but the M3M is now in use there. Since the weapon represents a significant part of the group 's firepower and the operation (target acquisition, ammunition supply, transport, etc.) is complex, the MG3 is usually assigned at least two soldiers.

The aperture version for mounting on armored vehicles is MG3A1. When used on vehicles, the weapon is usually operated via a remote-controlled weapon station from KMW . It is also possible to fire practice ammunition with the MG3; To do this, the recoil booster only needs to be replaced by a special additional device (OB recoil booster) to ensure that the weapon functions reliably.

Assemblies

The MG3 consists of eleven assemblies and accessories:

Equipment:

  • Bipod
  • Shoulder strap
  • Pipe guards
  • Carrying bag with contents
  • Cartridge box DM 2
  • Belt drum
Sectional drawing of components MG3

literature

  • Rolf Abresch, Ralph Wilhelm (ed.): Modern hand weapons of the Bundeswehr. Report-Verlag, Frankfurt am Main u. a. 2001, ISBN 3-932385-10-1 .
  • Dieter Stockfisch: The Reibert . The manual for the German soldier. Army, Air Force, Navy, Armed Forces Base, Central Medical Service. Mittler, Berlin a. a. 2007, ISBN 978-3-8132-0878-8 .
  • Jan-Phillipp Weisswange: Hand weapons and anti-tank hand weapons of the Bundeswehr. History, tactics, technology. Mittler, Hamburg 2014 (2nd updated and expanded edition), ISBN 978-3-8132-0951-8
  • Central service regulation (ZDv) 3/14. The machine gun.
  • Günter Wollert, Reiner Lidschun, Wilfried Copenhagen : Rifle weapons (1945–1985) . In: Illustrated encyclopedia of rifles from around the world . 3. Edition. tape 1 . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1993, ISBN 3-89488-058-9 , p. 154 ff .
  • Terry Gander: Modern Machine Guns: An International Review . 1st edition. Motorbuch, 2000, ISBN 3-613-02013-0 , p. 51 ff .
  • Chris McNab: MG 34 and MG 42 Machine Guns , Bloomsbury Publishing, 2012, ISBN 978-1-78200-309-0 . 82 pages (online PDF) ( Memento from May 15, 2018 in the Internet Archive )

Web links

Commons : MG3  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Jan-P. Weisswange: MG3 combat value increase. In: "STRATEGIE & TECHNIK" blog. Research Center for International, German and European Security Policy (FIDES), August 24, 2013, accessed on January 23, 2016 .
  2. ^ McNab, p. 26
  3. ↑ Hand weapons for the Bundeswehr - machine guns. esut.de, accessed on May 20, 2020 .