Description
M53 (MG42 – Maschinengewehr 42)
German universal machine gun from World War II. The inability to equip the army with a large number of MG 34 machine guns, whose production turned out to be too laborious, expensive and slow, prompted the command of German land forces to seek cheaper and easier-to-manufacture weapons. MG 42 turned out to be such a rifle. It is not certain who was the author of one of the best machine guns of World War II. Probably Louis Stang from the Rheinmetall company used the patent of the Polish designer Edward Stecke from 1937. The new universal rifle (mounted on a bipod or tripod) turned out to be an excellent weapon: accurate, high rate of fire and reliable in operation.
It was first used by soldiers from * Afri-Korps at the Battle of Ghazala in May 1942.