Aha, the Russians had more MG's eh?
Well maybe if you count the relatively mainsteam weapons sure, but the Germans had a lot of machine guns originally used for Aircraft converted for ground roles and used effectively. They also used several czech designs that they employed effectively on the battlefield. Lucky for them, the czech guns already came in the 7.92mm mauser calibre.
Now I'm not saying that we shouldn't model those machine guns, nor am i saying these should be given the same attention as the mainstream russian machine guns, but i'm merely saying the Germans had more then just mg34's and mg42's
.
Some of the not-so known MG's
The MG 26(t) light machine gun. The German designation for the ZB 1926. Around 32,700 saw service.
The MG 30(t) light machine gun. The German designation for the ZB 1930. Around 31,200 were captured, with an additional 10,400 produced until 1941. Romania had around 17,150 in service as well.
(notice the similarities to the Bren, as this gun was the basis for the Bren design... this COULD be a bren but i doubt it,)
The MG 37(t) heavy machine gun. The German designation for the ZB 1937. Around 6,000 to 10,000 were captured by Germany following the occupation, with another 6,500 being produced until 1942. Romania also had about 8,000 of these in service.
(a personal favorite)
The MG 30 light machine gun. Captured after the occupation of Austria, but ironically enough were originally sold to Austriaby Germany. Around 10,000 saw service.
The MG 15 light machine gun. Traditionally used as aircraft main armament or as tailguns for bombers and heavy fighters, although in this case converted for ground use. About 17,650 of these were in service.
The MG 17 light (?) machine gun. Traditionally used as aircraft main armament or as tailguns for bombers and heavy fighters, although in this case converted for ground use. Few differences differentiate it from the MG15, although 2 of the most noticeable are the increased rate of fire and the gun is generally belt fed, without the use of a magazine. Around 24,270 saw service.
The MG 81 machine gun and MG 81Z twin machine gun (used in the AA role for the most part). The MG 81 was another luftwaffe conversion for ground purposes, as it too became obsolete (just like the MG 15's and 17's it replaced) it saw it's way into use by the ground forces as converted machine guns and AA guns. Around 33,000+ saw service.
(A single-barreled version of the mg81. This isn't the only form the mg81 single barrel came in, the bipod was often placed further back and it often employed a simple wooden stock).
(the twin version without any sort of mount)
The MG 131 heavy machine gun. Giving the luftwaffes MG 131 a bipod and a shoulder piece produced a potent weapon for the German ground forces. Able to accept several ammunition types such as AP, Incendiary, and HE, it was good vs. lightly armoured vehicles, buildings of certain materials, and of course infantry. Fed by 250 round belts (which could be linked), it was a devastating weapon. It is unkown exactly how many of the 145,000 (give or take) produced found their way into the soldiers hands.
(without any bipod or stock)
The MG 151 AA gun. The 15mm and 20mm MG 151's were used in the ground role as AA mounts. It is unclear how many were used.
--continued on next post--
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