With the MG 34 the German Wehrmacht introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower
- the general-purpose machine gun (GPMG). In itself the MG 34 was an excellent weapon: an air-cooled recoil-operated machine gun that could deliver killing firepower at ranges of more than 1 000m. Yet simply by changing its mount & feed mechanism the operator could radically transform its function. On its standard bipod it was a light machine gun ideal for infantry assaults; on a tripod it could serve as a sustained-fire medium machine gun. During World War II the MG 34 was superseded by a new GPMG
- the MG 42. More efficient to manufacture & more robust it had a blistering 1 200rpm rate of fire. Nicknamed Hitlers buzzsaw by Allied troops it was arguably the finest all-round GPMG ever produced & alongside the MG 34 it inflicted heavy casualties. Featuring specially commissioned full-colour artwork & drawing upon numerous technical manuals & first-hand accounts this study explores the technological development varied roles & lasting influence of the revolutionary MG 34 & MG 42 machine guns & their postwar successors.