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FG 42
This automatic rifle was produced in limited numbers for the German Luftwaffe's Fallschirmjäger (paratrooper) units during the Second World War. The slim in-line design, coupled with the side mounted 20 round magazine made it one of the more distinctive designs of its era. Early models had a sharply angled pistol grip (the idea of which was to allow paratroopers to fire while descending, though it is unclear how successful this was in practice) and plastic furniture, while later models had a standard grip and wooden furniture. In addition the weapon could also be fitted with a ZF4 or ZFG42 scope. Both versions also featured an integral bipod and bayonet, the bayonet permanently mounted and deployed in a manner similar to that on the Russian SKS rifle.
The FG42 was intended to be a universal weapon, merging the capabilities of a submachine gun, machine gun and precision rifle; designers complained they were being asked to make an "Eierlegende Wollmilchsau" (a egg-laying woolly dairy pig) and the Heer refused to participate in the program, stating that a gun meeting the Luftwaffe's requirements could only be found in utopia. In practice, the light weight of the FG42 coupled to use of a full-sized rifle round and offset magazine made fully-automatic fire extremely hard to manage and could severely damage the lightweight operating mechanism, and practical use was largely restricted to semi-auto. Captured FG42s were studied after the war by the US military, with one called T44 converted to belt feed using a side-mounted MG42 feed cover and used to gather data which would ultimately be used to design the M60 Machine Gun.
Semi-auto only copies are produced by HZA Kulmbach GmbH, known as BD-42/I (a copy of the early model) and BD-42/II (late model).
Specifications
(1943 – 1945)
- Type: Battle Rifle
- Caliber: 7.92 x 57mm Mauser
- Weight: 9.3 lbs (4.2 kg)
- Length: 37.2 in (94.5 cm)
- Barrel length: 19.7 in (50 cm)
- Capacity: 10 or 20
- Fire Modes: Safe / Semi / Auto
The FG 42 and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Film
| Title | Actor | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Eagle Has Landed | . | German Fallschirmjäger | . | 1976 |
| Memorial Day | . | German soldier | . | 2011 |
Video Games
| Title | As | Mods | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return to Castle Wolfenstein | "FG42 Paratroop Rifle" | Scoped | 2001 | |
| Battlefield: 1942 | Expansion pack "Battlefield 1942: Secret Weapons of WWII" | 2002 | ||
| Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory | With Zeiss ZF4 scope | 2003 | ||
| Call of Duty | With Zeiss ZF4 scope | 2003 | ||
| Forgotten Hope | 2003 | |||
| Forgotten Hope 2 | W/o Zeiss ZF4 scope | 2005 | ||
| Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood | W/o Zeiss ZF4 scope | 2005 | ||
| Company of Heroes | In one of the expansions | 2006-2009 | ||
| Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 | With deployable bipod | 2006 | ||
| UberSoldier | 2006 | |||
| Call of Duty 3 | 2006 | |||
| Alliance of Valiant Arms | As the "FG42" | 2007 | ||
| Call of Duty: World at War | 2008 | |||
| Karma Online | "FG42" | 2011 | ||
| Enemy Front | FG42 | Second Model | 2014 | |
| Heroes & Generals | Fallschirmjägergewehr 42 | FG42 Ausf. E | 2016 |
Anime
| Title | Character | Note | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade | Kerberos members | . | 1998 |
| Najica Blitz Tactics | . | 2001 |