Fallschirmjagergewehr 42 (FG42 / FjG42)

History

The

Paratrooper Rifle 42 (FG42) is designed for lightly armed and maneuverable German paratrooper elements around a full size 7.92x57mm Mauser cartridge. As a military light weapon, this model has excellent quality and reliable performance.

It is only affected by factors such as internal resistance, changes in German airborne tactics and expensive engineering. The output is less than 9,000 vehicles. However, their influence on the design of modern assault rifles is undeniable, as some of their characteristics were extensively studied after the war - particularly their compact, lightweight breech and gas operation.

The "straight line" design approach was heavily adopted and is still seen in modern designs, leading to the FG42 being unofficially called a "extreme failure".

When the German Army introduced the StG44 selective-fire assault rifle centered on the new 7.92x33mm "Kurz" short cartridge, the leadership of the Luftwaffe's paratroopers was forced to follow suit - without any viable long-range automatic weapons . However, instead of following the Army's lead, they sought an entirely new design, designed specifically for paratroopers - battlefield units that are always forced to go light but deploy in combat situations. The German airborne experience during the invasion of Crete showed that the short cartridge of the new StG44 lacked the required long-range strike capability, especially when compared to the long-range success of the British firing full-power rifle cartridges at the Germans. Therefore, it was decided that the new weapon should be centered on a full-size 7.92x57 mm cartridge that would be readily available on all fronts of German military operations. The design had to offer the same flexibility in choice of firepower as the StG44, offering machine-gun-style automatic fire, but in a compact form suitable for airborne troops. With the blessing of Hermann Goering himself, the parachute units of the Luftwaffe received its weapons.

In late 1940, Rheinmetall-Borsig AG contracted with Rheinmetall-Borsig AG to design and develop it, although due to the various arms branches and the competitive nature of all these small arms passing through the Army, the authorities submitted requests for new weapons through the Luftwaffe in an attempt to satisfy Bypassed expected resistance.

Rheinmetall-Borsig presented their working prototype for formal evaluation in mid-1942. This weapon proved to be a decidedly unique concept, developed according to a "straightforward" design approach - all the main components - stock, breech and barrel - are aligned, an arrangement that is present today widely used in modern assault weapons.

Weighing 10 pounds, the FG42 resembles a hybrid of a military rifle and machine gun, and given its self-loading, selective-fire automatic, is essentially an easy-to-carry light machine gun with characteristics similar to modern assault rifles. In any case, the weapon could be of value to these lightly armed paratroopers.

The action is housed in the most compact case possible for portability. The overall design includes a large slender tube with an all-steel "fishtail" style shoulder rest, a receiver containing the necessary internals, a jacketed slotted section that acts as a hand guard, and a short length exposed barrel. The barrel is fitted with a "pepperpot" style muzzle compensator for recoil and has an integral bayonet mounted under the barrel for close combat.

When the weapon is deployed in a continuous-fire light machine gun role, a collapsible bipod is mounted under the front mass of the frame - even with a bayonet mounted. In an awkward move, a detachable straight-box magazine containing 20 rounds of 7.92mm ammunition was inserted into the left side of the receiver, while the spent case was ejected from the opening on the right side. The action was initially triggered manually by means of assemblies along the right side of the receiver, while aiming was carried out by means of front and rear iron assemblies. One of the weapon's more unique design moves is its large beveled pistol grip, which slopes back, intended to serve as an ergonomic posture and reduce the likelihood of clothing and gear snagging during release.

Operation is by gas-driven piston action with a rotating bolt, allowing a rate of fire of 800 rounds per minute. The fire selector allows both single-shot (from closed bolts) and fully automatic fire (from open bolts to avoid "burning out" indoors). Overall length is 36.9 inches and empty weight is 9 lb 10 oz.

The barrel is 20 inches long and the muzzle velocity of the 7.92mm bullet is rated at 2,400 feet per second.

Rheinmetall-Borsig's design, officially recognized as "Fallschirmjagerjagerjager 42", abbreviated "FG42", and sometimes "FjG42", was adopted by the Luftwaffe. By this time, Germany was at war on multiple fronts, and the routine deployment of its airborne forces had changed significantly since the costly Crete operation. Additionally, the production facility was ultimately under the influence of the German Army, and little effort was made to ensure that the FG42 was in reasonable numbers, let alone fully developed on the battlefield.

Beyond that, the FG42, like other German fine-engineered weapons, was a complex and expensive system that had to be built in required quantitiesthe death knell for any weapon in wartime. In any case, production of the FG42 continued, although the final numbers proved extremely limited - perhaps only 7,000 or even 9,000 were produced before the war ended in 1945.

In practice, this gun has been well received by a small number of users, and as a pistol, it is of excellent quality and reliability. If there are any limitations to the design, mainly the side-mounted magazine prevents its tendency to get stuck in the heat of battle and its awkward positioning on the frame, which makes it an unbalanced under automatic fire arms.

The use of a full-power, full-size 7.92mm cartridge also makes it difficult to aim accurately under fully automatic fire. The magazine holds only 20 rounds, which limits the weapon's long-term tactical usefulness as a continuous-fire system. The bipod's construction proved to be too light and prone to flexing in the heat of battle.

Combined with the rush to ship the FG42, various issues quickly arose that were never fully resolved.

Anyway, the Luftwaffe bought the initial stockpile of FG42 wholeheartedly and requested more quantities within a very short time. In September 1943, German paratroopers conducted a successful commando raid to rescue former Italian dictator Benito Mussolini.

Aside from this brazen exploitation, German paratroopers had their days in WWII, as by 1945 they were increasingly being used as traditional infantry.

Heinrich Krieghoff Waffenfabrik eventually joined to increase production levels. Efforts have been made to simplify the original FG42 design by making several important changes. The steel "fishtail" stock was dropped in favor of an all-wood, more traditional (and simpler) shape.

A plastic or laminated wood handguard replaces the original perforated metal heat shield, while the "pepper can" muzzle attachment is replaced by a ribbed, slotted design. The bipod was moved from the frame to the muzzle, and perhaps the most notable change was that the angled pistol grip was replaced by a more vertical, "relaxed" design.

The revised FG42 has a slightly longer overall design at 41.7 inches and a barrel length of 20.6 inches. The cyclic rate of fire was reduced to 750 rounds per minute, while maintaining the muzzle velocity of the 7.92mm bullet at 2,400 feet per second.

Despite efforts to make the FG42 a more production-friendly weapon, the program fell short of its intended goal of increasing production numbers. Of the two designs, it is estimated that 2,000 of the original FG42 were produced, while the revised FG42 appeared around 7,000 by the end of the war.

This type appeared in greater numbers on the Western Front, leading many observers there to mistakenly believe that the FG42 was in widespread use at the time. Beginning in 1944, the stockpile of this weapon ended up in the hands of these advancing Allies, and the truth about its limited range was soon revealed.

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