The appearance of the machine of the German paratroopers FG42 is associated with the failure of the landing during the operation "Mercury"

The German army during the Second World War often resorted to landing operations. Wehrmacht paratroopers landed in certain areas of the terrain both to conquer and hold bridgeheads, and to conduct sabotage and reconnaissance operations. The question on the agenda was what weapon may be most effective for landing.

In 1942, the FG42 automatic rifle (automatic) appeared in service with the Wehrmacht, which is called the rifle of German paratroopers and paratroopers. This abbreviation (FG) is from the word Fallschirmjäger, which can be translated as a skydiver hunter.

The very appearance of this machine gun among the German troops is associated with failure. We are talking about a fiasco during the implementation of Operation Mercury just a few weeks before the invasion of the Nazi armies into the Soviet Union.

The landing operation "Mercury" set as its goal the capture of the island of Crete in order to gain complete control over the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea, including with the ability to control entry into the Dardanelles and exit from it. Despite the final victory of the German troops, the Germans themselves were in no hurry to list the operation as their asset. The fact is that German paratroopers suffered heavy losses. These losses were mainly related to weapons. The parachutes of that time did not allow to have practically nothing heavier than a submachine gun when landing from a weapon. Assault weapons, together with ammunition, were dropped by parachute separately, and within about a minute and a half, the Wehrmacht troops had to find this cargo and take it to the arsenal. Not everyone succeeded. And if they did, they were still not in the most advantageous position in front of the Greek and British soldiers who opposed them in Crete.

As a result, in Germany, it was decided to develop a relatively light and at the same time powerful assault weapon, suitable for landing along with the paratrooper himself. So in 1942, the FG42 machine gun designed by Louis Stange appeared. In the FG42-E variant, this weapon weighed about 4,2 kg with a length of 945 mm. Weapons chambered for 7,92 × 57 mm were used not only during the remaining years of the war, but also after it.

About the automatic weapons of the German landing during the Second World War is described in detail in the video:

Comments

[Alexfly]

Great toy for real men! The Yankees are great at this with their arms market and capabilities ..

[Catfish]

If you mean the American single M60, which was designed based on the FG-42, then the American "toy" turned out to be crappy, despite all their capabilities.
And why did Rimbaud run through the jungle with him, just stupid, I guess.

[Undecim]

American "toy" turned out to be shitty

It has been in service for 65 years and is used in about 70 countries. Maybe not everything is so clear?

[Catfish]

Maybe not everything, but when a good uncle gives away trunks for free, who will refuse freebies. I had nothing to do with this machine gun, but I judge by the reviews of those who used it in real business. Among my friends there are, were, more precisely.

[Undecim]

For free, of course, handed out, it was the case. However, today, oddly enough, this machine gun is used by the MTR - American, Czech, Senegalese, Tunisian, Malaysian.

[Catfish]

As for Senegal and others, it’s clear, but how did the Czechs get into this company, with their capabilities?

[Undecim]

The Czechs just replaced their UK-59L with the American М60E4.

[Catfish]

I rummaged and nowhere found information that the Czechs replaced their machine gun with an American. Where does such information come from and what is the meaning of such a replacement?

[Undecim]

Where does such information come from and what is the meaning of such a replacement?

Directly from the website of 601. skupina speciálních sil generála Moravce or 601. SkSS (http://www.601skss.cz/english/clickmap/m60_en.html).

[Catfish]

I rummaged around on the site, but I didn’t find anything about machine guns, it didn’t work out.

[Undecim]

I gave you a link directly to the page with a machine gun!

[Catfish]

So my hands are crooked, I don’t know how to search.

[Undecim]

You highlight the link, then right-click - and in the menu "go to address".

[Catfish]

Found this:
"The soldiers of the reserve center are armed with Glock 17 pistols, a Sa-58 assault rifle, SVDSN3 (Dragunov) sniper rifles and FN 7.62 Minimi and PKM machine guns. They also have NPP 2006 armor plates. Reconnaissance equipment includes night vision devices, laser rangefinders, telephoto lenses and other special equipment.

[Undecim]

The page you are looking for is in English.

[Catfish]

It's still not very clear why the Czechs need this rubbish, there are much better systems, FN, at least. I don't speak for MG.

[Alexfly]

No, dear, I mean only the FG-42 .. Just right for paratroopers ..

[Alexfly]

If it were shitty, half the world would not have been armed with them .... there were childhood diseases, but they passed ...

[sen]

The very appearance of this machine gun among the German troops is associated with failure. We are talking about a fiasco during the implementation of Operation Mercury just a few weeks before the invasion of the Nazi armies into the Soviet Union.

Hitler considered such losses unacceptable and banned large-scale airborne operations.
Subsequently, the German Airborne Forces were used as elite infantry and for the acquisition of sabotage and reconnaissance units. At the beginning of the war with the USSR, these paratroopers, often dressed in Soviet uniforms (often the NKVD) and with Soviet weapons, successfully conducted an aircraft landing, seized bridges, carried out reconnaissance, destroyed headquarters, destroyed communications, etc.

[paul3390]

Hitler considered such losses unacceptable and banned large-scale airborne operations.

But he would have used them in Malta - you see, and the war would have gone a little differently .. But why he needed Crete is completely incomprehensible ..

[Waterways 672]

The German goal in the war with Greece was not so much to help the Italian ally as to ensure the safety of the Romanian oil fields from future British air strikes. Therefore, one capture of mainland Greece was not enough for them: there was only a thousand kilometers from the airfields of Crete to the Romanian oil fields, and the Germans already knew from the experience of Germany that this was more than a feasible distance for British bombers.

[paul3390]

Airfields in Crete still need to be supplied .. And with the loss of Malta, the British convoys in the Mediterranean would have gone into oblivion .. Britain would definitely not have time for Romanian deposits ..

[DZ10]

Well, for good and Gibraltar) it’s good that it didn’t work out.

[Catfish]

The Germans needed Crete for the same reason that the British needed Malta.

[vl903]

and then near Pskov and in other places all this elite was controlled by our private infantryman Vanya. True, they drank our blood.

[Ashes of Claes]

Quote: vl903

and then near Pskov and in other places all this elite was controlled by our private infantryman Vanya. True, they drank our blood.

Berlin. 1945

[vl903]

amazing photo! thanks!

[aglet]

"and then near Pskov and in other places all this elite was controlled by our private infantry Vania"
it’s not at all a fact that it’s just infantry. how many airborne corps have we converted into infantry?

[Ashes of Claes]

Well, I don’t know ... Probably, the MG-60 also took part in the conception of the M42.

[Catfish]

Probably, the MG-60 also took part in the conception of the M42.

Not at all, there is a completely different principle of operation of weapons. You may have meant FG-42, but there was a typo.

MG-42

M60

[Ashes of Claes]

Quote: Sea Cat

Not at all, there is a completely different principle of operation of weapons.

The tape feed mechanism is still MGshny.

[Catfish]

I won't argue, but are you sure it's from VG? Still, the systems are too different in design.

[Undecim]

Well, I don’t know ... Probably, the MG-60 also took part in the conception of the M42.

Initially, the MG-1919 was taken as the basis for the new American machine gun to replace the M4A42. Moreover, the Americans decided to simply remake it under their cartridge .30-06 Springfield. On some strange initiative, the work was assigned to Saginaw Steering Gear, a division of General Motors that was engaged in the development of car steering. The machine gun turned out to be very similar to the real one and was called T24.

But due to fundamental errors in the design, the machine gun normally refused to shoot. It was not possible to bring him to mind.
And the next attempts were already based on the FG-42. But there is already a whole article.

[Catfish]

But there is already a whole article.

Well, what was the matter behind, after all, an interesting topic - write, especially since you have the material.

[Undecim]

I don’t know why, but it’s somehow not right for creativity ... It hit Finnish pistols, then I started talking about Finnish self-loading rifles and got stuck in the middle.

[Catfish]

No mood, or enough other worries?
I've got my own health, or rather its partial absence.

[Undecim]

That's just no mood. There is time. And health is still, thank God, within the age norms.

[Catfish]

Hmmm ... You can't artificially create a mood, but alcohol can only aggravate it. It's a pity...

[Undecim]

No, the mood itself is normal, cheerful. And after a pre-dinner aperitif, even fun. But there is no mood to write.

[Catfish]

And now there's nothing to be done Nothing good can be done by force.

[vl903]

maybe it's temporary? And do we have hope? let's hope and wait

[Ashes of Claes]

Quote: Undecim

And the next attempts were already based on the FG-42. But there is already a whole article.

this is understandable, but the tape feed mechanism is entirely taken from MG.

[Catfish]

Fallschirmjagergewehr 42 automatic rifles of the first (top) and second models.

[Ashes of Claes]

We need more photos with a bayonet in combat position:

and at a demonstration to an incredulous Luftwaffe general - "Ja-ja, es ist wirklich ein Bajonett..Nun...Bajonettchen doch (Yes, yes, this is really a bayonet ... Well .. a bayonet ..)

.

[Pavel57]

It is immediately noticeable that the design easily develops into a belt-fed machine gun.

[YOUR]

Interestingly, after the war, the Germans decided not to recreate the StG 44 or StG 45 (M), which, by the way, was copied from and to the Spaniards, or rather, they invited the developers (Ludwig Vorgrimler) to their place and it turned out to be CETME. We decided to recreate the FG42.
It’s a little stretched, because they didn’t take it into service because of the cartridge. It is not such a big problem to recalculate to remake it under the cartridge 7.62 * 51. Apparently, the matter is different, the Americans threw off their weapons to Germany.

[Catfish]

.Apparently the matter is different, the Americans threw their weapons into Germany.

No. The Bundeswehr's small arms were of domestic production, there were no Americans there.
Even a clone of the Spanish "SETME" was produced as HK G3 (Neckler-and-Koch)

A single machine gun was also his own, you know what.)) MG3.

The only thing that was from the Americans was "fifty kopecks" - Browning M2HB.

[YOUR]

Here I am about the same. HK G3 is in fact a clone of StG 45 (M), machine gun MG3 is a clone of MG42. The entire rifle has nothing to do to re-barrel under a different cartridge. So the FG42 rifle was complete crap.

[bistrov.]

Due to the high cost and technological complexity, according to various sources, from 7 to 12 thousand pieces were manufactured. of this rifle, by the standards of the Second World War, this is a "psychological" error .... Heavy (more than 4,5 kg., obviously not for a paratrooper, besides, an overly powerful cartridge, with a short barrel length (50 cm) gave strong recoil and a deafening roar of a shot... And, although the sight was graduated to 1200 meters, the real aiming range did not exceed 400 meters ..
As they say, no role...

[Alexfly]

Shoot from the TT, also that cannon .. serpent gornych .. During the war, the rifle was just what was needed: compact, powerful cartridge, the ability to fire bursts .. The very thing for the Airborne Forces .. but its times ended with the advent of an intermediate cartridge and the development of more technological and cheap weapons with similar characteristics ..

[TANKISTONE]

This is an abbreviation (FG) - from the word Fallschirmjäger, which can be translated as a skydiver hunter.

Compound German word. Remembering M.N. Zadoronov (God rest in peace and peace be upon him), we are looking for Russian analogues: der Fall - the verb fallen (to fall, fall (foul - rope), der Schirm (umbrella, screen, visor (screen), der Jäger (hunter , fighter, hunter (pathfinder). At the output we get: a hunter / fighter descending on an umbrella / screen = parachutist-hunter. But, stupidly translating compound words is a thankless task. Everything is just a PARATROOPER. Yes, NATO members also have them .. .

[geologist]

Fiasco "Mercury"? Well, it seems that there was no complete collapse and failure there. On the contrary, the regiment of green devils took the airfield of Malmö, which ensured the landing of the mountain division. As a result, an entire army of British-Greek troops of almost 50 thousand people was defeated, surrendered or fled the island. This is an amazing success. As for the heavy losses, it is not the weapons that are to blame here, but the bungling during the landing, when the companies completely drowned in the lake, crashed against the rocks or were shot in the air being landed directly on the positions of the English infantry.

[Ashes of Claes]

Quote: geologist

Fiasco "Mercury"? Well, it seems that there was no complete collapse and failure there. On the contrary, the regiment of green devils took the Malmö airfield

Malmö is, in a way, Sweden). Components of capture Maleme - this is certainly the valor of the German "glider pilots" and the fatal stupidity of Freiberg, who looked towards the sea

[kytx]

"The fact is that the German paratroopers suffered heavy losses. These losses were mainly associated with weapons"

These losses are connected not with personal weapons, but with careless reconnaissance in the main.

[Konnick]

A stupid version of creating an automatic rifle. The Germans landed on their RZ-1 parachutes from a height of 100-120 meters, and in Crete from 75 meters. Yes, with such a landing, it is dangerous to take large weapons with you, but they were in containers dropped at the same time. And at such landing heights, the dispersion is minimal. Losses were mainly during the capture of airports due to the lack of heavy weapons. Yes, 4 thousand dead out of 22 thousand are serious losses by the standards of the Germans. And the failure of the landing is the work of British propaganda to justify their defeat.

[Ashes of Claes]

Quote: Konnick

Yes, with such a landing it is dangerous to take large weapons with you, but they were in containers dropped at the same time

You are confusing cause and effect - just the appearance of FG was, I believe, a kind of work on the mistakes of Cyprus. At least to exclude these notorious "80 seconds" and not to leave fakers on landing with pistols and knives. Therefore, the original specification for the LC-6 meant that paratroopers would jump with weapons. And shoot when landing. How do you explain such a strange ergonomics of the handle on the first model?

[Konnick]

a kind of work on the mistakes of Cyprus.

The result was the refusal of the Germans from mass parachute landings.

shoot while landing.

Is it like when jumping from 100 meters, and the first phase is when pulling the parachute with a halyard when the paratrooper is upside down?

How do you explain such a strange ergonomics of the handle on the first model?

Why strange? Very ergonomic and familiar to the paratroopers pistol grip Luger.

[Ashes of Claes]

Quote: Konnick

Is it like when jumping from 100 meters, and the first phase is when pulling the parachute with a halyard when the paratrooper is upside down?

I don't remember reading it somewhere. Probably game and speculation, I do not argue. But the fact that they were supposed to jump with her, is it doubtful? What is it - they jumped from the MP-38/40.

[Konnick]

But the fact that they were supposed to jump with her, is it doubtful? What is it - they jumped from the MP-38/40.

Not from a good life. After Crete, the Germans began to use parachute landing only for sabotage purposes, in small groups. So they needed a weapon with them. But by that time the parachute had also been changed.

[kytx]

Shoot hanging on the dome? And the recoil will chatter a lot and the lines can twist and you can collide with someone.
You apparently have no idea what a jump from 200 meters is, there is no time at all and the impact on the ground is very strong ..

[TermNachTer]

Not the best design, had a lot of flaws, not to mention the weight and dimensions, not very suitable for paratroopers.