Say hello to my little MG3

Submitted by Eric Daniel

Ok, this entry might be a little outside the realm of Kit Up, as I most certainly did not buy this, but it definitely was not government-issue (at least not my government) and it is a brilliant piece of kit, and as Meat Loaf once said, “two out of three ain’t bad.”

Anyway, one of the byproducts of conducting security operations in Iraq is you end up with a lot of confiscated weapons, and over the years, quite a respectable collection had been assembled by the various units rotating through the IA mission on our FOB. Naturally we had such staples as the AK-47, AKM, RPK, RPD, and PKM, but we also had some pretty cool specimens as well, like Dragunov SVD sniper rifles, a working DShK, RPGs, even such oldies but goodies as a couple of Mosin-Nagant M1891bolt action rifles and a PPSh-41 sub-machine gun (non-functional unfortunately, otherwise this thing would have been a blast.)

The piece d’resistance, though was a brand-new, never been fired, fully functional German MG3.

We came about this little gem after detaining a collection of Iraqi oil and pipeline security folk who were conducting illegal shakedown checkpoints out in the hinterlands. In the process of cataloguing their equipment the scribing NCO described the MG3 as some sort of Star Wars blaster rifle, and so it’s true nature went undiscovered until I happened to see it propped up against the wall in the supply room, whereupon I discerned the true nature of this fine piece of warmongery.

The machinegun itself was in a sorry state. It was bone dry (a blessing as it would turn out), packed with dust, and had never been fired. Since it had never been lubricated (that I could tell), cleaning it up was simply a matter of field stripping it, blowing the majority of the dust out and then giving it a good bath and scrub in solvent. Once clean, dry, lubricated, and reassembled, my MG3 and me went out to the range to convert some linked 7.62 NATO into heat and noise. For those of you who have never had the opportunity to fire an MG3, it is quite possibly the finest, single barreled medium machinegun ever built. Based on the German MG42 of WWII fame, the MG3 is essentially the MG3 rechambered from 7.92mm Mauser to 7.62mm NATO. Its ROF is 1,200 rounds per minute and it is an absolute dream to shoot.

Had we simply found the weapon in a raid I would have ditched my M16 and hauled that sucker with me everywhere, but alas and alack, I had to give it back when we eventually released the Iraqis we had detained. I shudder to think now what state “my” MG3 is in, but for the week or so we were together, and the thousands of rounds we fired together, I was in absolute heaven.

Check out the MG3 here

Comments

[Lee Gibson]

If I'm not mistaken, the MG3 is a Star Wars blaster. I believe the long weapon that some Stormtroopers carry (as opposed to the blaster carbine that seems to always find its way into the Rebels' hands) is a gussied-up MG3.

Anyhow, count me as one civilian who appreciates your blog and your service. Thank you.

[cavhero]

The West German MG3 (the grandson of the MG42) is well made, thats why it has survived so long in the hands of scruffy Iraqi's. It was in all probability "captured" via Kurdish raids/combat against Turkish Forces which have used the MG3 since its inception. Fun to shoot for sure, but get s all kinds of hot (quickly) and eats ammo at an alarming rate. As in, a rate that a dismounted squad could never feed. Germans found that out in WW2, thats why the Bundeswehr installed the so-called "NATO Bremse" or "NATO Brake", which "slowed" the cyclic rate down from crazy WW2 1,850RPM, down to the current rate. Question remains...why did you give it back to them?

[Eric Daniel]

Unfortunately, there was never any question of returning the machinegun to the Iraqis. Since the goons we detained were Iraqi soldiers, their kit was the property of the Iraqi government. The only reason I had the MG as long as I did was because no one from the ministry came to pick up their folk (since they weren’t civilians we couldn’t turn them over to the IP (to be let go) and since they hadn’t done anything to us, we couldn’t hold on to them, so we detained them only long enough for a responsible party from their ministry to come collect them (and let them go.)

But boy I sure did want to hold on to that MG….

[curt layman]

Is that MG3 the one the Germans could twist the hot barrel from and insert a cold one? I'm an MP43 fan myself. What IS it about German weapons? Anybody Know anything about the WW1 Paris gun with a 75 mile range?

CL

[Eric Daniel]

The barrel locking lever for the MG3 is on the right hand side of the weapon (it’s visible in the photograph as the vertical bar forward of the link ejection port.) Pushing the lever forward unlocks the barrel and pushed the back end of the barrel out to the right. If you slap the lever hard enough you can all but shoot the barrel out of the receiver, making for a very rapid barrel change indeed.

[fartsinsleep]

Wasn't our M60 based on the german 43?
But my favorite for anything but patrol is still the M14A1E2. It seemed to enjoy playing in the dirt!

[Tony]

Did I hear him say "give it back"? That's just a little f'ing disconcerting, wouldn't you say??

Tony S.
OIF VET '02-'03

[Steve]

Unless it's significantly different from the M-60 (which was based on it), it is a well-made POS.

(Or did the M-60 designers deviate, and build in all the flaws, from scratch?)

;-)

[Eric Daniel]

Tony,

Giving that wonderful MG back wasn't the silliest thing we ever did. Releasing an IP (Iraqi Policeman) who tested positive for explosives residue and was caught with 250,000 USD in several currencies because the 72-hour detention window (post Abu Grab) passed was about the dumbest thing we ever did.

Unfortunatly, our chain of command was all about rules...

[Eric Daniel]

Having fired both the M60 and the MG3, I think the only thing the two designs share is the word "machine gun" in their name (though in truth, the actual name for the MG3 is Maschinengewehr.)

So I guess you could say they have nothing in common, as the M60 well and truly, is a POS.

[wclardy]

FYI, the Star Wars heavy blaster was built around the MG34, not the MG42. The MG34 was a finely machined weapon, and is easily distinguished from the MG42 by its round barrel shroud (versus the flat-sided barrel shroud of the MG42).

Also, in answer to another question, yes indeed, the designers of the M60 copied the feed mechanism of the MG42 and then "simplified" out the parts of the design which made it so reliable and slapped it on top of a reciever design similarly copied from the FG42 (which was a battle rifle manufactured for the German paratroops).

[thomas]

That sweet wish i could have be there to see it in person,and fired that.

[chris]

Anyone know how close this resembles the M240G? That is what I used for 5 years in the Marines.

[CathDAT]

I've actually fired all 3 (MG3, M60, and M240). From what I remember reading, the ammo feed mechanisms inside the feed covers of the M60 and MG3 were identical. Too bad it was such a POS, tho Viet Nam vets would disagree I'm sure. I remember the M240 (not B or G versions) were used as coaxial MGs on US tanks as far back as 1982. I loved shooting it. It's really surprised me that it took 20+ years for us to put a butt stock and bipod on them... The MG3 was short-recoil operated whereas the M240 is gas operated. I'm a firm believer that the M240 is the best MG ever adopted by the US Army...besides the M2 .50 cal that is....

[Anthony Moody]

Ida figured out a way to send that gem back to the states. I look up at the German bayonet and photo album my Grandpa brought back with him with a bit of pride. That piece belongs in the Infantry museum at Benning.
"Rangers lead the way" Regardless, that's a proud moment you can retell to willing and eager ears for the rest of your life. From a second generation 11B, keep your head down and your eyes up buddy.

[RAMPAGE]

YOUR KIDDING ,YOU GAVE IT BACK,HELL I GOT 2,000 RDS A MINUTE OUT OF ONE IN THE BALKLINS.NEVER LET SOMETHING LIKE THAT LOOSE.

[USFISTER]

Wow, I'm amazed at what people have time to do in Iraq... pet projects AND a blog? I hardly ever went out and even I didn't have time for that.

[gian barbanti]

My father after the end of II ww used the MG 34 and MG 44 for Military Police Duty.MG 44 that he saved for more or less ten years has a firing capacity of up 5.000 rounds per minute.This MG was made for the war on to the Russian Front .Newer get jammed.It was fantastic

[Glenn Allen]

I happen to know where there is a working MG3--------I have even fired it------------what a joy to fire-------wish the M-60 was that sweet to fire---I have 18+ years with the 60 2----lol

[Kim Guldberg]

The MG3 is the standard squad support weapon in the danish army. It is a fine machine gun and I have used it extencively both as a mounted machinegun and in the infantry configuration.

[MITCHELL MATEIKO]

THE M-16 EJECTION PORT COVER WAS ALSO DERIVED FROM THE.MG-42.THE GERMAN DESIGNATION IS MG-1, THE ITALIAN IS MG-42/59.

[Ray Brown]

The Paris guns of WW I were "Kaiser Wilhelm Geschutz, built by the Krupp works which fired a 330 pound shell from a 92 foot long barrel. The were 210mm guns which fired a shell at 5000 feet per second reaching an altitude of 24 miles and hitting Paris 70 miles away. The guns were only good for 20 shots before needing to be re-bored and the rounds were actually of successively larger diameters so they would continue to make contact with the riflings and the barrels degraded.

[Rolf A]

I serwed my duty with the mg3 and ag3 both 7.62 in the Norwegian navy. I it was unbeliwable fun shooting with the mg-3. A little bit bad presision using 2-fot. But with 3-fot,,,amasing.
Speed, presision. A fifty rounds belt blow away so fast that its difficult to see ;-)

[Jason Hastings]

I was in OIF 1. I built a museum of weapons from what my soldiers found. We had everything from a variety of bolt-action WWI rifles (Mausers, Lee-Enfields), to WWII autos and semi-autos, and every handgun you could think of. My favorites were a British Webley Mark VI (the .455 Mankiller) and a Soviet Stechkin (20-rd, .380 cal, fully auto pistol.)

[carl]

I just came back from iraq and i had a MG3 mounted on my HUMVEE. i had a mount manufactured by the koreans in irbil and it became my primary weapon during ops in baghdad. i really miss her. no one out side of our team said anything about it but i dont think it was Army approved but who cares when your ass is in the grass.

[Stephen H. Franke]

Greetings.

As others have posted, the MG-3 MG is an excellent and very rugged weapon. In addition to the Turkish licensed copies of the MG-3, the Iranian armaments industry -- during the shah's reign and since his overthrow -- has produced thousands of copies for national military forces and export sales. In Sudan, I often saw many MG-3s used by Sudanese Army units during Bright Star exercises and some MTTs there during the early-to-mid-1980s. While those MG-3s appeared externally much the worse for wear, they fired steadily. (The rising-sun-and-armed lion Imperial Iran logo and Persian-language factory proof-marks stamped on their receivers were obvious giveaways of their origin.)

During the Iraq-Iran War of 1980-1988 (aka Gulf War I), Iraqi Army units captured quantities of MG-3s from Iranian units. The MG-3's NATO caliber enabled the Iraqis to use them against their original owners with deadly effect, especially for breaking up massive human wave ground assaults by Iranians during the campaign for the Fao Peninsula.

Iraqi military sources I debriefed in 1991 after ODS related that the MG-3 -- whenever available -- became their preferred infantry weapon for frontline defense, especially because the Iraqis' standard-issue Russian-design LMG and MMG (RPK, PKS, PKM, et al) would jam or malfunction due to overheating by prolonged firing against the massed targets. Once Iraqi ordnance workshops built a stock of replacement barrels (their short supply during early phases of the war caused some anxiety), the MG-3 was effectively adopted by forward-deployed Iraqi Army units.

FWIW, some of the public security/paramilitary forces in Saudi Arabia (SA) use pedestal-mounted MG-3s in their "gun trucks" parked on guard duty around vital installations. The conventional SA Land Forces and the National Guard (SANG) instead use versions of the 7.62mm NATO GPMG as their standard MG.

Regards,

Stephen H. Franke
Chief Trainer (Intelligence and C3I)
SANG Modernization Program
Riyadh

[SGM Patrick Cassell (ret.)]

The spanish also made (makes?) a smaller version of the MG-3 (MG34/42) in the 5.56mm caliber. I saw one at the 1983 Soldiers of Fortune Convention in NC. Unfortunately it didn't operate very well and stopped firing several times. Finally it stopped all-to-gether and they couldn't resume firing. Too bad, sure looked nice in its olive green finish.

[TexComanche]

Sounds like a great weapon. The only thing that would exasperate me is the changing of the barrel every 150 rounds. Doesn't that bother anyone else? That would be changing out the barrel after every 5 seconds of firing. And how many extra barrels do ya haveta hump around with?

[JCitizen]

Thanks Stephen H. Franke - Very interesting info. We shoot the MG-3 here at home all the time. Have to be carefull because it is like a hand held rocket motor. It will knock the uninitiated on their butt. The bad part is you have to have a CLEO letter and special tax to acquire; this letter can be the pitts. I'm thinking of getting a semi-auto version. YAH!No paperwork!

[Fred Reinheimer]

The Imoerial Stormtroopers in the first three Star Wars films carried re-dressed MG3s.

[B.Starnes USMC Ret.]

Is the speed of the Paris Bun REALLY 5,000 FPS? That's just 1 football field under 1 mile per second or somewhere around MACH 5, or is my math skill failing like everything else on this old body.

[B.Starnes USMC Ret.]

Sorry. That was the Paris Gun. Like I said, things are failing me more and more each day.

[John]

The difference between the MG-42 and the MG3 is the calibre.
The resemblance between the MG3 and the M60 is superficial.
The M60 has a german buttstock, 1/2 of the belt feed mechanism(so it can't lift the belt as well, and the op rod and bolt from a Lewis gun. I have NO idea where they got the barrel change system.
WE would have been far better off just copying the MG42. We actually did that in WW2, but the IDIOTS at ordnance missed the fact that the 30-06 was longer and wouldn't clear an 8mm ejection port, so it didn't work. It's the old NOT INVENTED HERE syndrome.
In effect its a horse designed by a committee, resulting in a camel.

[Raffen]

To TexComanche: The 150 round limit is for peacetime operation, so as not to wear out the barrels.

[Kim Guldberg]

For a well trained Crew (Gunner and helper) the changing of a barral takes around 3 seconds and if you are in a prepared position you can cool the hot barral down quickly (if you know how to do it whithout damaging it)

[Gary Montclair]

You lucky dog you. I was attached to the British Army in Bosnia doing Civil Affairs work and got the chance to see and hold, unfortunately not fire,a cherry 9mm Schmeisser sub machine gun from WW2. It had the number 42 stamped on the back of the reciever. The Brits had a great collection of confiscated weapons from the Serb area in MND SW. I was like a kid in a candy store.

[Bill Hass]

During the 5 yrs I was stationed in Germany back in the 80's I had many chances to fire the German MG. As it turned out being a Small Arms Repair Specialist I had a unique opportunity, and I made the best of it. Even earning the Schutzenschnur. as you pointed out the MG is a real "blast"!!!

[geezer72]

the MG3 seems like an excellent weapon in the hands a well trained and competant soldier. Too bad the US military don't wise up and contract to field these outstanding weapons.

[G.R. Schaefer]

After reading about the MG3 I made a special effort today to look at a MG3L light machine gun. Mfg. by Mauser-Werke, in 8 x 57mm cal. dated 1941. The gun is fitted with a bipod, wooden shoulder stock, post front sight plus an auxiliary front sight offset to the left and is centered on barrel from muzzle to breach. The sight is circular with 3 rings, the out side ring is approx. 3.5" in dia., the center ring is approx.1.5" and has cross wires with a dot. Looks similar the sights on 40mm.
anti aircraft guns on navy ships during WW11. The rear sight is also offset to the left. The feed is by a drum magazine from the left.
The gun is on display at the Cody Firearm Museum in Cody, Wyoming.

[Gerald Vaughn]

I work for the National Ground Intelligence Center and we process every kind of ammunition and weapon you could ever imagine. I have heard many horror stories of captured weapons ending up in the wrong hands. Not just being delivered back to insurgents but ending up in the wrong hands on the streets of home town USA.

The problem also is that troops like to use the captured weapons and ammo to train with and many deaths and injuries are occuring.

For information questions involving all weapons systems back to WWI Doctor David Atwater who runs the Army Museum at Aberdeen Proving Groud Maryland is a fantastic source of information.

[Donabell De Apera]

You know what? It is too big and too much weigh to carry by a woman, how about shortening the gun? I mean, convert it using the conversion of units. By inches to decimeter. Isn't it nice to have a smaller one?

[playertwo]

loved firing m60's, first company detail was working on the Malone range for them at Benning. remember the senior drill reaching down and squeezing my whole hand for twenty rounds while I had marlboro butts in my ears.

my favorite picture of the Rangers was in the hedgerows fighting a Sgt has a MG42.
Plus, wasnt Audie Murphy using one in his movie when he earns his first MOH?!!
He turns two in a row against the Germans, right?

great stuff. great blog.

Anybody that went through RIP at Lewis in the 80's mightve fired all their collection off. that was my first shot at an RPK. I thought it was an commie BAR. Nothing like the kraut MG's..

[TEDDYBEAR181]

I personally like this machine gun,developed by the german army during the early stages of the second world war,it has a high catalytic rate of fire,even today it is still a favorite weapon of troops in the know,last seen in real action in the balkans/bosnia conflict,just pack 4 barrels and two donkeys with ammunition,should of developed a cooling system like a 303 vickers gun,shoot for days not minutes..as a collector any body have any information on the schmeiser 9mm machine pistol..mp4O..GERMANS always had superior design..enen my grandmother carrys a H & k

[dean]

me i like the MG42 and the ppsh 41 or the 43 well i love what the MARINE and all the other armed forces are doing over there so THANK YOU

[Prewitt]

Hey "Fartsinsleep"
the M14E2 would be lucky to get a 3ft group at 200yards

[P]

After giving it a work out and photo op. I hope you gave classes to the uneducated on this weapon, after that I would have made it where it wouldnt fire. If the ass bags where detained, then they were detained for a reason (shaking down people) some times we do things to weapons that we dont want to and rendering it unservicable while distasteful is ness. drilling out the barrel in the chamber area would have given them a surprise that I would have paid money to see.

[Richard J Reed]

"First MOH"? To the best of My knowledge No One has ever earned more than One CMOH's.

And Audie Murphy earned His for fighting off advancing German Infantry with a M2 .50
on the top of a burning Tank Destroyer even though he was already wounded.

[Rivo A.]

I assume that people don`t know it yet but Estonians (ESTPLA is the unit designation) are using this "baby" extensively in Iraq! But as I am quite well informed of the happenings with Estonians in Iraq, no weapons have been lost, only gained (last time it was some 30 RPG-s, from an enemy cache). Also, the WWII era 7.92mm MG42 was called the "Hitler`s comb" since it "flattened"(killed or suppressed) the enemy. P.S. We have lost two soldiers there, and its already too much for us (Back home there`s only 1.4 million of us). Rest In Peace brothers, we shall never forget you!

[philip]

that sure is a fine piece of military equipment you "had" there i would also love to have one in fact i would have probably done exactly what you did except i would have kept my m-16 just in case it didnt work properly. But i bet you were in heaven firing that sucker off.

[David]

Nice posting. I hear alot of what I would call horror stories about troops having to give that kind of thing back to people that are an obvious menace. Fun aint it? If I were a general I'd have you keep or blow up every thing you confiscated. Even if it were "iraqi government" property.
And hey, since my taxes went into funding the new IG, doesnt that make everything they use American property?
ah, when logic has no place...
Good luck, and thanks for your service!