Despite the emergence of tanks - "machine gun destroyers", military experts in many countries in the 20s of the last century recognized that machine guns continue to play a vital role in war. Therefore, it was decided to continue their development in three main areas: reducing weight, increasing the rate of fire and reducing the cost of production. As a result, instead of dividing machine guns into two types - light (light) machine guns with a magazine and a bipod, operated by one person, intended for use in battle formations of attacking troops, and heavy (easel) belt-fed machine guns, served by a two-man crew and installed on a tripod to defend positions and conduct continuous fire, three varieties have appeared. Light machine guns, heavy machine guns remained, but a third intermediate type was added - a single, or medium machine gun. The last type combined the qualities of light and heavy machine guns of the First World War. The single machine gun was light enough, it was carried by one person as an offensive weapon. However, if necessary, it could be installed on the machine and conduct continuous fire.
Machine gun "Brad". Canadian War Museum, Ottawa.
Light machine guns were usually created according to the scheme used in the First World War in the Lewis and MG08 / 18 machine guns: air cooling of the barrel, supply of cartridges from a magazine for 20 or 30 rounds, bipod, weight about 9 kg, length about 1, 2 m. examples of such weapons: Czech machine guns VZ 26 and VZ 30, both caliber 7, 92 mm; Italian 6, 5-mm machine gun Breda, 1930 model; Japanese machine guns Type 11 and Type 66, both caliber 6.5 mm. These also include the best French machine guns of the 1924/29 model. and a sample of 1931, both caliber 7.5 mm; British 7, 7-mm machine gun "Bran" and heavy-duty, reliable Soviet 7, 62-mm machine gun DP.
And since everything is cognized in comparison, let's compare all these constructions. You can start with any sample, but let's start with the worst ones. These should, without a doubt, include the Italian light machine gun "Breda" model 1930. It was created on the basis of early modifications of 1924, 1928 and 1929, and was a weapon of caliber 6, 5-mm, air-cooled and semi-free breech. The 1930 machine gun was never considered a good weapon, since a cartridge lubrication device was built into it to facilitate the removal of the sleeve. Oil dripped onto the cartridges, but at the same time it burned in the chamber and attracted dirt and dust to itself, which led to pollution, and, as a result, such a machine gun had a tendency to delay when firing. The weight of the Breda machine gun of the 1930 model is 10, 24 kg, that is, more than the Bran by one kilogram. Length - 1, 232 m, barrel length - 0, 52 m. Cartridges are fed from an integral magazine, the equipment of which is made from 20-charge clips. Rate of fire - 450-500 rounds per minute. Bullet muzzle velocity - 629 m / sec. That is, its ammunition supply system is unsuccessful, and the bullet velocity is low, and it is heavier and … "dirty". But that is not all. Designers note that outwardly this machine gun consisted of solid ledges and corners, since they all clung to ledges and ammunition. The barrel was replaceable, but the handle was not on it, and it had to be changed in asbestos gloves. And finally, a strange food system. Strange in that the shells of the spent cartridges fell again where? Yes, all the same - in the integral magazine for clips. To charge this "tray", the sleeves had to be removed first. In general, … Italian designers came up with not a machine gun, but … "something".
Unlike the Italian designers who worked at home, the Germans had a very hard time in the 1920s. They had to expel many gunsmiths from the country to get around the bans of the Treaty of Versailles. Thus, the Rheinmetall-Borzig company began to work in Switzerland under the cover of the Solothurn company. The result of the work was the machine gun "Solothurn" М1930, also known as MG15.
Among the innovations used in this weapon are a quick-detachable barrel, a "straight-line" operation of mechanisms to increase the rate of fire and an unusual shape of the trigger. When pressed on its upper part, a single shot occurred. When pressed on the lower part, automatic firing was carried out. The characteristics of this little-known but effective weapon, released in the amount of 5,000 units for the armies of Hungary and Austria, after the MG30 was abandoned in Germany, are as follows: weight - 7, 7 kg, length - 1, 174 m, barrel length - 0, 596 m. The cartridges were fed from a 25-round (in Wikipedia, for some reason, 30-round) box magazine inserted on the left. Rate of fire - 800 rounds per minute. Bullet muzzle velocity - 760 meters per minute. Cartridges 8 × 56R. On the basis of this machine gun, Rheinmetall developed the MG15 aircraft machine gun and a single machine gun for the ground forces - the MG34. But the MG34 itself was so low-tech that "Bran", in comparison with him, seemed a model of technological excellence. Using it as a weapon of war was like plowing fields in a Mercedes. Then the MG42 was born on its basis - technological, stamped, convenient and all that jazz, but you cannot compare it with a "bran", like the MG34. "German" - a single machine gun, "Englishman" - manual.
MG30, Salzburg War Museum, Austria.
Note that one of the first light machine guns of the First World War was the Hotchkiss machine gun of the 1909 model, also known as the Bene-Merce machine gun, developed in France and actively used by the British and American troops. He also took part in the first qualifying competition for the best machine gun for the English army, but did not pass. It was an ineffective weapon that used the principle of exhausting gases, and it was produced for various cartridges, mainly for the French 8-mm cartridge and for the British - 7, 7-mm. By the way, why didn’t pass. One of the reasons was that the same clips were used for the power supply as for the medium Hotchkiss machine gun. However, in this case, the clip was inserted from the other side, which markedly worsened the already unreliable power system. The weight of the machine gun was 11, 7 kg, length - 1, 2 m, barrel length - 0, 6 m. The metal clip was designed for 30 rounds. Rate of fire - 500 rounds per minute. Bullet muzzle velocity - 740 m / sec.
British colonial soldiers with the Bene-Merse machine gun.
The new French "handbrake" or "Automatic rifle mod. 1924 "(Fusil Mitrailleur modele 1924) caliber 7.5 mm. But … both the new machine gun and the new cartridge, as it turned out, had a lot of flaws, which ultimately led to such an unpleasant phenomenon as barrel ruptures. They rushed to solve the problem like this: the power of the cartridge was reduced, and the details of the machine gun were strengthened. The new sample was named "Automatic rifle arr. 1924/29 ". There was also its modification - "Machine gun mod. 1931 ", specifically for use on the Maginot line, but then this sample was used both as a tank and also on armored vehicles. This model featured an original butt shape and a large side drum magazine for 150 rounds. The weight and length of the machine gun increased, but this was not a problem for military equipment. Machine guns mod. 1931 produced in large batches. Both machine guns were produced after the war, but they did not find much popularity in the world. For example, the barrel of this machine gun overheated after 150 rounds, and replacing it was a whole problem. In addition, it vibrated strongly when firing.
"Automatic rifle mod. 1924 ".
This machine gun was designed according to the principle of gas evacuation, cooling is also air. Equipped with folding bipod, pistol grip located behind the trigger, and two triggers at once. The front one was designed for single fire, the rear one for automatic. Machine gun sample 1924/1929 weighed 8, 93 kg. Machine gun length - 1 m, barrel length - 0.5 m. Cartridges were fed from a 25-round detachable magazine mounted on top. Rate of fire - 450 and 600 rounds per minute. Bullet muzzle velocity - 820 m / sec.
Automatic rifle / light machine gun BAR.
As for the Americans, a very interesting thing happened to them. In 1917, the famous J. Moses Browning designed a weapon, the ownership of which experts argue to this day - the BAR automatic rifle. The rifle immediately went to the troops, was used by American soldiers in Europe and … earned a lot of good reviews. But … at the same time she weighed 8, 8 kg, and had a magazine for only 20 rifle cartridges. Only in 1937, its modification appeared with the M1918A1 bipod, and then the A2, and it became possible to use it as a light machine gun. Both models were actively used in the Second World War, and the earlier release rifles were supplied to England in the territorial troops. Further, it was most actively used in Korea, and it was always popular among the troops. And it remained in service with the US Army until 1957. Only now it is obvious that comparing her with "Bran" hardly makes sense. This is still not a "pure" light machine gun, but something intermediate between it and "just" an automatic rifle.
Viet Cong with BAR.
The Japanese copied the Hotchkiss machine gun and the Czech VZ 26, combined them into one. This is how the "Type 11" (caliber 6, 5-mm), adopted for service in 1922, and the "Type 96", adopted in 1936, also turned out. Both are the creation of General Kijiro Nambu. The first one weighed 10.2 kg - the same as "Bran", the second was lighter - 9.2 kg. And, well, they would have copied everything "one to one." For some reason, the "Type 11" was equipped with an unusual charger, powered by five-shot rifle clips. That is why the "Type 11" was replaced by the "Type 96", but … although now there was a magazine with an upper arrangement of cartridges on it, and a handle was attached to the barrel, the weapon turned out to be even more low-tech than that of the British and the German MG34. All parts were made on metal-cutting machines, and metal waste into shavings just went off scale. For example, on a lathe, fins of variable diameter were sharpened on the barrel. It is also unclear why Kijiro Nambu installed a blade bayonet mount on the Type 96. Such is the "bayonet machine gun" turned out, although why a machine gun weighing 9 kg bayonet?
Machine gun "Type 11".
Machine gun "Type 99" (the same "Type 96", but increased caliber).
Well, now, perhaps, perhaps the most interesting thing - the "British" against the "British". What does this mean? And here's what: "Bren" had as many as two analogs, which, however, are not as well known as he is. The first is the Besal machine gun, which was developed at a small arms factory in Birmingham in case the German aircraft bombed the factory in Enfield! Outwardly, they were quite similar, only the flash suppressor was cylindrical and the design itself was simpler.
Severe British Sasovites in a jeep with Vickers-Berthier machine guns.
The second sample even fought. Not as well known as "Bran," though. We are talking about the Vickers-Berthier machine gun, which was produced by the Vickers company at the Cresford plant. It was adopted then … the Indian army, and then the Indians themselves began to produce it in Ishapur. Again, outwardly, it is very similar to the "Bren", but without rollback of the barrel and receiver, so his gas pipe is just … a pipe. The store is similar to Branovsky. For some reason, this machine gun in England began to be produced for the Air Force and put on "small" aircraft for self-defense. Moreover, they served in naval aviation until 1945 - they were installed in the cockpit of the arrow of Swordfish aircraft. Sparks from these machine guns were installed on jeeps of SAS - British Special Forces in North Africa, while disk magazines were installed on them. Well, the entire Indian army was at war with Vickers-Berthier machine guns. The weight of the machine gun was 11.1 kg. Rate of fire 400 - 600 rounds per minute. The Vickers GO aircraft version has 1000! So, if "Bran" weren't so successful, the British would have something to replace him at any moment.
Vickers-Berthier Mk III.
And finally, our DP-27. The work on it by V. A. Degtyarev started back in 1921. Everyone who writes about it, even in English, even in Polish and Czech, notes that it was simple and technologically advanced: out of 65 parts, only six moved in it! The machine gun had a rate of fire of 520 - 580 rds / min, while the combat rate of fire was 80 rds / min. The initial speed of the bullet was also high - 845 m / s. An English author like Chris Shant notes the high quality of the DP-27 flat disc magazine. It eliminated the double feed of inconvenient rimmed rifle cartridges and, moreover, held 47 rounds! In addition, it was cheap to manufacture, very durable, "soldier-resistant" and capable of maintaining its high combat qualities under the most adverse conditions! Great feature, isn't it?
DP-27.
What are considered to be serious shortcomings? Changing the barrel directly in battle was very difficult: you needed a special key and protection of your hands from burns. For some reason, the designer put the return spring under the barrel, and from the intense fire it overheated and lost its elasticity, which was one of the few drawbacks of the DP machine gun, but, nevertheless, a significant drawback. Finally, the inconvenience of controlling the weapon and only automatic fire.
Shop from DP-27 - the "plate" is still the same …
Therefore, the machine gun was modernized in 1944. They installed a pistol grip, moved the spring into a tube protruding from the rear of the receiver, changed the bipod mount (they often lost them before) and made it easier to replace the barrel. However, the last drawback is the weight, the machine gun retained. The DP-27 has 11.9 kg (with a magazine), and the DPM-44 has 12.9 kg. Well, the conclusion is the following. During the Second World War, there were … two wonderful light machine guns, each of which in some way complemented each other. "Soldier machine gun" DP-27 and "gentleman machine gun" - "Bran". Which one is better was determined not even by their performance characteristics, but by the mentality of those who used them.
