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Fully Transferable Machine Gun - Serial no. 04911, 7.92 mm Mauser cal., 21 inch round bbl., phosphate finish, laminate stock, plastic
grips. The FG42 stands as one of the most distinctive weapons on any side of World War II. Developed in the 1940s on special order at the direction of Luftwaffe commander-in-chief Hermann Goering himself due to political friction with the Army, the Fallschirmjaegergewehr (Paratrooper Rifle) was intended to be a “universal weapon”, colored by the needs of airborne warfare. Prior doctrine called for the deployment of airborne troops with conventional infantry weaponry, but weight/ bulk limits meant that individual troopers jumped with at most a
SMG, with the bulk of the unit’s arms coming down separately in drop pods. This had dire consequences for the paratroopers deployed at Crete, who found themselves scrambling to recover their rifles and machine guns while under fire from the island’s defenders, causing heavy casualties and robbing them of operational momentum.
The FG42, then, was intended to be a weapon to replace all prior categories; enough range to replace the rifle as it uses the same full power 7.92 mm Mauser cartridge, enough suppressive power to replace the standard machine gun, and agile enough to replace the SMG. It could also double as a sniper/designated marksman weapon, with the addition of a ZF4 scope as fitted on this example, and carries an on-board spike bayonet for close-in work. It also utilizes a side mounted horizontal 20 round box magazine and a spent cartridge deflector mounted on the right side of the receiver.
LOT 1500
Extremely Rare World War II German Krieghoff FG42 “Type III/ Type G” Paratrooper Rifle with ZF4 Scope, Class III/NFA C&R