FG42 Automatic Rifle

The following report on the FG42 Automatic Rifle (Fallschirmjägergewehr 42) was published in Foreign Military Weapons and Equipment, Vol. III, Infantry Weapons, Pamphlet No. 30-7-4, Department of the Army, 1954.

 

7.92-mm M42 (FG42) Automatic Rifle
(7.92-mm FALLSCHIRMJÄGERGEWEHR 42) 

This weapon, referred to very often as the German “Paratroop” rifle, is designed more like a light machine gun than a rifle. It is gas-operated, has selective automatic or semi-automatic fire, is fitted with a permanently attached folding bipod, and is fed from a 20-round magazine. It was originally designed for use by parachute troops as an automatic rifle, but it can be used as a light machine gun or as a machine carbine.

The FG42 underwent extensive tests and progressed through several design stages before a final model was adopted by the German High Command. It was late 1944 before the rifle was finally introduced in combat in significant numbers. It is fitted for a bayonet, compensator, telescopic sight, and rifle grenade launcher.

The salient recognition features of this weapon are: (1) A horizontal box magazine which feeds from the left side of the weapon; (2) a pronounced rearward slope of the hand grip; (3) the attached folding bipod; (4) folding post-type sights; and (5) a selector lever on the left side of the trigger housing permitting settings for automatic or semi-automatic fire or for “safe”.

 

RECOGNITION FEATURES 

 

CHARACTERISTICS 

System of operation		Gas-operated, air-cooled, selective automatic or semi-automatic fire
Caliber		7.92-mm (.312 in)
Weight (incl. sling, bipod, and bayonet):
Unloaded		4.9 kg (10.5 lb)
Loaded		5.5kg (11.5 lb)
Length over-all:
With bayonet		110 cm (43.5 in)
W/o bayonet		98cm (38.5in)
Length of barrel		48 cm (19 in)
Feeding device		20-round magazine
Sights:
Front		Both have special folding post sights
Rear		Graduated 100-1,200 m
Muzzle velocity		750 m/s (2,461 fps)
Effective rate of fire		Semiautomatic 20 rpm; auto 40-60 rpm
Effective range		400 m (440 yd)
Ammunition		Standard German 7.92-mm automatic

Additional U.S. intelligence reports:

• New German Rifle for Paratroopers
• 7.92 mm Fallschirmjäger Gewehr 42 (F.G. 42) Automatic Rifle
• German Paratrooper’s Rifle F.G. 42