MORE ABOUT THE MG-13 MACHINEGUN
The MG 13 (shortened from German Maschinengewehr 13) was a German general purpose machine gun obtained by rebuilding a World War I water-cooled machine gun into an air-cooled version.
The MG 13 was introduced into service in 1930, where it served as the standard light machine gun. It was superseded by cheaper, faster firing models: the MG 34 and then later the MG 42. It was officially withdrawn from service in 1934, most of the machine guns sold off to Portugal, who used it into the late 1940s as the Metralhadora Dreyse m/938. Those MG 13s that were not sold were placed into storage instead, and these later saw use in World War II by second line German units.
The MG 13 was designed to work with both a 25 round box magazine and a 75 round saddle drum. It was also equipped with a folding butt stock and a carrying handle. It was also used for the tail gunner's position in the Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber.
The MG 13 was introduced into service in 1930, where it served as the standard light machine gun. It was superseded by cheaper, faster firing models: the MG 34 and then later the MG 42. It was officially withdrawn from service in 1934, most of the machine guns sold off to Portugal, who used it into the late 1940s as the Metralhadora Dreyse m/938. Those MG 13s that were not sold were placed into storage instead, and these later saw use in World War II by second line German units.
The MG 13 was designed to work with both a 25 round box magazine and a 75 round saddle drum. It was also equipped with a folding butt stock and a carrying handle. It was also used for the tail gunner's position in the Ju 87 Stuka dive bomber.
Inside a Sd.Kfz. 251
WHAT WAS A Sd.Kfz. 251?
The Sd.Kfz. 251 (Sonderkraftfahrzeug 251) half-track was an armored fighting vehicle designed and first built by Nazi Germany's Hanomag company during World War II. The largest, most common, and best armored of the wartime half-tracks, the Sd.Kfz. 251 was designed to transport the panzergrenadiers of the German mechanized infantry corps into battle. Widely known simply as "Hanomags" by both German and Allied forces, they were widely produced throughout the war, with over 15,252 vehicles and variants produced in total by various manufacturers.
German machinegunners in action with a MG-08/15
With a MG-08/18
WHAT WAS A MG-08/18?
An air-cooled and thus water-free and lighter version of the MG08/15, designated as the MG08/18, was battlefield tested in small numbers during the last months of the war. The MG08/18's barrel was heavier but it could not be quick-changed, thus overheating was inevitably a problem. It would take the much later MG34, yet to come, to achieve that indispensable flexibility.
With a MG-08
With a MG-34 mounted on a mobike
Germans take shelter against a destroyed Russian T-34 tank.
German infantry at Stalingrad. Autumn 1942
Paulus and von Zeydlitts-Kurtsbah at Stalingrad. November 1942.
Keitel, Hitler, Speyer. Spring 1943.
The trenches were very narrow.
Summer of 1941. German tanks roll into Russia
Romanian soldiers being sent to Odessa. November 1941
MORE WEHRMACHT IMAGES
MORE WEHRMACHT IMAGES
