Original Item: Only One Set available! This is a fantastic MG 34 Collectors set, recently purchased at a large military auction. At the heart of it is a very nice late war MG 34 display gun manufactured in occupied Czechoslovakia, along with a post war repainted basket belt drum, and an additional two WWII Marked and dated drums in a correct transit frame. This all comes in a custom made transit chest, along with some other great period accessories! We have not had a nice set like this for quite some time!

Comprised of nearly entirely original WWII parts, the Original MG 34 display gun in this set was reconstructed using a BATF approved receiver with 2 sections totally replaced with solid steel bar stock, making this an inert non-firing display gun. It is coded along with multiple German wartime markings and has multiple Waffenamts. It bears original serial number 4383 / b on the barrel jacket, along with dot / 1945 for manufacture by Waffenwerke Brünn in Czechoslovakia. This factory was the famous Zbrojovka Brno in Brno, Czechoslovakia before being captured by Germany during WWII.

The top cover still bears original serial number 8850, along with a Waffenamt proof. There are serial numbers and German proof marks on many other parts of the display gun. There are some great markings on this very fine example of the most prolific German issued Light Machine gun of WWII. The attached basket belt carrier is a post war repainted drum, which is not marked.

The feed tray is marked arz for Deutsche Kuhl- & Kraftmaschinen GmbH, Werk Brand-Erbisdorf bei Freiberg, a maker of air handling equipment prior to the war, and used to make stamped steel components during the war. The bipod included is of the late war design, without a central height adjustment knob, and is in excellent condition.It is marked on the side of the central portion with maker code and date dfb 43, for 1942 manufacture by Gustloff-Werke, Waffenfabrik, in Suhl, Germany. This company made many components for the MG 34 and MG 42, including entire guns.

Front and rear sight still flip up and function correctly, and the bipod folds away and locks in correctly. The rear wooden butt stock is in great shape, with a serial number on the side. It looks to be an arsenal replacement, due to the excellent condition. The cocking handle is not original, and was custom fabricated for the display gun. It is a bit loose, and can fall out.

The transport frame for the additional two basket belt drums is painted the correct "panzergrau" blue gray, however it is worn through in places, showing that it was originally painted tan for the North Africa and Italian campaigns. It is marked on the side with wa 43, for 1943 manufacture by HASAG-Eisen- & Metallwerke GmbH, previously known as Hugo Schneider AG, Abteilung Lampenfabrik, Leipzig. Both basket belt carrier drums are marked h.q.u. 43, for 1943 manufacture by Markes & Co., K.-G., Metallwarenfabrik u. Apparatebau (Metal goods factory and apparatus construction) of Lüdenscheid. They are both painted the same blue gray color, and this looks to be their original color. The frame and baskets are in very good shape, with a lovely lightly service work look.

The other accessories included with this set include:
- One MG 34 wood and steel carry handle, which fits into the mounting on the barrel jacket

- One MG 34 Anti-Aircraft front Spider Sight

- One MG 34 Mounting Attachment for a music stand type Anti-Aircraft mount. This looks to be possibly of post war manufacture, and the wing nut and bolt are definitely recent manufacture.

- One MG 34 Barrel Carrier, which looks to be post war.

- One MG 34 Action Cover, most likely post war Yugoslavian or Macedonian.

- One Reproduction MG 34 Leather Sling, which is missing the front attaching hook.

The display gun and these accessories are all enclosed in a custom wooden transit chest, which measures 51"L x 9"W x 11"H. It has many areas inside for holding the various accessories that it comes with, and has had some reproduction data plates and markings added to make it look more authentic. It has handles on the ends, and a hinged lid, which is held closed by screws along the top.

A fantastic MG 34 collector set with great accessories! Ready to add to your collection and display!

Please note that there are various post-war markings on this display gun, in addition to the German WW2 markings. Many of these were acquired out of Israel, so many parts may have markings in Hebrew and "Star of David" proofs.

The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG 34, is a German recoil-operated air-cooled machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It accepts the 7.92×57mm Mauser cartridge, and is generally considered the world's first general-purpose machine gun.

The versatile MG 34 was arguably the most advanced machine gun in the world at the time of its deployment. Its combination of exceptional mobility - being light enough to be carried by one man - and high rate of fire (of up to 900 rounds per minute) was unmatched. It entered service in great numbers following AH's repudiation of the Versailles Treaty in 1936, and was first combat tested by German troops aiding Franco's Nationalists in the Spanish Civil War. Nonetheless, the design proved too complex for mass production, and was supplemented by the cheaper and simpler MG 42, though both remained in service and production until the end of the war.

History

The MG 34 was based on a 1930 Rheinmetall design, the MG 30. The Swiss and Austrian militaries had both licensed and produced the MG 30 from Rheinmetall shortly after patent. The MG 30 design was adapted and modified by Heinrich Vollmer of Mauser Industries. Vollmer modified the feed mechanism to accept either drum magazines or belt ammunition. He also increased the rate of fire. The MG 34's double crescent trigger dictated either semiautomatic or fully automatic firing modes.

In the field, the weapon could operate in offensive or defensive applications. The offensive model, with a mobile soldier, used a drum magazine that could hold either 50 or 75 rounds of ammunition. In a stationary defensive role, the gun was mounted on a bipod or tripod and fed by an ammunition belt. Belts were carried in boxes of five. Each belt contained 50 rounds. Belt lengths could be linked for sustained fire. During sustained fire, barrels would have to be changed at intervals due to the heat generated by the rapid rate of fire. If the barrels were not changed properly, the weapon would misfire. Changing barrels was a rapid process for the trained operator and involved disengaging a latch and swinging the receiver to the right for the insertion of a new barrel. Accordingly, stationary defensive positions required more than one operator.

The MG 34 was the mainstay of German Army support weapons from the time of its first issue in 1935 until 1942, when it was supplanted by the next generation Maschinengewehr 42 or MG 42. Although the 34 was very reliable and dominant on the battlefield, its dissemination throughout the German forces was hampered due to its precision engineering, which resulted in high production costs and a relatively slower rate of production. For its successor, the MG 42, the Germans instead used mass production techniques similar to those that created the MP 40 submachine gun. However, the Germans nevertheless continued widespread production of MG 34s until the end of the war.

The MG 34 was used as the primary infantry machine gun during the 1930s, and remained as the primary armored vehicle defensive weapon. It was to be replaced in infantry service by the related MG 42, but there were never enough quantities of the new design to go around, and MG 34s soldiered on in all roles until the end of World War II. The MG 34 was intended to replace the MG 13 and other older machine guns, but these were still being used in World War II as demand was never met.

It was designed primarily by Heinrich Vollmer from the Mauser Werke, based on the recently introduced Rheinmetall-designed Solothurn 1930 (MG 30) that was starting to enter service in Switzerland. Changes to the operating mechanism improved the rate of fire to between 800 and 900 rpm.

The new gun was accepted for service almost immediately and was generally liked by the troops, and it was used to great effect by German soldiers assisting Nationalist Spain in the Spanish Civil War. At the time it was introduced, it had a number of advanced features and the general-purpose machine gun concept that it aspired to was an influential one. However, the MG 34 was also expensive, both in terms of construction and the raw materials needed (49 kg (108.0 lb) of steel),[citation needed] and its manufacture was too time-consuming to be built in the numbers required for the ever-expanding German armed forces. It was the standard machine gun of the Kriegsmarine (German navy).