Original Items: One of a Kind Set. We have not had one of these for years! Released in the 1970s from military stores (in Portugal), this is one of just 500 MG 34 LMGs produced by NSDAP Germany and delivered to Portugal in early 1944. Portugal had adopted the MG 34 in 1940, designating it the M/940, but re-designated it the Metralhadora 7.9mm M/944 when this shipment arrived. These were all marked "dot" on the barrel jacket for manufacture and final assembly at Waffenwerke Brünn in Czechoslovakia, formally Zbrojovka Brno before its capture by Germany. They also were all marked Konstruktion Rheinmetal-Borsig on the top cover, for the original designer of the MG 34. These were all delivered in matching numbered transit chests, with matching spare barrels and other accessories.

This is a fantastic MG 34 display gun, constructed using nearly entirely original WWII parts from one of the matching Portuguese parts sets that were imported years ago, serial 5002 b. It was reconstructed using a BATF approved rewelded receiver, which is the only component that is not serial number matched. This has a section equal to 30% (2+ Inches) of the receiver length totally replaced with solid steel bar stock, making this an inert non-firing display gun.

The display gun features a rare and desirable bakelite butt stock, and comes in its original fully marked transit chest, marked Met. 7.9mm m/944 B5002 on the front side. The chest measures approximately 48"L x 11 1/2" x 11 1/2", and still contains most of the original dividers, though many of the retaining slats are now missing. Inside the chest is a serial number matched MG 34 barrel carrier with the matching replacement barrel inside, as well as an original WWII production basket belt carrier in the correct wartime gray blue color. It is marked wc 41, for 1941 production at the Meuselwitz, Thuringia plant of HASAG-Eisen- & Metallwerke GmbH, previously known as Hugo Schneider AG, Abteilung Lampenfabrik. This is truly a great offering, and we do not expect to have another like this anytime in the year future!

The display gun itself is in excellent condition, and is coded along with multiple German wartime markings. It does not bear many of the usual Waffenamts, as it was not made for domestic use. It bears original serial number 5002 / b on the barrel jacket, along with dot / 1943 for manufacture by Waffenwerke Brünn in Czechoslovakia. The top cover is marked with the correct contract information and asset number:

Konstruktion
Rheinmetal-Borsig
1943
No. 344

The top cover is also marked with clc, the maker code for Richard Ab. Herder of Solingen, a maker of cutlery and tools in the legendary "City of Blades". The feed tray is marked with bpr, for Johannes Grossfuss, Dölbeln in Sachsen, a known maker of feed trays and top covers. The bipod included is of the early war design, without the central height adjustment knob, and is in excellent condition. It is maker marked kur 43 on the central hub, for Steyr-Daimler-Puch AG, Werk Graz, Fuhrhofsgasse 44, production in 1943. Next to this is a partial Waffenamt WaA815 marking, correct for this factory. There really are some great markings on this very fine example of the most prolific German issued Light Machine gun of WWII, with lots of potential for research.

The front and rear sight still flip up and function correctly, and the bipod folds away and locks in correctly. The rare bakelite butt stock is in excellent condition, with no issues to note. The basket belt carrier properly locks onto the feed tray, and the top cover can be opened as well. The butt stock and bipod can be removed, and the display gun fits perfectly in the original transit chest.

A fantastic matching number display MG 34 LMG, complete with original accessories in its original matching transit chest. We definitely do not expect to see another one of these again anytime soon! This would be the perfect "crown jewel" for any German WWII Machine Gun enthusiast!

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).