MG 13 ( German: Maschinengewehr 13 ) is a German light machine gun developed on the basis of the design of the MG 08/18 light machine gun by a team of gunsmiths, technologists and engineers of the machine gun development department ( MG-Versuchsabteilung ) of Rheinmetall company led by Luis Stange [1] .
| MG 13 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type of | Light machine gun |
| A country |  Germany |
| Service History | |
| Years of operation | 1930-1945 |
| Adopted | |
| Wars and conflicts | Spanish Civil War The Second World War Colonial War of Portugal |
| Production history | |
| Designed by | 1926 |
| Manufacturer | |
| Years of production | 1930-1945 |
| Specifications | |
| Weight kg | 13.3 |
| Length mm | 1340 |
| Cartridge | 7.92 Γ 57 mm |
| Work principles | recoil of the barrel , lever locking |
| Rate of fire rounds / min | 600 |
| starting speed bullets , m / s | 890 |
| Maximum range, m | 2000 |
| Type of ammunition | 25 round magazine or 75 round drum box |
Description
7.9-mm machine gun MG 13 is built on the basis of automation with a short course of the barrel . Food is provided from box magazines of 25 or drum stores of 75 rounds [1] .
History of Creation and Application
When creating weapons, the MG 08/18 Draise machine gun was taken as the basis. Prior to arming, the weapon had the code name GerΓ€t 13 [1] .
The machine gun received air cooling of the barrel instead of water, the barrel itself became quickly replaceable, box and S-shaped stores were created to power the machine gun.
Options and Modifications
- MG.13k - tank machine gun with a barrel shortened to 600 mm [1] . Intended for arming tanks, armored personnel carriers and partially for use as an aircraft machine gun [2] .
Operator countries
- Weimar Republic : adopted by the Reichswehr in 1931 [1]
- Germany : withdrawn from service in 1934 and replaced by a more advanced MG 34 machine gun , however, it continued to be used in the army until the Wehrmacht received a sufficient number of new MG 34s. In addition, the MG 13 was used to arm the first production German light tanks PzKpfw I and for arming the rear shooter on the Ju 87 dive. After the outbreak of World War II, stocks were transferred to the troops [1]
- Franco-Spain : after the outbreak of the war in Spain in 1936 from Germany, deliveries of machine guns for the Franco began [1]
- Second Spanish Republic : during the war in Spain, a number of captured machine guns were used by Republicans
- Portugal : Most of the discontinued MG 13s were sold to Portugal , where they remained in service until the end of the 1940s.
Notes
- β 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ilya Shaidurov. Unknown and famous Louis Stange (part 1) // Magazine βMaster-gunβ, No. 12 (165), December 2010. pp. 22-35
- β F.K. Babak. Wehrmacht small arms. - Publishing house "Polygon", 2002 p. 161