History
The Maschinengewehr 42, or MG 42 for short, was the main German light and heavy machine gun (or General-purpose machine gun) used by the German forces from 1942 to 1945, the gun is developed to replace the MG 34, a less reliable weapon. It fires the 7.92x57mm Mauser round, same as the Kar 98k, K43 and FG 42. The muzzle pressure of the MG 42 has been greatly increased, it could reach a rate of fire of 1200~1500 rounds per minute (one of the highest average rates of fire of any single-barreled machine gun in history). Due to its rate of fire and the design ofthe barrel, the MG 42 is often quickly overheat, the spare barrel is its standard equipment, the change of barrel is so quickly that an experienced operator can finish this in less than 10 seconds - much faster than most allied machinegun of the time. The MG 42 was designed to be cheaper and easier to build that it's predecessor, the MG 34. Like the browning .30 cal machine gun used by the Americans, the MG 42 was operated by a crew of two or one soldiers and was renowned in American and British circles, with its distinctive 'saw cutting' sound always striking fear into the hearts of the troops, in many cases, people will go prone as soon as they hear the weapon opens fire, even it was not aiming at them. Due to its successful design, the MG 42 is rechambered in 7.62x51mm NATO, designated MG 3 and still in service in some NATO countries today.
Suggested Tactics in Gameplay
In Brothers in Arms: Road to Hill 30 and Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood, the MG 42 is usually a fixed, stationary weapon attached to a wall or on a vehicle. It is encountered most often in those games deployed behind a heavy sandbag gun emplacement which can only be destroy by flanking or on occasion, if you have a tank (Tank cannons can fire through sandbags). In Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, the MG 42 is a mobile weapon that can be deploy by the player or enemy fire teams as a counter against the enemy as you now have a machine-gun team on your side. The MG 42 is a deadly weapon in first two games, in Hell's Highway however, it is less deadly because Baker has more ways to counter the threat.
Most of the time there is a solution to flank the MG 42 and there are usually only two, or if you're lucky, one
person manning the weapon. Be careful with this weapon though, a few hits from this machine-gun can easily kill you and the continuous whizzing of the bullets is rather intimidating. There is always the option of throwing a grenade, but flanking is still the safest. Also, you cannot surpress machine guns so don't bother telling your men to fire on it, you also have to watch where your men are standing because the MG 42 can cause heavy casualties to your squads in a short period of time if not careful. If you have a tank, you can command it to sweep the MG 42 position, be careful that sometimes the operator has Panzerfaust.
There are several points in the games where you can utilize this machine-gun and it immediately suppresses enemies and can easily mow them down. Another plus point is its infinite amount of ammo, remember not to take them away, or the infinite ammo will be canceled. Note that there is a lot of recoil on the weapon and the blinding flash from its barrel as you fire completely obscures your view, thus making the iron sight on it completely useless, fire in bursts can help you aim.
In Hell's Highway, if you take the MG 42 with you, you will have 2 belts in reserve. And you can use the weapon without using the bi-pod, though the accuracy is worse than being mounted, it is still possible to use MG 42 aggressively in close quarters, but its not possible to use the iron sight unless you mounted on something. If enemy squad is seen carrying MG 42, tell your men to focus fire on it, the enemy MG 42 squad has fairly poor mobility, if you have Bazooka team, you can let your squad take out the whole team with only one rocket. If heavy weapons are not available, its still possible to snipe the MG 42 operator with your rifle, K43 Sniper is the best, but M1 Garand, Kar 98k and even M1 Carbine and BAR will work. Unlike the previous two games, the MG 42 operator is exposed when firing his weapon. If the MG 42 operator is killed, no enemy will use it again.
Like Browning .30 cal Machine gun, MG 42 will not have to reload until Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway.