MG 42 'bnz PJ'
Hello folks!
This one has been a very long time coming. This is an item I've wanted since I started collecting, pretty much. One of the most iconic machine guns of the Second World War, perhaps of all time. Nicknamed 'Hitler's Buzzsaw' for its obscene rate of fire of 1200 RPM.
This, like my MG 34, is a 'Russian captured' example. As was commonplace with German small arms that fell into the hands of the Russians en masse at war's end, this example has been stripped down into its base components and reassembled using pieces from many different guns. While this does mean the components aren't matching or original to each other, it does mean that every single component is of WWII vintage. With the multitude of nations that produced this gun after the war, finding an all-original MG 42 can be a minefield. I am very pleased to have found this one.
It is a Steyr-made example, marked 'bnz', with the late war code of 'PJ' indicating a date of 1944.
Regrettably, it was also subject to the same deactivation process as my MG 34. The top cover lifts, and the trigger moves. The barrel change door opens, but the barrel itself is tack-welded in place. The cocking handle moves back and forth, under spring pressure, but does not interact at all with the bolt. It has been chopped in half and welded in place, as is required under the new EU deact specifications. Seeing a few EU-spec examples at the War & Peace Show helped to soften the blow for when this one finally arrived!
Still, butchered or not, this is undeniably an MG 42! It hurts to see these things deactivated in such a way. In fact, it's a terrible thing that they have to be deactivated at all. But at least we are still able to own these things here in the UK. Neutered, but absolutely chock full of history!
The new crown jewel of my collection!
With her younger sister, the Yugoslavian M53.
Family photos!
Regards, B.B.
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by Jb4046
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