Please help. How much truth is there in MG42?

[maximapuch]

I am planning to buy an MG42. The seller claims it is a 1944 Steyer original. According to the data, this is true. But individual parts do not have serial numbers. He says that the parts were manufactured by subcontractors and there are only signatures. ok. But I am asking you to assess how much truth there is. I don't want to buy the Yugo M53 version. What worries me the most is that the barrel has numbers and those numbers are different. What barrel is this? Are the rest original MG42?






















And.... problem... Burrel?
it's oryginał?


What You think?

[maximapuch]

Any one?

[Mordecai]

Reciever is stamped
PJ
7423c
SWJ

Which would indicate it was made in 1944 by Waffenfabrik Steyr.

Barrel is stamped CRA 5 in a shield which is Maget.

I am not sure about the barrel change lever maybe they made some that were stamped instead of screwed? I'll defer to others on that.

Overall the mg42 has waffenampts on most of the parts which would indicate german but some of the parts are made by different german manufacturers.
I would say it's a partial mismatch German mg42 or a German later war rebuild but I am not nearly as knowledgeable as others on here so take my post with a grain of salt.

[maximapuch]

Thank you very much for your comments. They will help me a lot in my conversations. The seller claimed that at the end of 1944 Steyer used the services of subcontractors and that is not why there are no numbers on the elements anymore. What really worries me the most is the barrel. It has a number, unfortunately different from the rifle itself. Thanks to you, I now know that it was produced by Magtech. I couldn't read the "cra" signature. I will ask other colleagues for an assessment. The expected price is 11,000 euros. Assuming it's not an M53, I think it's worth it. What do you think?

[Mordecai]

Thank you very much for your comments. They will help me a lot in my conversations. The seller claimed that at the end of 1944 Steyer used the services of subcontractors and that is not why there are no numbers on the elements anymore. What really worries me the most is the barrel. It has a number, unfortunately different from the rifle itself. Thanks to you, I now know that it was produced by Magtech. I couldn't read the "cra" signature. I will ask other colleagues for an assessment. The expected price is 11,000 euros. Assuming it's not an M53, I think it's worth it. What do you think?

I believe Steyr did allot of subcontracting past 1941 this post talks some about Steyr MG42's.

Steyr MG42 production | K98k Forum

"Steyr never was much more than an assembler of components (mostly made by subsidiaries) after 1941, and their MG42 production was primarily one of assembling components, mostly made by subsidiaries, receivers in Austria, and kls seems to have supplied several other parts."

I am not sure if any of the parts that were 'sub contracted' were proof stamped before they left for Steyr to be assembled but I would presume all the parts should have the same waffenamt after being assembled at Steyr.

Also here is a note regarding the barrel change door I found doing research.

MG42 original or not?

"Here's a photo of my MG 42 and M53 side by side, with the different buttstock profiles clearly visible. Also note the barrel change door. Wartime German production used a large screw, whereas the Yugoslavians used a rivet."

I believe the barrel change door lever could be from a MG53. If it is I'm leaning more towards a post war reassemble mg42 from German parts and a MG53 barrel change lever. Back to my other point, I believe all the waffenamt stamps should be the same even if they were 'sub-contracted' which would also indicate a post war reassemble of parts.

You should most certainly get second opinions (as you said you were) before buying this. I am certainly no authority when it comes to MG42 manufacturers and If I am wrong on any of these points I am more than happy to be corrected!

[maximapuch]

The issue of the screw in the MG42 is not obvious. I had the pleasure of seeing the M53 and there is a difference. There are several companies in Poland that sell the M53. Notice the shape. There is a mushroom shape everywhere in the M53. Quite different in mine. It looks like there weren't just screws after all.

[Mordecai]

Hmm, I've seen no MG42s with a rivet like that so perhaps its a MG53 barrel change lever rivet that was ground flat? I suppose there is still the possibility of it being German but i would not know. Thank you for the MG53 pictures. Quite the interesting gun!