The 2nd Edition of FG42 expands on the 1st Edition by including the early Type I as well as the original Type II in a further exploration of Germany’s groundbreaking FG42. This full-auto machine rifle took the primary infantry rifle from a slow-firing pre-1900 bolt-action-even beyond the U. S. Army’s fast-firing M1 Garand-to a high-capacity, select-fire machine rifle capable of firing 900 rounds per minute while weighing the same as either the M1 or K98k. The FG42’s amazingly brief development includes some prescient aspects of optics capability and its use of a discarded aircraft sight at first. One major influence in the FG42 design was that of the American Johnson Light Machine Gun (a pre-war inspiration), with the heart of America'a LMG Lewis Gun as the operating system!
Too few FG42s were made too late in the war to have much impact. And the battlefield superiority the FG42 offered was lost on post-war arms designers worldwide who ignored its valuable lessons. With existing originals selling in the six-figure range, two well-made semi-auto reproductions give an idea of how well this rifle could have been had it not been hampered by wartime pressure on raw materials causing redesigns, substitutions and quality control issues. This work on the FG42 is written for arms enthusiasts, reenactors and students of the Second World War. Included is a thorough evaluation with an in-depth shooting review of the SMG Guns Type I and Type II semi-auto replicas of these remarkable rifles. Test and evaluation data includes factory ammo and handloaded ammo, a complete, fully illustrated disassembly/reassembly guide of both rifles, as well as more than 100 full color photos of the SMG replica illustrated with a wide variety of reproduction and original accoutrements that make this rifle at home in any WWII collection. Also included are B&W period photos of the arm in combat use from Germany’s Bundesarchiv. View sample pages in Amazon Preview or read illustrated sample chapters free at ArtInArmsPress.com.
