Tank

Usually, a light machine gun is intended to act as a support weapon, in that it can generate a greater volume of continuous automatic fire than the usual firearms carried by infantry soldiers, at the cost of greater weight and higher ammunition consumption.
It is possible to fire a light machine gun from the hip or on the move, but they are usually fired from a prone position, especially when using a bipod. Early light machine guns (especially those derived from automatic rifles, such as the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle) were sometimes magazine-fed. Some LMGs, such as the Russian RPK, are modifications of existing assault rifle designs. Adaptations generally include a larger magazine, heavier barrel to resist overheating, more robust action to support sustained fire, and often a bipod.

Anti-Tank Rifle

Knut Erik Hagen took these photos in March 2004 at the Tojhusmuseet, København (Royal Danish Arsenal museum).
Info sent in by Tuomas Koivurinne: First, your "Unknown anti-tank Rifle" is German M1918 13mm Mauser "Tank-Gewehr" anti-tank rifle. In fact the only one of it`s kind to be introduced during World War I. Unwieldy single-shot Weapon, 167cm long and weighting 17,7 kg (39lbs). Its recoil made firing it a memorable experience. In the 1920s the Czech military was looking for a light machine gun in the same class as the Browning Automatic rifle. Eventually the Praga 1924 was approved. This was originally designed as a belt-fed gun but was only accepted after being re-designed to accept magazines.
Calibre: 7.92x57mm
Length: 116.5cm
Weight: 8.9kg (empty)
Rate of fire: 520 rpm

Kirklees Machine Guns

The MG42 was developed as a successor to the MG34. The MG34, whilst being a highly capable multi-purpose machine gun, was too expensive and time consuming to produce during wartime.
The new machine gun would have many new pressed and stamped metal parts and after prototypes and tests the MG42 was born. Simplifying the production resulted in a considerable saving in the cost and the halving of production time per weapon.
The MG42 utilised the same bipod as the MG34. It had no single shot facility and the cyclic rate of fire was greatly increased. A new heavy tripod, the Lafette 42 (almost indiscernible from the Lafette 34) was designed for the weapon.
Calibre: 7.92x57mm
Length: 122cm
Weight: 11.6kg (32.1kg with Lafette 42)
Rate of fire: 1200-1500 rpm
Quantity produced: 415,000

The PK is a 7.62 mm general purpose machine gun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. Its NATO equivalents are the FN MAG, MG3, and M60 machine guns. The PK machine gun was introduced in the 1960s and replaced the SGM and RPD machine guns in Soviet service. The PK machine gun can be used as a light anti-aircraft weapon when it is put on an AA mount. One feature typical to Soviet machine guns is that the standard model feeds from the right and ejects its spent cases via an ejection port on the left side of the weapon, as opposed to the usual right side ejection port seen in most western machine guns.The original PK ("Kalashnikov's Machine gun") was a evelopment of Kalashnikov's automatic rifle design, firing the 7.62x54mmR Eastern Bloc standard munition originally from the Mosin-Nagant. It is equipped with a simple bipod and is designed as a squad-level support weapon also suitable for installation and vehicle mounting. Most are belt-fed, using linked 25 round belts. These 25 round belts can be linked to any length necessary.

mg13 Machine Gun

The MG13 was the result of the reworking of a heavy watercooled WW1 weapon, the ‘Dreyse MG1912’. The weapon was aircooled and recoil operated. It could not use linked belts and instead utilised a 25 round box magazine. It was equipped with a bipod and an archaic sustained fire kit. This was really a short term ‘stopgap’ weapon which was introduced into the Reichswehr in 1930. The MG13 was officially withdrawn from service in 1934 with the introduction of the MG34 that made it obsolete. However it remained in storage and they were brought back into service on the outbreak of war.
Calibre: 7.92x57mm
Length: 134cm
Weight: 11kg
Rate of fire: 550 rpm

Guns

Guns