The German Rifle that Could Switch From 'Sniper' to Machine Gun in 1 Second

The German Rifle That Could Switch From 'Sniper' to Machine Gun in 1 Second

June 1944. An American sergeant in the Normandy hedgerows hears a sound he cannot identify. Single precise shots, then sudden automatic fire. He has just encountered the FG 42, the weapon German paratroopers carried, and the trophy Allied soldiers wanted more than almost any other.

Born from the disaster at Crete, where Fallschirmjäger died reaching for weapons they could not carry during jumps, the Fallschirmjägergewehr 42 was Hermann Göring's answer to an impossible problem. A rifle that could deliver sniper-level accuracy one moment and machine gun suppression the next. A full-power 7.92mm weapon compact enough for a paratrooper to jump with. An engineering achievement so advanced that only 7,000 were ever made.

From Monte Cassino to the hedgerows of Normandy, the FG 42 armed Germany's elite Green Devils. After the war, American engineers studied captured examples so intently that its DNA lives on in the M60 machine gun. Today, fewer than 30 transferable examples exist in the US registry, with auction prices exceeding $400,000.

This is the story of the weapon that Allied soldiers prized above almost all others.

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SOURCES & FURTHER READING

Primary Sources:
• US Army Intelligence Bulletin, June 1944: "New German Rifle for Paratroopers"
• Aberdeen Proving Ground evaluation reports, 1944-1945
• US Army Ordnance Corps M60 development documentation
• Bundesarchiv photograph collections (Gran Sasso, Normandy, Monte Cassino)
• National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) captured weapons documentation

Books & Academic Sources:
• Senich, Peter. "The German Assault Rifle 1935-1945"
• McNab, Chris. "German Automatic Rifles 1941-45" (Osprey Weapon Series)
• Handrich, Hans-Dieter. "Sturmgewehr! From Firepower to Striking Power"
• Beevor, Antony. "Crete: The Battle and the Resistance"

Museum Collections Referenced:
• Imperial War Museum, London (Type I and Type II variants)
• NRA National Firearms Museum, Fairfax, Virginia
• National WWII Museum, New Orleans
• Wehrtechnische Studiensammlung, Koblenz

Auction Records:
• Rock Island Auction Company sale results (2014, 2016, 2023)

Video Resources:
• Forgotten Weapons (Ian McCollum) — FG 42 live fire demonstrations and technical analysis



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DISCLAIMER

This channel presents historical content for educational purposes. We do not support, glorify, or promote Nazi ideology, the Third Reich, or any form of extremism. German soldiers are presented as historical actors, many of whom were conscripts, not as heroes to be admired. The Allied victory in World War Two was a triumph over fascism that this channel fully acknowledges and respects.

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