The MG34 laid down withering fire during Germany’s Blizkrieg victories early in WWII, but it was the MG42, designed to replace that MG34, that has had the greatest influence since the end of that war. As good as the MG34 was, it was too expensive and production too time consuming for Germany’s wartime needs. Already by 1937, designs for a replacement were being evaluated. As a result, the MG42, which was less expensive to produce, entered production in 1942. Even though the MG34 remained in production until the end of the War, about 75,000 more MG42s were produced. Although the MG42 was still a well-made weapon, there was not as much precision machining as with the MG34, which aided reliability in dust, snow, mud, etc. One of the most noteworthy…