In the Book forgotten soilder by Guy Sajer he refers to his squad machine gun as a spandau with intial searches on this i gathered info saying it was the ww1 maxim machine gun but then again it could be salng for MG 34/42. can anyone tell me what he uses? cause i have not heard about that many elite ubnits using old equipotment. i am think its either the 42 or the 34. i am currently reading this book and if someone could and it would help me picture the action in the book if i knew. all help is appreciated!!!
thanks
“Spandau” is the deceptive -but prevalent- designation for the German MG 08/15 which is indeed based on the Maxim. Also the MG-42 was called “Spandau” - mostly by the British IIRC.
so its either the MG 42 or the MG 08/15? probably more likely to be the 42 but then again at thios point in the war it was only issued to the SS
What? The MG-42?
During the Second World War, the British forces would frequently though inaccurately refer to both the MG34 and the MG42 as the “Spandau” from a mistaken belief that both weapons were designed and manufactured at a factory there.
In fact, the manufacture of the MG42 was reasonably widely subcontracted out, IIRC.
From roughly mid 1942 onwards, the MG42 becomes the more prevalent weapon, and is that most frequently encountered.
From My Reading of Sajer, I took his reference to mean MG42, unequivocally.
Regards, Uyraell.
thx mate
You’re welcome mate.
The habit still persists, by the way.
My uncle was in the NZ Div. in 8th Army, fought through Monte Cassino.
He still refers to MG42 as “Spandau” on the rare occasions he can be persuaded to speak of World War 2.
Regards, Uyraell.
Your right about the MG42 being called the “spandau”. My uncle whos still alive at 92 used one when he was in the Estonian Legion ( 20th div. of the waffen ss) while fighting the red army.
Interesting.
The only references I’ve seen to it being called ‘Spandau’ were from Allied, primarily British, troops.
Where did the Estonians, on the German side, get that term from?
Maybe so-called Guy Sajer’s (true name Guy Mouminoux, and post-war cartoonist Dimitri http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimitri_(auteur)#Le_Soldat_oubli.C3.A9_:Mouminoux.2C_auteur.C3.A0_succ.C3.A8s) book isn’t the most reliable source. http://members.shaw.ca/grossdeutschland/sajer.htm
I have no idea why my Estonian uncle refers to it as the spandau. Next time I visit him ill have to ask him about that.
I know earlier on he was in the Estonian home gaurd and they did some training with Lee Enfield .303, and around 1941 when the red army controlled Estonia he was making snow skis for the red army since he was a cabinet maker by trade. When the Germans arrived he joined the estonian legion (ss), but at the end of the war, he ditched his uniform and worked in a US controlled displaced persons camp serving donuts and coffeee. Dont know what country that was in though( might be germany beacause he was wounded fighting at Narva and shipped out to a nuns convent for medical care), as my uncle is old and wonders from one story to another. After that he made his way to NZ with his new wife.
Maybe he picked the term up from surplus WWI German MG.08s that the Estonian army would have used in the period between the two wars.
This is a Mg42 you can see that because of the shape of the barrel a round one is a mg34. A square one is mg 42
Thanks for clearing that up.