The telescopic sight on the MG 42 mounts does two things: it enables the number one on the gun to keep an extremely low-profile, even to remain completely behind cover.
It also helps the number one to see the target. The fact that it is an area weapon is irrelevant to this. This is why telescopic sights have been used on machine guns ever since the First World War, and are being used extremely frequently in Iraq and Afghanistan at the moment.
Ah… Thanks. It all make sense now. The machine gunner is in cover and wait for the enemies to come in range while using the scope in low profile.
By No. 1 do you mean the gunner?
If so, and assuming that the lower optic is the No. 1’s viewing piece, how does he shoulder the butt or otherwise restrain the weapon and control it while firing with his head well below the butt and somewhere in a circle between his arms? Seems like a most awkward firing position with very limited ability to control the weapon properly.
The telescopic sight has saved mg-42 crews or at least the gunners. An account from the book Red Blood Snow: The author, Gunther is in winter Russia as a machine gunner with a feeder and is in a trench. He looks through the sight toward a forest and notices a small hump that flinches. He immediatley ducks and a HE sniper round flies an inch from his head. His feeder however gets sniped when he looks over the trench and so does the feeder replacement. But the second one lives.
Simple answer: he does not shoulder the butt, the weapon is restrained by the tripod. The German tripod does not have a “wave it around” mode like e.g. the Vickers tripod, only a " dial in " mode. Interestingly, many of the German tripods also had a fire disperser operated by the recoil of the weapon to increase the size of the beaten zone.
Thanks.
All is now clear.
Those crafty Germans, they think of everything. 
I can’t upload the picture as I am new here but I placed the attachment of the MG 42 with the Bino-scope. This is what I mean all the while…
I think you mean an MG34 with a scope…
The same scope used in MG 42.
‘Trench Guns’ were shotguns that had shorter barrels and a bayonet lug. They had to differentiate because in the First World War long barreled shotguns were used to a limited extent as antiaircraft weapons. I would think the terminology was just carried over into the Second World War. The Hague Convention bans the use of ‘bullets which expand or flatten easily in the human body’ which does kind of leave shotgun rounds in a grey area. Also of note, it was the Hague Convention banned the use of poison gas. Germany was the first to use poison gas and also the ones that complained that shotguns were a breach of the convention. Never the less they were very effective close range weapons.
i like the tompson because of the rate of fire,reliability and power.
The garand,springfield and moising nagant i would consider the best rifles( the lee enfield was accurate,strong but disliked by troops)
the bren was better than the B.A.R. more ammo, and the magazine was on top so you could reload faster when you lay down.
stg 44 the first assault rifle was one of the best guns in ww2 they gave an surrounded german force these rifles and they broke trough russian lines
i hate the mp40 its crap. weak bullet, reliability was avarage( the magazine spring was bad) and you could get your hands burned. the only thing good about it was accuracy
sten unrealiable, uggly and weak
I believe that in every war from the Ages and today, the most powerful weapon is the Combat Knife, because always is a Platoon who decide the end.
Aye yours,
i like the m1 garand becuse it had a large bullet and lots of stoping fire ny secind favourite is the mp40 ilike it cause it was good in close quarters and my favourite pistol is the m1911 45. it has great stoping power the 45. is better thethen the 9mm bullet
i dislike the bolt action rifles because u have to pul back the bolt aim and with a semi auto matic rifle u aim fire aim agian then fire the sten sucked but the good thing about it it was small and cheap
That’s the first I’ve heard of that, in fact I don’t recall any British veterans saying that they disliked either of the main two Lee-Enfield rifles in service. Many preferred one over the other for many reasons, but I have never, ever heard of a dislike expressed.
I still like the Bazooka despite some claims that it was out of date before it could benefit the war. When it came out, bazooka was all the rage!
Its a periscope so the gunner can keep his noggin from getting ventilated by remaining below the top edge of his position.
We should get the correct wpns when you talk about them The M1A1will not take a DRUM only the M1921 or M1928 will take the drum.
Cheers
well i dont understand it either because it was better then the mauser, very accurate pwerfull, and you could schoot many rounds after each other. ( mad minute) some claim 30 rpm( is the number to much or accurate?