"Karar" redirects here. For the Iranian unmanned aerial combat drone, see Karrar (UCAV).
"MG3" redirects here. Not to be confused with MG3 (automobile).
General-purpose machine gun
MG 3
A MG 3
Type
General-purpose machine gun
Place of origin
West Germany
Service history
In service
1959–present
Used by
See Users
Wars
Nigerian Civil War Bangladesh Liberation War[1] Iran–Iraq War Lebanese Civil War The Troubles Kurdish–Turkish conflict Second Sudanese Civil War[2] Somali Civil War Kargil War War in Afghanistan War in North-West Pakistan Syrian Civil War Boko Haram insurgency[3] Libyan Civil War War in Iraq (2013–2017)[4] Yemeni Civil War (2015–present)[5] Russo-Ukrainian War[6]
Production history
Designed
1959
Manufacturer
Rheinmetall License-built by: Beretta, MKEK, Ellinika Amyntika Systimata, Defense Industries Organization, Military Industry Corporation, Pakistan Ordnance Factories, General Dynamics Santa Bárbara Sistemas
Produced
1959–present
No. built
1 million+
Variants
See Variants
Specifications
Mass
11.5 kg (25.35 lb)[7] 27.5 kg (61 lb) (mounted on tripod)
Length
1,225 mm (48.2 in) 1,097 mm (43.2 in) (without stock)
Barrel length
565 mm (22.2 in)
Cartridge
7.62×51mm NATO
Action
Recoil-operated, roller locked
Rate of fire
800–950 rounds/min or 1,000–1,200 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity
820 m/s (2,690 ft/s)
Effective firing range
200–1,200 m sight adjustments
Maximum firing range
600 m (1,969 ft) (bipod) 1,200–1,600 m (3,937–5,249 ft) (tripod mounted) 3,000 m (9,843 ft) (gun carriage) 3,750 m (12,303 ft) (terminal)
Feed system
50-round non-disintegrating DM1 belt (can be combined in a drum); 100-round disintegrating DM6/M13 belt
Sights
Open tangent iron sights or optical sights
The MG 3 is a German general-purpose machine gun chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42 that fired the 7.92×57mm Mauser round.[8]
The MG 3 was standardized in the late 1950s and adopted into service with the newly formed Bundeswehr, where it continues to serve to this day as a squad support weapon and a vehicle-mounted machine gun. The weapon and its derivatives have also been acquired by the armed forces of over 40 countries. Production rights to the machine gun were purchased by Italy (MG 42/59 [it]), Spain, Pakistan (MG 1A3), Greece, Iran, Sudan and Turkey.[9]
^McNab, Chris (2002). 20th Century Military Uniforms (2nd ed.). Kent: Grange Books. p. 31. ISBN 1-84013-476-3.
^"Sudan – Global trade, local impact: Arms Transfers to all Sides in the Civil War in Sudan" (PDF). Human Rights Watch Report. 10 (4): 25. August 1998.
^Cite error: The named reference Tessieres was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^VICE News (27 April 2016). "What It's Really Like to Fight for the Islamic State". YouTube. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021.
^Dnevnik (in Slovenian). Ljubljana, Slovenia: Radiotelevizija Slovenija. 2015. Event occurs at 17:13. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
^Nikolov, Boyko (28 March 2022). "1,500 Soviet Strela-2 MANPADS and 100 MG3 arrived in Ukraine". BulgarianMilitary.com.
^Bundesministerium der Verteidigung (26 June 1979). "Dv 3-14 Das Maschinengewehr" (PDF) (in German) – via Wikimedia Commons.
^Woźniak, Ryszard (2001). Encyklopedia najnowszej broni palnej—tom 3 M-P (in Polish). Warsaw: Bellona. p. 106.
^"7.62 mm MG3 Machine Gun". MKEK. Archived from the original on 15 September 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2014.
MG3 is a German general-purpose machinegun chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The weapon's design is derived from the World War II era MG 42...
The MG 131 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 131, or "machinegun 131") was a German 13 mm caliber machinegun developed in 1938 by Rheinmetall-Borsig...
The MG 17 was a 7.92 mm machinegun produced by Rheinmetall-Borsig for use at fixed mountings in many World War II Luftwaffe aircraft, typically as forward-firing...
The MG 42 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 42, or "machinegun 42") is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machinegun used extensively...
Maschinengewehr 08, or MG 08, was the German Army's standard machinegun in World War I and is an adaptation of Hiram S. Maxim's original 1884 Maxim gun. It was produced...
The MG 34 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 34, or "machinegun 34") is a German recoil-operated air-cooled general-purpose machinegun, first tested...
similar to other light machineguns, like the Bren light machinegun, but low when compared to its main wartime rivals, the German MG 34/MG 42 series, firing...
Maschinengewehr (Schwarzlose) M. 7, also known as the Schwarzlose MG, is a medium machine-gun, used as a standard issue firearm in the Austro-Hungarian Army...
The MG 15 was a German 7.92 mm machinegun designed specifically as a hand-manipulated defensive gun for combat aircraft during the early 1930s. By 1941...
The 7.5 mm Maschinengewehr 1951 or Mg 51 is a general-purpose machinegun manufactured by W+F of Switzerland. The weapon was introduced into Swiss service...
The T24 machinegun was a prototype reverse engineered copy of the German MG 42 general-purpose machinegun developed during World War II as a possible...
new heavy machinegun to replace its older SGM and DShK machineguns in the early 1950s. The Soviet Army liked the idea behind the German MG 42; a versatile...
The PK machinegun is equipped with a lever-type feed mechanism introduced in Louis Stange's MG 39 Rh and copied in the Czechoslovak machineguns like vz...
The Bren gun was a series of light machineguns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role...
The Maschinengewehr 30, or MG 30 was a German-designed machinegun that saw some service with various armed forces in the 1930s. It was also modified...
Maschinengewehr Modell 1911 or MG 11 is a Swiss heavy machinegun which was introduced before and during World War I. The MG 11 has a close constructive...
Type 3 heavy machinegun (三年式重機関銃, San-nen-shiki juu-kikanjuu), also known as the Taishō 14 machinegun, was a Japanese air-cooled heavy machinegun. The...
The MG 45 (also known as the MG 42V) was a machinegun based on the MG 42, which was developed but not fielded in significant numbers by the German Army...
The MG 13 (shortened from German Maschinengewehr 13) is a German light machinegun developed by converting the Dreyse Model 1918 heavy water-cooled machine...
a Soviet heavy machinegun. The weapon may be vehicle mounted or used on a tripod or wheeled carriage as a heavy infantry machinegun. The DShK's name...
The M2 machinegun or Browning .50 caliber machinegun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machinegun that was designed near the end of World War I by...
1901, or MG 01, was the standard machinegun of the Imperial German Army from its introduction in 1901 to the adoption of its successor, the MG 08, in 1908...
all of them. Machineguns then diverged into heavier and lighter designs. The later model water-cooled Maxim gun and its derivatives (the MG 08 and the...
for the rest of the Cold War. MG3machinegun- Modernised variant of WWII MG 42. Served as main German Cold War machinegun from late 1950s. PzF 44 MILAN...
Russian 7.62×54mmR general-purpose machinegun. It is a further development and modification of the PK machinegun (PKM). It is said to be more accurate...
The Madsen is a light machinegun that Julius A. Rasmussen and Theodor Schouboe designed and proposed for adoption by Colonel Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen...
Various others Type 89 machinegun (the Imperial Japanese Army equivalent to the Type 92)) MG 15 machinegunMG 81 machinegun Vickers VGO Mikesh, Robert...
Global Information