Brontekst bekijken van Maschinenkarabiner 42(H)

{{refimprove|date=May 2018}}

{{Infobox weapon
|name=Maschinenkarabiner 42(H) 
| image=Haenel Mkb 42(H).jpg
| image_size = 300
|caption=Haenel-built MKb 42(H)
|type=[[Assault rifle]]
<!-- Type selection -->
|service=1942 – 1945 
<!-- Production history -->
|designer=[[Hugo Schmeisser]]
|number=8,000
|spec_label=
<!-- Ranged weapon specifications -->
|action=[[Gas-operated reloading|Gas-operated]], [[tilting bolt]], [[selective-fire]]
|origin=[[Nazi Germany]]
|is_ranged=Yes
<!-- Service history -->
|used_by=[[Nazi Germany]]
|design_date=1940 – 1941
|manufacturer=C. G. Haenel Waffen und Fahrradfabrik
|unit_cost=
|production_date=1942
|variants=
<!-- General specifications -->
|length={{convert|940|mm|ftin|abbr=on}}<br>{{convert|1158|mm|ftin|abbr=on}} with bayonet
|part_length={{convert|364|mm|ftin|0|abbr=on}}<ref name="Chamberlain 1976" />
|width=
|height=
|weight={{convert|4.9|kg|lboz|abbr=on}} empty<br>{{convert|5.49|kg|lboz|abbr=on}} empty with bayonet
|cartridge=[[7.92×33mm Kurz]]<ref name="janesrec">{{citation |title=Jane's Guns Recognition Guide |first1=Ian |last1=Hogg |first2=Terry |last2=Gander |publisher= Harper & Collins |date=2005 |page=287}}</ref>
|rate=500 rpm
|velocity={{convert|640|m/s|ft/s|abbr=on}}
|range={{convert|600|m|yd|abbr=on}} single fire<br>{{convert|300|m|yd|abbr=on}} burst<br>{{convert|200|m|yd|abbr=on}} continuous
|max_range={{convert|800|m|yd|abbr=on}} sighted<ref name="Natzvaladze 1996" />
|feed=30 round detachable [[box magazine]]
|sights=Adjustable sights, rear: V-notch; front: hooded post
}}

The '''Maschinenkarabiner 42(H)''' or '''MKb 42(H)''' (machine [[carbine]] Model 1942 (Haenel)) was an early German [[assault rifle]] firing an [[Intermediate cartridge|intermediate round]] of World War II. Designed in 1940 – 1941 by [[Hugo Schmeisser]] working for [[C.G. Haenel|''C. G. Haenel Waffen und Fahrradfabrik'']], several thousand were made and the gun was used on the Eastern Front in 1943.

The MKb 42(H), along with the less successful [[Maschinenkarabiner 42(W)]] (MKb 42(W)) by ''Walther Waffenfabrik AG'', were predecessors of the [[StG 44|MP 43]] assault rifle.

==History==
As early as 1918 the [[German Army (1935–1945)|German Army]] (''Heer'') began to study the feasibility of an intermediate round and rifle.<ref name="Natzvaladze 1996">{{Cite book|title=The Trophies Of The Red Army During The Great Patriotic War 1941-1945. Volume 1|last=Natzvaladze|first=Yury|publisher=Land O'Sun Printers|year=1996|location=Scottsdale, Arizona|pages=170–176}}</ref> However, a combination of military orthodoxy, limited funds and the arms development restrictions of the [[Treaty of Versailles|Versailles Treaty]] led Germany to adopt the Mauser [[Karabiner 98k|Karabiner 98K]] on 21 June 1935 to replace the [[Gewehr 98]]. From 1939 onwards the German Army gathered combat reports which were analyzed to determine combat conditions and tactical trends in order to develop new tactics and equipment requirements.<ref name="Chamberlain 1976" /> One of the lessons which re-emerged was the existing [[7.92×57mm Mauser|7.92 Mauser]] rifle cartridge was more powerful and longer ranged than what was needed. Since most combat took place at ranges less than {{convert|400|m|yd|abbr=on}} a less powerful round could be used, which would mean a soldier could carry more ammunition, the weapon could be shorter, lighter and - with less recoil - the gun could be an automatic.<ref name="Chamberlain 1976">{{Cite book|title=Sub-machine guns and automatic rifles|last=Chamberlain|first=Peter|date=1976|publisher=Arco Pub. Co|others=Gander, Terry|isbn=0668040130|location=New York|pages=23}}</ref> [[Submachine guns]] had existed since the [[First World War]], but they used pistol-caliber ammunition and lacked both the range and accuracy the German Army was looking for. A new [[intermediate cartridge]] was needed and the [[7.92×33mm Kurz]] was designed in response to this requirement. The specification called for a new weapon which was larger than a submachine gun, more accurate, longer ranged and more maneuverable than a full sized rifle.

Contracts for weapons firing the 7.92×33mm Kurz round were issued to both Haenel and Walther, who were asked to submit prototype weapons under the name ''Machinenkarabiner'' 1942.<ref name="janesrec" /> The (H) and (W) in their titles referred to the first initial of each guns manufacturer, Haenel and [[Walther Arms, Inc.|Walther]], to differentiate the two. In December 1940, a prototype rifle from Haenel and Walther was tested by the [[Waffenamt|''Heereswaffenamt'']] at [[Kummersdorf]]. It had multiple jams, several barrels bulged, and one had a [[catastrophic failure]]. Testers blamed the results on poor quality ammunition. In February 1942, 10 million 7.92x33&nbsp;mm Kurz rounds were ordered for field testing. On 9 July 1942, field and comparative tests were conducted with the ammunition and the MKb 42(H) rifle; 3,654 shots were fired; 11 cases were separated, 67 rounds were duds (56 fired on second trial), and many other rounds [[Firearm malfunction|stovepipe jammed]]. Failures were blamed on the weapon still only being at the prototype stage of the development process.<ref name="sadj">{{citation |first= Leszek |last= Erenfeicht |date=30 September 2013 |url=http://sadefensejournal.com/wp/?p=2087 |title=Sturmgewehr: Hitler's Only True Wunderwaffe |work=SAdefensejournal.com}}</ref>

==Design==
The original prototype fired from an [[open bolt]] and used a striker for firing.<ref> {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGl74JFy878&t=1m10s|title=Optics on Sturmgewehrs: Was This Really A Thing?|last=McCollum|first=Ian|publisher=[[Forgotten Weapons]]|website=youtube.com|date=May 26, 2023}}</ref> The receiver and trigger housing with pistol grip were made from steel stampings, which were attached to the [[Gun barrel|barrel]] assembly on a hinge, allowing the weapon to be folded open for quick disassembly and cleaning. The Haenel design proved superior to Walther's MKb 42(W), and the army then asked Haenel for another version incorporating a list of minor changes designated MKb 42(H). One was to include lugs for mounting a standard [[bayonet]], another was to change the pitch of the [[rifling]].<ref name="Hogg 2000" />

A production run of these modified versions was sent to the field in November 1942, and the users appreciated it with a few reservations. Another set of modifications added a hinged cover over the ejection port to keep it clean in combat, and rails to mount a [[telescopic sight]].

Ultimately, it was recommended that a hammer firing system operating from a [[closed bolt]] similar to Walther's design be incorporated into the MK 42 design. The gas expansion chamber over the barrel was deemed unnecessary and was removed from successive designs, as was the under barrel [[bayonet]] lug. In order to circumvent a ban on development in favour of submachine guns, the modified design was given the designation ''Maschinenpistole 43'' (MP43). After further development was permitted the design eventually emerged as the StG 44.<ref name="Hogg 2000">{{Cite book|title=Military small arms of the 20th century|last=Hogg|first=Ian|date=2000|publisher=Krause Publications|others=Weeks, John S.|isbn=0873418247|edition= 7th|location=Iola, WI|pages=242|oclc=45015519}}</ref>

== Service ==
The MKb 42(H) was mostly used on the Eastern Front against the Soviet forces. By one account, the gun saw action as early as April 1942 when 35 of the only 50 prototypes then in existence were parachuted into the [[Kholm Pocket]] near Leningrad as part of a resupply of the defenders.<ref name="Rottman2011">{{cite book|last=Rottman|first=Gordon|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qK9Nn-2xocUC&pg=PA9|title=The AK-47: Kalashnikov-series assault rifles|date=January 2012|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-84908-835-0|page=9}}</ref>

By March 1943, 2,734 MKb 42(H) were accepted into service, followed by 2,179 in April alone and 3,044 in May; these numbers correlate well with the Haenel estimates for these months (2,000 and respectively 3,000). Additionally, Haenel estimated that 3,000 were made in June and 1,000 in July, resulting in an upper estimate of 12,000 units for the MKb 42(H). However, the Haenel production figures from June 1943 onward do not differentiate between the last batches of MKb 42(H) and the first batches of MP 43/1.<ref name="S.I.">{{cite book |title=The MKB42, MP43, MP44 and the Sturmgewehr 44 |date=July 1, 2001 |publisher=[[Casemate Publishers]] |isbn=978-90-805583-6-6 |page=58 |first1=Guus |last1=De Vries |first2=Bas |last2=Martens |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=v7ciQwAACAAJ}}</ref> Other sources seem to accept only the more conservative estimate of 8,000 units.<ref name="Westwood2005">{{cite book |first=David |last=Westwood |title=Rifles: An Illustrated History Of Their Impact |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLBTkNZ8U44C&pg=PA325 |year=2005 |publisher=[[ABC-CLIO]] |isbn=978-1-85109-401-1 |page=325}}</ref><ref name="Peterson2011">{{cite book |first=Philip |last=Peterson |title=Standard Catalog of Military Firearms: The Collector's Price and Reference Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aftMDn2bd14C&pg=PA177 |date=June 24, 2011 |publisher=[[F+W Media]] |isbn=978-1-4402-2881-0 |page=177}}</ref>

==See also==

*[[Fedorov Avtomat]]
*[[AK-47|Kalashnikov AK-47]]
*[[List of assault rifles]]
*[[AS-44|Sudayev AS-44]]

==References ==

{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|MKb 42 (H)}}

{{WWIIGermanInfWeapons}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haenel Mkb 42(H)}}
[[Category:7.92×33mm Kurz assault rifles]]
[[Category:Assault rifles of Germany]]
[[Category:Firearms by Hugo Schmeisser]]
[[Category:Gas-operated firearms]]
[[Category:Research and development in Nazi Germany]]
[[Category:Weapons and ammunition introduced in 1942]]
[[Category:World War II assault rifles]]
[[Category:World War II infantry weapons of Germany]]