MG 131 machine gun

MG 131 machine gun

MG 131

Maschinengewehr 131 Type Placeoforigin Heavy machine gun Germany

Service history
Inservice Usedby Wars 19401945 Germany World War II

Production history
Designed Manufacturer Produced 1938 Rheinmetall-Borsig 19401945

Specifications
Weight Length Barrellength Cartridge Caliber Action Rateoffire 16.6kg (37lb) 1.17m (1.28yd) 1,140mm (45in) 13x64B 13mm (0.51in) Recoil-operated; short recoil 900 round/min

Muzzlevelocity 750m/s (2,500ft/s) Effectiverange 1,800m (2,000yd) Feedsystem Belt-fed

The MG 131 (shortened from German: Maschinengewehr 131, or "Machine gun 131") was a German 13 mm caliber machine gun developed in 1938 by Rheinmetall-Borsig and produced from 1940 to 1945. The MG 131 was designed for use at fixed, flexible or turreted, single or twin mountings in Luftwaffe aircraft during World War II. It was installed in the Messerschmitt Bf 109, Me 410 Hornisse, Fw 190, Ju 88, Junkers Ju 388, He 177 Greif bomber, and many other aircraft. The Fernbedienbare Drehlafette FDL 131Z remotely-controlled gun turret system, used as a forward-mount dorsal turret on the He 177A, used two MG 131s for dorsal defense, with the experimental Hecklafette HL 131V manned aircraft tail turret design, meant to be standardized on the never-built A-6 version of the He 177A, was also meant for standardization on many late-war prototype developments of German heavy bomber airframes such as the separately developed four engined He 177B and the 1943-44 Amerika Bomber design

MG 131 machine gun contender from Heinkel, the Heinkel He 277, both airframes being intended to use the HL 131V tail turret unit mounting four MG 131s, two mounted on rotating exterior elevation carriages on either side of the seated gunner, with horizontal traverse executed by the turret's rotation. The Hecklafette tail turret design was never produced beyond a small number of prototype and test examples from 1943 onwards, with few relics of their existence remaining. The MG 131 fired electrically primed ammunition in order to sustain a high rate of fire when shooting through the propeller disc of a single-engined fighter. A pair of MG 131 machine guns was used as cowl armament on later models of the Bf 109G (which originally required one blister or Beule on each side of the fuselage, flanking the upper rear end of the engine, to house the larger breech of the new gun) and the Fw 190.

Technical data
Weight : 16.6 kilograms (37lb) Length : 1.17 metres (3.8ft) Muzzle velocity : ~ 750 metre per second (2,500ft/s) Rate of fire : ~ 900 rounds per minute 13 mm APT 710 m/s, projectile mass 38.5 grams (594gr), muzzle energy 9,700 joules (7,200ftlbf) 13 mm API 710 m/s, projectile mass 38 grams (590gr), muzzle energy 9,580 joules (7,070ftlbf) 13 mm HEI-t with 1.4 grams (22gr) PETN + 0.3 grams (4.6gr) thermite 750 metre per second (2,500ft/s), projectile mass 34 grams (520gr), muzzle energy 9,560 joules (7,050ftlbf)

External links
Image [1] http://www.lexikon-der-wehrmacht.de/Waffen/Bilderseiten/bordwaffen-R.htm http://prodocs.netfirms.com/ http://library.thinkquest.org/C006001/armament/mg131.html http://web.archive.org/web/20091027135418/http://geocities.com/Augusta/8172/panzerfaust5.htm

References
[1] http:/ / www. lexikon-der-wehrmacht. de/ Bilder/ Bordwaffen/ Mg131. jpg

Article Sources and Contributors

Article Sources and Contributors

MG 131 machine gun Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=542660389 Contributors: -js-, Aldis90, Attilios, Avriette, Bluemoose, Chris the speller, Cromo4130, Cyrius, Deathbunny, Denniss, Gene Nygaard, Greatrobo76, Hmains, Idsnowdog, Jetwave Dave, Koalorka, LeeHunter, LessHeard vanU, Megapixie, Molestash, Nabokov, Nick19thind, Ondundozonananandana, Pearle, Quickload, Robth, Roo72, SDC, Skrunyak, Starkman69, Surv1v4l1st, The PIPE, 38 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and Contributors

File:Leteck muzeum Kbely (127).jpg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Leteck_muzeum_Kbely_(127).jpg License: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Contributors: Dezidor File:Flag of German Reich (19351945).svg Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Flag_of_German_Reich_(19351945).svg License: Public Domain Contributors: Fornax

License
Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported //creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/