By Dan Shea
In previous issues of SAR, your faithful correspondent has brought out the stories of the Yuma Proving Ground torture tests performed by HK on their new weapons. Oberndorf would not dream of presenting a new weapon system without adequate testing and trials. The Germans do not like to present an unproven concept to their customers. This means they beat the hell out of their systems, trying to make them fail. Other manufacturers do this as well, but far too many end up going to the marketplace with either untested or inadequately tested product, and in the military small arms arena, this can be fatal for your customers. Aside from the natural pride HK has in their quality, those surviving customers tend to be annoyed by these incidents, and to take it out on the manufacturer, so thorough testing is prudent.
In August of 2001, HK did their desert testing of the new MG43 machine gun system in 5.56 x 45mm. As usual, this was a torture test of the testers as well as the weapons. The 116º f ambient temperature does not begin to describe the actual temperatures out in the noonday sun. The dust and sand is everywhere, gets into everything, and is a great environment for finding out where the weak points in a system are. We did not find many in the MG43. There were far more weak points in your faithful correspondent than in anything that HK tested on the Cibola Dust Range those weeks in August of 2001.
The United States is not the only country that has requirements for a lightweight belt fed weapon. While this writer is a dyed in the wool, true believer, old school (Readers may insert more clichés) curmudgeon on the caliber issue- I believe that a machine gun should be in 30 caliber in order to perform all of the functions that a machine gunner needs it to do out to 1200 meters +, there is definitely a demonstrated need for an intermediate belt fed weapon. After Action reports (Yes, those modern day “Lessons Learned” reports) have demonstrated at what short ranges most modern combat happens at, and emphasizes the need for a lightweight, portable, reliable belt fed weapon in a 5.56 caliber, allowing each squad to have a belt fed operator. To this point in time, the FN Minimi / M249 system has been the predominant offering, accepted in many armies around the world. There have been other offerings ranging from the well known HK23 series, to the famed Stoner 63, to the mysterious Israeli Negev, to the very sexy but totally unreliable Spanish Cetme Ameli. I love that Ameli’s miniature MG42 looks, but wouldn’t want to bet the farm on it.
Lately, there have been many more requirements written, reaching for ever lighter weight, and ever more reliable and ergonomic designs. Some of these have moved into the 30 caliber range – 7.62 x 51mm NATO- and there are presently trials that SAR will be bringing you updates on. However, the current offering is in 5.56 x 45 mm NATO.
In this present requirement, the German firm of HK GmbH in Oberndorf has been working on a new weapon, the MG43. SAR was given an early look at this interesting and innovative weapon last year. We were asked to keep this quiet until the new system was unveiled at the NDIA Small Arms Symposium in May of 2002. I have chosen to present the features of this weapon as a photo essay in the issue that will be at the NDIA, and if you read through the captions and look at the photos, you will get a working view of this new design.
HK has taken some things from the old, and added a lot of new features. The goal of the German designers has been to make an extremely reliable system, as usual. And they have succeeded, as usual.
For our testing, the Germans fired 102,000 rounds of US Milspec 5.56x 45 ammunition. There were minor glitches here and there, but the two guns made it through the tests in one piece. It was most amazing to watch the testing cycle- fire a belt, toss the barrel into a barrel of water, slap another barrel on the gun, load a belt, and repeat. Endlessly. The barrels stood up to the rapid temperature changes, as did the MG43 system.
I observed the firers for quite a while to determine the controllability issue- and the MG43 was easy to handle. This is a subjective part of the report- what’s it like to shoot it? Well, the 750rpm cyclic rate is smooth for the weapon, an appropriate compromise between what the end users want for burst hit probability, and what is probably the natural harmonic of the weapon- I suspect it to be just above 500 rpm. I found it to be very easy to control, and keeping on target was quite easy. A negative would have to be the flash hider- it was opened at the bottom, I immediately went to bipod supported prone position and in that sandy environment it raised a cloud of dust- however, HK has corrected that situation. Shoulder fire was relatively easy to accomplish and the ambush busting “Hip fire” was easy to control as well. (God save me if Peter K reads this and thinks I advocate “Hip Fire”).
Please read through the accompanying picture captions for a better view of the HK MG43 machine gun. I am certain that we will be hearing a lot more about this new offering.- Dan
MG43 buttstock with wire shoulder support extended. This is a simple lightweight wire support, sufficient to do the job of adding the third leg of the “Tripod” in bipod supported prone firing. 
The rear of the buttstock swings down after pressing through the captured pin, exposing the storage area for the cleaning kit. 
The buttstock is a folding stock set up, with a side hinge. 
The recoil guide rod supports the recoil/ return spring, which is double wire wound. This system is basically used to overcome “Spring surge”- the double wind keeps the pressure constant and reliable. The side folding stock precludes a buffer in the stock, and a flat wound buffer spring is used for bolt contact at the rear. This feature is in common with the Minimi, prior to the newer M249 Hydraulic style buffers. 
The bolt body rides in the carrier, and the cam rides in its path. On forward travel, the bolt is in what appears in these photos as the extended position. When the assembly is all of the way forward, the bolt has been retracted and rotated into the assembly, locking the lugs securely into the firing position. The firing pin can not reach the primer of the cartridge until this distance has been completely closed and the lugs are locked. As the bolt carrier begins its move to the rear, the bolt stays locked up until the cam turns the locking lugs out of the trunion. 
Internal picture of the MG43 cover showing the feed mechanism. This mechanism is robust, and set up for maximum transfer of energy in feeding- the result is an impressive belt lift ability. Note- on the left of the photo, the round in tray indicator mechanism. 
The “Round in Tray” indicator. Note the white button that is either visible, or tactile (Run your finger over it to tell), which rises when a round is in the feed tray and presented to the actual feed position. 
A new HK Lower to watch out for? Not really, this is a dedicated lower that is only for the MG43, it is ambidextrous, Safe – Fire only, and utilizes a vertical sear notch- operating rod block system for controlling bolt release. Placement of the safety lever is ergonomic- readily accessible to the operator’s thumb, and reasonably quiet to operate. 
MG43 massive double bolt lugs, showing the advantage of the flat surface face on the barrel- the bolt has gone back to lock up on the receiver trunion, removing questions of headspace on the quick change barrels from the equation. 
The business end of the Bolt Carrier Assembly/ Operating Rod. The two open areas in the center are for weight reduction. There are two sear notches on the lower section to ensure against a runaway gun due to weak ammunition or a sluggish mechanism. Instead of a solid rail on the carrier side, there are two machined lugs on each side, that ride in the receiver, and keep alignment and support, as well as avoiding dirt problems in the receiver. As a side effect, this also lightens the system by not having a continuous rail. The camming path for unlocking the bolt lugs is obvious, and the roller at the top operates the feeding lever in the top cover. It is allows the top cover to close with the bolt forward or to the rear. 
The gas block takes off pressurized gas in a fairly standard method, and the cup type piston driving the operating rod to the rear is fairly standard as well. What is not standard today is that HK’s design does not require any gas adjustments by the operator. Note the fold down front sight. 
The fold up cocking handle was convenient and robust, folding up out of the way for storage or carry, while maintaining the strength necessary for a combat weapon. 
MG43 bolt disassembled 
Barrel release mechanism is a simple lever, standard design. 
Jim Schatz firing one of his trademark five hundred round bursts with the belt layed out in the sand. Jim does these up to one thousand round sets to not only demonstrate the reliability of the mechanism- we all know that this type of fire is not good for air cooled machine guns- but to demonstrate the effectiveness of the belt feed. One of the gremlins of machine gun design is taking the energy of the recoiling action, and applying that to pulling the weight of a belt of ammunition. HK has been particularly successful at this in other designs, and the MG43 is no exception. 
The MG43 bipod is made from strong tubular steel, with extendable legs and it will either fold up to the rear into the forend, or to the front when used with a tripod mount. The support is strong enough to be a forward grip for the forward assault position- a controversial shooting position that should only be used for jobs like ambush breaking- but the machine gunner should know how to do it. Sling on over shoulder, left hand on left bipod, right hand on grip, and pour the fire into the enemy position. Other than that, doctrine should be the bipod supported prone position in all possible opportunities. This bipod is robust and does the job.
HK MG43 Machine Gun Specifications
Caliber: 5.56 x 45mm NATO
Operating System: Gas Operated
Bolt system: Positively locked, rotary two lug bolt head
Mode of fire: Sustained fire
Rate of fire: 750 Rds/ minute
Overall Length: 1050 mm, 810 mm with buttstock closed
Width: 90 mm
Height- bipod folded:….250 mm
Barrel Length: 480 mm
Weight: 6.4 kg
Bipod Weight: 0.43 kg
Barrel Weight: 1.72 kg
Standard Sights: Adjustable rear sight with range marks from 100 to 1000 meters in 100 meter increments.
Optical Sights: Picatinny rails on the top cover allow for the installation of various day and night sights.
| This article first appeared in Small Arms Review V5N9 (June 2002) |
