MG 131

MG 131
Production Information
Manufacturer	Rheinmetall-Borsig
Type	Heavy machine gun
Technical Specifications
Total length	117 cm
Barrel length	55 cm
Empty weight	16.6 kg
Action	Recoil
Caliber	13 x 64B mm
Velocity	750 m/s
Rate of Fire	900
Usage
Year introduced	1941
Used by	Germany
[Source]

The MG 131 was a heavy machine gun that was used by Germany during World War II. It was one of the smallest of heavy machine guns in world at the time of its use.

Description

The MG 131 was an air-cooled heavy machine gun that fired the heavy 13 x 64B mm cartridge, and could be used as an infantry machine gun, but was primarily used as a aircraft weapon. Measuring 117 centimeters long, which included the 55 centimeter long barrel, the MG 131 weighed 16.6 kilograms, and had a rate of fire of 900 rounds per minute.

The MG 131 was one of a number of weapons fitted with the Solothurn lock, consisting of a rotating collar fitted around the barrel extension, locking this to the bolt by means of an uninterrupted thread. As the barrel/bolt assembly moves rearward, the collar is rotated by cams in the receiver, disengaging the lock and enabling the lock to be separated. The MG 131 could fire rounds at velocity of 750 meters per second.

The armor piercing version of the 13 x 64B cartridge, as used by the MG 131, had a low armor penetration of 100 mm at 100 meters, with an impact angle of 60 degrees. At a distance of 300 meters, penetration dropped to 7.8 mm at the same angle.

History

From 1941 the MG 131 was used by bombers to replace the MG 15 in flexible mountings, for which it was fitted with a pistol grip and conventional trigger, and in a neat, low-profile powered turret. Syncronized versions of the MG 131 were also fitted inside the cowlings of fighters, beginning in 1943 with the Messerschmitt Bf 109 G-6 and Focke-Wulf Fw 190A-7, replacing the older 7.92 mm MG 17.

The 13 mm Type 2, used in flexible mountings by the Imperial Japanese Navy, was a modified copy of the MG 131, replacing the original's electric priming with percussion priming.