Weapon - Germany - MG 34 - Maschinengewehr 34 7.92-mm

The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG 34, is a German recoil-operated air-cooled machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower – the Einheitsmaschinengewehr (Universal machine gun) – and is generally considered the world's first general-purpose machine gun (GPMG). 

2,300 MG 34s, slightly different from the final design, were produced between 1935 and 1939. At the time it was introduced, it had a number of advanced features and the general-purpose machine gun concept that it aspired to was an influential one. The gun was eventually adopted for main service on 24 January 1939.

The MG 34 was used as the primary infantry machine gun, and remained as the primary armored vehicle defensive weapon as it took limited space to change barrels inside a vehicle. The MG 34 was intended to replace the MG 13 and other older machine guns, but these were still being used in World War II as demand was never met. It was intended to be replaced in infantry service by the MG 42, but there were never enough MG 42s, and MG 34s soldiered on in all roles until the end of World War II