Mauser MG 42 7.92 mm machine gun, 1943 (c)

One of finest general purpose machine guns ever made, the German MG 42 was reliable, sturdy, fairly easy to use and had a high rate of fire, between 1,200 and 1,500 rounds a minute. This firepower made Allied soldiers nickname it 'Hitler's buzzsaw', as it sounded like a giant mechanical saw. It replaced the earlier MG 34, which was heavier and took more time and money to produce.