The MG 34 is a machine gun used by Nazi Germany before and during World War II. First issued in 1936, it was considered the first general-purpose machine gun. More than 500,000 units were manufactured until the end of World War II.
Because of its complexity, the MG 34 was not suitable for quick mass production, and it was supplanted by the simpler and cheaper MG 42. However, due to ease of replacing the barrel, the MG 34 continued to be on vehicles throughout the war.
This tag implicates machine_gun (learn more).