"Before the invention of the car, people just wanted a faster horse. We all hope that MG5 is a car that promotes the change of the times, but it is just a faster horse.
HK’s PR failure
In my impression, academic masters are usually very cold. They are unwilling to talk to people like me and are often not good at communication. In firearms, HK Company can be regarded as a well-deserved academic master. However, this academic master is not only academically strong, but also good at building relationships. He can often sell his own firearms to friendly and unfriendly countries at very exaggerated prices. While being a "profiteer", he can also gain a good reputation and countless fans.
Therefore, in the military fan circle, HK’s public relations department has always been a god-like existence. Many senior gun fans will change their nicknames to "HK Public Relations Department" and "HK Public Relations Department Asia Branch". Of course, as for HK We don’t know whether the company has a department dedicated to public relations.
However, in 2015, HK’s public relations failed. The then Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen "blasted" HK’s G36 rifle: German media subsequently revealed a series of problems with the G36 rifle, especially the accuracy problem, which was shocking. The Defense Minister then said that HK’s MG5 machine gun, which had just been put into service, also had accuracy problems.
After so many years, it is still a mystery what the accuracy problems of MG5 are. However, this less eye-catching machine gun has successfully attracted my attention.
A faster horse
Before and after World War II, the Germans single-handedly launched the excellent MG34 and The MG42 general-purpose machine gun pointed out the direction of machine gun development in the next few decades, completing a feat similar to the invention of the car. After World War II, Germany’s gun research and development was once hit by a "title-style" blow, and no decent products were launched for a long time. Now, decades later, Germany has finally launched a new general-purpose machine gun. Before carefully studying the MG5, I thought: The Germans must be able to invent the car again! However, when I carefully studied the MG5, I couldn’t help but be disappointed: Isn’t this just an improved version of the Minimi machine gun! Although many details are different, the layout and principle are nothing new. The difference between the two is simply the difference between three-yuan and five-yuan instant noodles-the ingredients are indeed upgraded, but the essence is still the same!
Of course, I’m not talking about the MG5 It is not good, but this gun is too featureless, and there is no inspiring and guiding design. However, while it is mediocre, the basic skills of MG5 are still quite solid, such as the coordinated appearance and the proportion of the whole gun, the very solid receiver at first glance, the excellent workmanship (German firearms tradition), the quick barrel replacement method, the perfect barrel heat shield, the bipod with good storage effect, etc., which makes people feel that there is nothing wrong with it.
However, as a "post-10" machine gun, MG5 is really too "bland". When reading history, I often sighed that Li Longji was a good emperor. The only shortcoming was that he died too late. If he could die more than ten years earlier, the historical evaluation would definitely be much better than today. If MG5 could be born 20 years earlier, it would definitely be one of the top general-purpose machine guns in the world.
Strange lower ejection shell
The lower ejection shell should be regarded as a "small flaw" of MG5.
For machine guns, the lower ejection is a typical "pulling bullet" mechanism. Lower ejection does not affect reliability, but it does affect the hanging point of the ammunition belt box, resulting in the ammunition belt box being hung on the side of the receiver instead of below. The side-mounted ammunition belt box is a very annoying design, which will worsen the center of gravity of the gun. During shooting, especially in the bipod state, as the number of bullets in the ammunition belt box decreases, the center of gravity of the machine gun will also change left and right.
As one of the few modern machine guns with a lower ejection design, the MG5 cannot directly hang the ammunition belt box, but the side-mounted ammunition belt box is too annoying. Therefore, HK engineers designed a special-shaped ammunition belt box. A "long neck" extends from the bottom of the receiver, which acts as a shell guide plate, and the special-shaped ammunition belt box hides under the shell guide plate.
Looking at the special-shaped ammunition belt box, many people think of the wisdom of HK engineers, but I only feel their helplessness. The special-shaped ammunition belt box is very high, which is very inconvenient to use, and due to its special shape, the ammunition capacity is also greatly reduced. It is a typical thankless design.
I think HK engineers must know these shortcomings. In this case, why does MG5 use the lower ejection? Is this the inviolable habitual "ancestral system" of German machine guns? Or is it that the German army has put forward strange design requirements, such as the ejection direction must be the same as the lower ejection MG3 to avoid the impact of the ejection direction on the vehicle? We don’t know this.
German characteristic bolt handle
Among machine guns, the T-shaped bolt handle of MG42 can not be said to be unique, but it can definitely be called distinctive.
Among firearms, special-shaped parts often have their reasons, and the T-shaped bolt handle is no exception. Due to the roller locking design, the MG42 has a large resistance to unlocking, and the resistance of soldiers manually loading is even greater. In order to prevent soldiers from greeting their relatives when loading, engineers thoughtfully designed a large, round, and very easy-to-pull T-shaped bolt handle for MG42. In addition, the bolt handle itself also serves as a lever, which can pry open the roller and reduce the resistance to unlocking and loading.
The roller lock is a siege, people in the city want to get out, and people outside the city want to get in. Although many people still miss the roller lock, the Germans decisively walked out of the siege. MG5 abandoned the roller lock and adopted the very common bolt rotation lock, and the problem of high resistance to loading no longer exists. However, the Germans still retained the T-shaped bolt handle. However, the T-shaped bolt handle of MG5 looks smaller, and the lever function has been removed.
Although the large and round T-shaped bolt handle has no disadvantages, it is definitely a modern heresy. Maybe the Germans are really used to the T-shaped bolt handle? I guess that in the next generation of machine guns in a few decades (maybe called MG6?), the Germans will pass on the T-shaped bolt handle as an intangible cultural heritage.
Steel receiver
In addition to the T-shaped bolt handle, another feature of MG5 is the "bumpy receiver surface. Of course, don’t think that this is because the Germans’ processing level is not good enough. This frosted surface is definitely intentional.
For cutting In terms of processing, the bumpy surface is difficult to process, but it is much easier for casting. If casting is used, the receiver can be made of cast aluminum and cast steel. Cast aluminum receivers are naturally "soft bones" with low hardness. Some parts that are subject to friction, such as the bolt rail, must be made of steel and then installed in the aluminum receiver in a patched manner. The surface of the receiver will inevitably have "traces" of welding, rivets or screwing.
Although the surface of the MG5’s receiver is "bumpy", there is no "trace of patching", so MG5 is likely to use a cast steel receiver. The cast steel receiver is hard enough, but the weight is often considerable-parts suitable for casting generally have a certain thickness and are not too light. Modern casting technology has made great progress, but it still abides by these basic rules.
With the support of the heavy cast steel receiver, the weight of the MG5 is as high as 10 kg. In comparison, the normal weight of a modern general-purpose machine gun should be around 8 kg, and it is difficult to exceed 9 kg. Of course, there are many fat general-purpose machine guns, but these are either designed too early, outdated in structure, or bloated in design, which is pathological obesity. The MG5 is selectively obese. Today, we still cannot understand why HK uses a heavy cast steel receiver. Are German machine guns sold by the pound?
In other words, modern casting technology can fully guarantee the roughness of the surface of parts. In other words, the "bumps" on the surface of the MG5 must have been intentional by the design team. But this kind of German aesthetic is not acceptable to everyone.
The processing that makes me envious
MG5 It uses a design that I envy very much: double-row locking teeth. There are many double-row locking teeth in firearms, especially in bolt-action sniper rifles, where double-row locking teeth are more common. But the locking teeth of sniper rifles and MG5 are different. The double-row locking teeth of MG5 have a tiny helix angle and a more complex structure. The precision requirements for processing equipment are higher than those of sniper rifles, and extremely expensive equipment must be used to ensure processing accuracy. Moreover, from a design point of view, double-row locking teeth have the advantage of compact structure, but the advantage is not great.
The processing is time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the advantages are not obvious. The spiral double-row locking teeth of machine guns are naturally rare. However, MG5 The double-row helical locking teeth are used, which is really enviable. However, the double-row helical locking teeth are a good processing "indicator". It is like sea cucumbers. I don’t think sea cucumbers are delicious, but if a restaurant sells sea cucumbers, it at least shows that the restaurant is of high quality. The expensive design of double-row helical locking teeth proves that the processing level of MG5 is still relatively high, right?
Summary
In this article, we have described many confusing designs of MG5, but everyone must remember that the mechanism of MG5 itself is very perfect. It’s just that I would rather express some of my doubts than its excellence.
