Light machineguns were not widely distributed when World War II began; those armies that possessed them in quantity, usually at the squad level, had a significant firepower advantage early on.  This advantage having been noted by the end of the war almost every squad carried at least one or more of these weapons. Generally these squad weapons were mounted with a bipod and usually ammunition carried in a magazine of some sort. They were fired either standing or more accurately laying down with the bipod extended.

The machinegun had come into its own during World War One. These weapons, being tripod mounted and often liquid cooled, required a large crew and in combat were virtually static. They would be termed heavy machineguns in World War II and would form the basis of infantry firepower, especially in the defense. However, the interwar years saw many countries attempting to design lighter weapons that could be carried and fired by a single soldier, these efforts would yield the light or squad machineguns.

Great Britain: Bren light machinegun or Bren Gun for short

In an effort to replace the generally unsatisfactory Lewis Gun of WWI the British in the 1920s searched far and wide for a candidate.  They found it in the Czech ZB vz 26 Light Machinegun and its follow on vz 27 which handily won the trials carried out. However, the Czech guns were made in 7.92 mm and the British Army was adamant that it must fire their standard 7.7 mm (or .303 caliber) cartridge. The series of modifications set in motion by this requirement produced the Bren light machinegun which was first produced in 1937.

The name was a combination, BR for Brno the place of origin for the design and EN for the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield Lock where it was modified. By 1940 well over 30,000 had been produced but as result of the debacle at Dunkirk most of these found there way into German hands as the Leichte MG 138(e) The resultant need to rearm the British Army quickly led to a design modification which mostly was to ease its manufacture. The Bren turned out to be a robust and sturdy machinegun being used throughout the war and after by British forces worldwide.

SPECIFICATIONS:
    Caliber: 7.7 mm (.303 caliber)
    Length: 45.5 inches (1156 mm)
    Weight: 22.12 lbs (10.03 kg)
    Muzzle Velocity: 2440’ (744 m) per second
    Cyclic Rate of Fire: 500 rpm
    Magazine: 20 round box
    Effective Range: 600 yards (548 m)

Germany: Maschinengewehr 34 or MG 34 and MG 42

The treaty of Versailles sought to prevent the Germans from development of machineguns, however, the arms concern of Rheinmetall-Borsig circumvented this restriction by simply setting up shop in Switzerland at Solothurn during the 1920s. There design efforts to create a light air-cooled design went forwarded leading directly to the Rheinmetal MG 15 for the Luftwaffe and finally to the MG 34. The MG 34 was a redesign of the earlier Rheinmetal guns by the gifted designers of Mauser. The result was what many consider the finest machinegun designs ever produced and became the first “general purpose” machinegun. Meaning that it could be carried and fired by one man with a magazine and bipod or mounted on a tripod with a belt feed be utilized as a heavy machinegun. It was an evolutionary design and was an immediate success.

The Maschinengewehr 42 was a follow on design by Mauser to build on the excellence of the MG 34 and to at the same time make it easier and faster to produce. Combat experience and captured designs were utilized to create a simpler and more robust weapon. It was an immediate success and was a superb weapon effective under all sorts of harsh circumstances and combat situations. Today it lives on with many armies and in various forms, the American M-60 machinegun being just one of its offspring.

In his book Steel Inferno, Michael Reynolds says the following about the MG42:

Before leaving the subject of infantry and Panzer-Grenadier battalions, let us look at the question of machine guns—excluding sub machine guns—and mortars on each side. The Americans had many more machine guns in the armoured infantry battalions of their armoured division than the Germans-859 as opposed to 655 (the British came a poor third with only 305). But when one compares the 1,200 rounds-a-minute rate of fire of the German MG 42s with the American or British equivalent of 500 at best, one can understand why the German small arms ammunition scale for a rifle company was nearly three times that of its American equivalent-56,000 to 21,000—and why so many Allied infantrymen were reluctant to advance in open country in Normandy. Mortars provided another startling difference—the two SS Divisions had around sixty medium and heavy mortars each, compared with the twenty-four of the American, British and Canadian armoured divisions. Moreover, the Allies had nothing comparable to the multi-barrelled Nebelwerfers of the German brigades and divisions.

 
SPECIFICATIONS:          MG 34                MG42
    Caliber:         7.92 mm            7.92 mm
    Length:          48 inches (1219 mm)          48.03” (1220 mm)
    Weight:          25.4 lbs (11.5 kg)             25.4 lb (11.5 kg)
    Muzzle Velocity: 2475’ (755 m) per sec         2475’ (755 m) per sec
    Cyclic Rate of Fire: 8-900 rpm             1550 rpm
    Magazine:          75 round drum             50 round belt
    Effective Range:  1100 yards (1000 m)          1100 yards (1000 m)

USSR: Degtyerev Model 1928 or DP Light Machinegun

Soviet Machinegun designs were robust and made to operate under the most extreme conditions. For many years that was done by adding weight to increase durability and stability. A good example of this was the 1910 Maxim guns that resembled small guns with heavy carriages and wheels. Despite this Russian designs were noted for their simplicity and ability to operate in climatic extremes and the worst combat conditions.

The DP was just such a design it could stand rough treatment and severe weather as well as any Soviet weapon and although an aging weapon at the outbreak of the war served throughout the conflict and is still found in insurgent forces today. It was most commonly seen with a large covered pan magazine in which 47 rounds were placed to be fed in from the top. This unique system was questionable for sustained firing and made changing “pans” awkward.

SPECIFICATIONS:
    Caliber: 7.62 mm
    Length: 50 inches (1270 mm)
    Weight: 20.1 lbs (9.12 kg)
    Muzzle Velocity: 918.6’ (840 m) per second
    Cyclic Rate of Fire: 5-600 rpm
    Magazine: 47 round pan
    Effective Range: 875 yards (800 m)

USA: Browning Automatic Rifle or BAR

The BAR as it was universally known is an odd weapon that could either be a heavy assault rifle or a light machinegun. However, its use by US forces during World War II was as a light machinegun. It is also odd in that it was first designed and produced by the inventive mind of John M. Browning for use during WWI and saw limited service in the trenches of France. By WWII the design had been modified to include a bipod and to simplify its production.

The BAR also served effectively in the Polish and Belgium forces at the start of the war. Seen by the US Army as an interim weapon it nevertheless served with US forces worldwide throughout the conflict and on into the 1950s, seeing service in the Korean War. It was not replaced until 1957 when the first M-60 light machineguns, a relative of the MG 42, were issued to the US Army.

(Editor's notes: I have been privileged to know several veterans of WW2, American, Canadian, and German. One was an Episcopal priest who served in the European theater in the last days of WW2. One of the stories he related about his experience as a BAR gunner concerned the power of the BAR rounds. His platoon had stopped for the night and were counter-attacked by German infantry. He said they had to have been drinking or taking drugs of some kind because he hit one enemy soldier several times who kept charging. He unloaded what was left of his magazine and took one of the attacker's arms off. The enemy soldier continued on, falling dead right in front of his foxhole. The other was a BAR man in the Pacific. He and his assistant were on Okinawa when they were attacked from the rear by a swordwielding Japanese soldier. The assistant panicked and could do nothing so the BAR man turned, fired and brought the enemy soldier down with a hip shot. Both vets were extremely complimentary about the Browning.)

SPECIFICATIONS:
    Caliber: 7.62 mm
    Length: 47.8 inches (1214 mm)
    Weight: 19.4 lbs (8.8 kg)
    Muzzle Velocity: 2650’ (808 m) per second
    Cyclic Rate of Fire: 5-600 rpm
    Magazine: 20 round box
    Effective Range: 548 yards (548 m)