The modern German Army (and many others) still use the MG-42, only it's now chambered in 7.62 NATO and has been rechristened the MG-3.
Posted on 02/20/2026 8:14:57 AM PST by MAGA2017
American soldiers fighting in Vietnam armed with WWII German MP40s? Sounds ridiculous, but it's absolutely true. One special forces unit used a few old MP40s on operations obtained via the CIA - the famous MACV-SOG.
Well, as those of you who have followed this channel for many years will know that I have made a video about this very subject though in the case of German World War II weapons from the perspective of their use by North Vietnam and the VietCong rather than by the Americans. Then I came upon this photograph taken in the mid 1960s in Vietnam, clearly showing a U.S. soldier carrying a World War II German MP40 machine pistol. His uniform is odd and his equipment is odder,but there is a logical explanation to this image.
The soldier in the photograph belonged to a very secret military organization active in the Vietnam War, known today by the acronym MACV SOG, which stood for Military Assistance Command Vietnam Studies and Observation Group. Sounds harmless enough, but in fact, MACV SOG was one of the most lethal and effective military forces deployed by the United States to Indo-China. And it's no surprise that it was directly linked to the CIA rather than the U.S. military...
(Excerpt) Read more at youtube.com ...
MACV got lots of cool toys. Stoner 63s, short-barreled Browning Auto-5 12-gauge shotguns, Karl Gustav Swedish Ks, Gyrojet Rocket Pistols, (Belgian-made) Uzi SMGs, ....
I knew one snake-eater who swore that the suppressed Sten was the bestest, quietest sentry-removal tool ever made.
They also got select-fire AR-15s. Before the military standardized them as the M-16 (and screwed them up changing the gunpowder, projectiles, etc, in the doing), Colt manufactured some select-fire weapons with AR-15 roll marks that went to MACV-SOG.
And they loved them, which was part of the reason Big Army decided to adopt them.
But anybody who tells you that all AR-15s are semi-only doesn’t know the history of the weapon.
Did it kill em deader?
I believe the “burp gun“ was actually the Soviet PPSH 41; it had a very high cyclic rate. We encountered Chinese communist troops armed with those in Korea.
The MP38/MP40 SMGs had a slower rate of fire.
I could be wrong though… I know the G.I.’s referred to it as the Schmeiser….
Now that I think of it, in the movie, Von Ryan’s express, he hands, Trevor Howard, and MP 40 and says “here take the Schmeiser”…
I have four Enfield rifles… Three number four Mark ones, and one number five jungle carbine. All of them have a receiver date of 1943 or 44 except for the carbine, that was made at Fazackerley in July 1945.
It’s one of the best bolt action rifles I’ve ever fired. I would love to get a Mark III, World War I vintage eventually for the collection.
The only thing faster than that is a Swiss K 31 Schmidt Reuben. It’s a straight pole bolt with a six round magazine, which can be reloaded very quickly.
My friend and I shot them side-by-side in a speed contest… He was on his second mag before I fired my 10th round on the Enfield, at 100 yards, every round was in the Bull.
That would definitely be one I want to get, but the prices have climbed dramatically. He bought three of them for $125 each 20 years ago… Now? Forget it they’re going for eight to $900 apiece.
It’s an awesome Rifleman’s rifle.
What a moronic title!
How does the author know that the MP40s had joined the NAZI party?
30 years ago, I held one of them that my daughter’s father-in-law had brought back from Europe in 1945, and there were no swastikas on it...
Friend of mine was in the USAF with a refueling detachment on Midway Island. At the time they were pushing B-47’s across the Pacific on a regular basis and they’d refuel them as they headed to Japan. In his time on Midway they’re were crated Allison V-12 fighter engines crated in cosmoline stacked around the lagoon. One day the order came down to bulldoze them into the lagoon. Air & Boat Racing was a pretty big thing in the late ‘50’s and early ‘60’s. What those racers would have paid for those engines!
The modern German Army (and many others) still use the MG-42, only it's now chambered in 7.62 NATO and has been rechristened the MG-3.
“””””But anybody who tells you that all AR-15s are semi-only doesn’t know the history of the weapon.”””””
I always mention that I used a select fire AR-15 in basic.
Ya, It’s been crazy up here. I’m sure you have seen some of the nonsense floating out of commieda. Ottawa is like the Berlin of 1933.
I really need to come visit Brother, there’s fun to be had lol.
I’m ranching so my schedule is pretty much what I make it minus calving season.
I need one of those. I know how to decorate with it.
Re B-47:
One of my favorite aircraft….
Re Allison engines:
One wonders if they’re still there and viable. Do you realize what they’d be worth…???
Re Fun to be had:
Blowing things up is always fun , 🤣🤣🤣…
I understand that your fearless leader up there is importing ChiCom soldiers for the Canadian armed forces. Any truth to that?
Can you imagine what a treasure trove that would be, to be able recover a few of them?
Reminds me of the two B17s and the 8(?) P38 Lightning fighters buried under the ice in Greenland - I think they recovered a P38 and called it “ Glacier Girl”…
The Mid Atlantic Air Museum https://share.google/je1gSResNwl5nhfG3
I have to go see this one. The museum is near me. I remember reading about the helicopters lifting this wrecked plane off a mountain side in New Guinea. Very rare airplane. Did see one at Wright-Patt at the Air Force Museum.
There are Chinese bases. One near Chetwynd for example. They’ve given Chinese the ability to use force to protect their assets which is lots of oil and gas among farms etc. It’s straight up treason. Should be some entertainment soon I’d think.
I've had the good fortune to have handled, shot, and taken down virtually every machinegun ever made. Started while I was in Vietnam (RPDs, Goryunovs, DShKAs PPShs, K-50s, French MAT-49s, etc.) then while I was a lieutenant in Okinawa (I found a treasure trove of confiscated weapons smuggled from Vietnam at Kadena AFB) and while I was a captain, I helped the War Memorial Museum at Newport News Virginia accession their excellent collection of WWI and WWII weapons. They even used me as a "living history" exhibit on Saturdays where I took apart and reassembled exotic machineguns while discussing their histories and foibles to the visitors.
Fun Stuff! It also makes me a really boring guest at parties.
Current build up south of Iran may result in war. But it may end up being nothing more than an “exercise”.
It’s like Reagan going into Grenada. Every so often a real world “exercise” is needed for both the military, and the non-military to keep credibility.
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