FG 42 (Type II) Sniper

About the FG 42 (Type II) Sniper

The FG 42 (Fallschirmjagergewehr 42) Type II with ZF4 or ZFG42 telescopic sight was an extraordinarily advanced weapon for its era - a select-fire battle rifle capable of serving as a makeshift sniper rifle when fitted with optics. Developed exclusively for German paratroopers by Rheinmetall and manufactured by Krieghoff, the Type II variant featured improvements over the Type I including a wooden stock, relocated bipod, and reduced cyclic rate. With its 20-round side-mounted magazine, full-power 7.92x57mm cartridge, and optical sight capability, the FG 42 was arguably the world's first practical general-purpose automatic rifle, influencing the later American M60 machine gun's operating mechanism.

The FG 42 saw its most dramatic use during Operation Eiche (Oak), the daring 1943 raid to rescue Benito Mussolini from his mountain-top prison at the Gran Sasso Hotel. German Fallschirmjager armed with FG 42s crash-landed gliders on the rocky mountainside and overwhelmed the Italian guards in minutes. The weapon's combination of automatic fire capability and precision optics made it decades ahead of its time - its operating mechanism was later studied and adapted by Springfield Armory for the American M60 general-purpose machine gun.

FG 42 (Type II) Sniper specifications

The FG 42 was unique in firing from an open bolt in full-automatic mode for cooling but from a closed bolt in semi-automatic mode for accuracy - a remarkable engineering achievement. The Type II improvements included relocating the bipod from the handguard to the muzzle to reduce shot dispersion, changing the pistol grip to near-vertical, replacing the stamped steel stock with wood to reduce overheating, and adding a four-position gas regulator. The ZFG42 scope was purpose-designed for the weapon, while the ZF4 (a copy of the Soviet PU) was a more common field expedient. Only approximately 7,000 FG 42s of all types were produced, making any surviving example extremely rare and valuable.