#mg5

In terms of the car shown, the MG5 ELECTRIC ESTATE 115kW Trophy EV Long Range 61kWh 5dr Auto Electric, this is based on the following configuration:

  Piccadilly Blue Metallic Paint

Leather Style - Black

Rheinmetall Machinengewehr 3

West Germany became a member of NATO in May 1955, six months later its army reformed as the Bundeswehr (Federal Defence Force). During the late 1950s and early 1960s the Bundeswehr began a program of rearmament adopting the Heckler & Koch G3 in 1959. Initially, the Bundeswehr continued to use the 7.92x57mm MG42 as their general purpose machine gun but NATO’s adoption of 7.62x51mm cartridge saw Rheinmetall begin to manufacture a rechambered version designated the MG1. The original factory drawings for the MG42 were acquired by the Soviets at the end of the war, they would eventually find their way to Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia. This forced Rheinmetall to reverse engineer new ones from an original gun.

In 1958 Rheinmetall rechambered the remaining original MG42s, renaming them MG2s. In successive upgrades Rheinmetall made improvements including a chrome-lined barrel, a heavier bolt, new recoil springs, friction rings and sights. The definitive designation for newly made guns became the MG3 in 1959. Unlike the original MG42, the MG3 can use either disintegrating or continuous-link belts.

The MG3 is identical in operation to the MG42 using the same recoil-operated, roller locked action. The MG3, however, is slightly lighter than the MG42 weighing 23 lb (10.5 kg). Rheinmetall also made attempts to slow the weapon’s extremely high rate of fire by introducing a heavier bolt and a stronger buffer which reduced the rate of fire to 800 to 950 rounds per minute. Rheinmetall produced the MG3 until 1979 with Heckler & Koch later manufacturing some parts under license.

Diagrams showing the MG3′s rollers in the locked and unlocked positions  (source)

A large number of other countries have adopted the MG3 with many manufacturing it under license. These include Austria, Argentina, Denmark, Italy, Estonia, Turkey, Mexico, Pakistan, Greece, Iran and Spain. 

The MG3 remains in service with the Bundeswehr despite attempts to replace it with more modern designs. In 2005 the Bundeswehr selected the 5.56x45mm MG4 light machine gun and, following lessons learnt on operations in Afghanistan, adopted the MG5/HK121 General Purpose Machine Gun in 2012. However, production delays and reliability concerns have slowed the replacement of the MG3s currently in service. The MG3 is likely to continue in service as the standard secondary weapon on Germany’s armoured vehicles and other vehicle mounted roles as the MG5 will not fit current mounts.

The longevity of the MG42/MG3′s design has seen it remain in German service for over 70 years, the MG3 is likely to remain in service with the Bundeswehr and other militaries for some years to come. 

Sources:

Images: 1 2 3 4 5 6

Manual Das Machinengewehr, 1979 (source)

Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, I.V. Hogg & J. Weeks, (1985)

Jane’s Infantry Weapons 1983-84, I.V. Hogg