Repairing and Testing an FG42: The MOST EXPENSIVE Gun of WW2
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- Опубликовано: 29 сен 2023
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Slightly different video this time, since I had to work on this interesting and uncommon gun I thought I'd make a video about the FG42.
Also a while ago I had made a similar video about the STEN titled: "how bad was the CHEAPEST gun of WW2?" and considering the FG42 was with little doubt the most expensive one, I thought it would have been fun to cover the other end of the spectrum as well.
A special thanks goes to Michelangelo Neri Orliani for helping in the making of this project
If you can and want to help me making videos like this, you can directly support me on Patreon:
/ backyardballistics
with your help, I can keep making educational content without having to give up my freedom of speech to the advertiser's needs. 
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I love ur videos and learning stuff about guns
Love your videos👍🇬🇧
Stop advertising war criminals.
Thank you for your videos. I have learned so much, and have an old .22 revolver turning all coppery for rust blue based on what I learned from you at the moment. I'm really sorry that RUclips screws with the monetization so you have to do War Blunder. Your channel is so much better than that!
Masterfully done, a true work of art.
This is truly one of the best firearms channels on RUclips.
I'm also at a loss as to why this channel is not more popular.
Please keep developing this fantastic content.
I agree, I learn something every time I watch a video. One of the Best channels on the tube
Curious, if they would have developed a new round, think 308 to the 30-06, but in 8mm bullet diameter, if that would have solved the reliability problems.
@bryanstotts3466 no clickbait titles, no arrows or O-face in the thumbnail. No loud talking or screaming, just genuinely good content. It’s almost as if YT dislikes good content as a whole.
@@JorgenKesseler hancock has 7m views and the old man is the deal, its just a matter of luck
Guns. RUclips and the coastal elites who run it hate guns.
6:53 I never knew how much I needed to hear an Italian man say “bollocks!”
I'm so glad he leave in the 'ping' followed by 'Bollocks!' at 06:53, after telling us how disassembling trigger groups is a pain in the ass. Kind of really drove the point home in a humerous fashion :D
85% of gunsmithing is finding springs, pins and detents expelled quite fast and at angles that make you question general relativity.
@@stevenunyabidnesscan confirm. Taking apart any of my own guns and having a spring fling off into the void of my shop floor is a real nightmare, haha.
I'm fascinated that he went with the very British/Irish "bollocks" over swearing in Italian. Has producing so many youtube videos made you start to think in English? Or at least while angry!
Springs like this when found in cars/engines are usually named "ting-ting-fucks" where I'm from, because thats the sound that is made when you take them out.
It seems like its largest hindrance was the 8mm cartridge. A smaller, lighter cartridge would have been easier to hit the design goals.
Honestly, imagine if they went with the x33 rim like the stg instead of the full size x57 rim, it would have been interesting
the possibility of using the 7,92x33 Kurz was there, and it was evaluated from the start, but keeping the Crete disaster in mind the designers weren't very keen on using any cartridge that wasn't considered "full power", worrying the paratroopers would otherwise risk being "outranged" again.
@@Backyard.Ballistics according from what i've seen in IAN forgotten weapon video the gun is really controllable for the cartridge it's lobbing out at full auto standing. and it seems to do it better than a FAL and certainly an M14 and G3
No because then it couldn't perform as LMG substitute.
I wouldn't say so, from what I've seen of people firing it, it is probably the most full-auto controllable battle rifle ever made.
I'm still completely confused by how such a high quality content creator doesn't have more subscribers. You deserve at minimum 2+million. Keep up the great work. Hopefully your content gets the recognition it deserves in time.
He needs a collaboration with Ian McCollum to pick up speed!
@@robertunderdunkterwilliger2290 Now THAT'S an idea. Ian, being an absolute preservanist, can most certainly get behind Backyard Ballistics careful and considering approach to firearms restauration. Ideally it would never be needed for a collectors item, but for some examples (and budgets!) it's better to have a faithfully restored example than none at all.
@@robertunderdunkterwilliger2290excellent idea !!!!
Not that I am disagreeing with the sentiment of your post, but it certainly is a niche market within a niche market (firearm repair in the already, albeit larger, niche firearms fanbois).
He certainly does deserve a larger viewership than he has already, and while a crossover with Ian is very likely to be a pipedream (imagine how many requests for just that he must receive in a day?) I of course would love to see it happen.
Unfortunately gun themed channels are not monetized and advertised much by YT, the beginning is always rough for them.
The STG57 also had similar requirements other then it was also designed to fire huge rifle grenades however wasn't designed to be dropped on a paratrooper. There are similarities I think between the two as well. The FG42 is probably my all time favoruite small arm from WW2, very much ahead of it's time only really being overshadowed by the STG44. The 57 is the superior design in terms of reliability although at the cost of weight.
The 57 is indeed very usable but not the most pleasant gun to shoot. I always consider it more of a light, portable MG rather than a true assault weapon.
The 57 is indeed very usable but not the most pleasant gun to shoot. I always consider it more of a light, portable MG rather than a true assault weapon.
I recognize a swiss when I see one
@@noanat Jersey actually. The island.
@@phileas007 In weight and dimensions, the STG57 is comparable to the Johnson M1941 light machine gun.
As an automatic rifle, even the 1931 Breda PG was lighter and more compact.
The design of these older weapons always intrigues me and even more so when you consider they’ve been designed and manufactured during wartime with the massive added pressure that obviously comes with it.
With no computers
Thanks for the background history on the battle of Crete. What an interesting firearm. Nice to see that even professionals have springs go flying ;-)
Don't know how it happened, but I bet since the disconnector prevents the gun going full auto the"malfunction" was some one tinkering with it ,messed it up and the gun doesn't fire at all
If that was the case they'd completely misunderstood it's basic principle of operation. The way you turn this into a full-auto-only weapon is to file off the little disconnector "flag" that protrudes above the trigger pack. Or buy a spare one and do it to that so you can switch back and forth. Putting in a weaker spring accomplishes nothing (except the failure we saw). Putting in a stronger spring would, at worst, introduce feed problems due to drag on the bolt. But that's unlikely since 8mm Mauser can strong arm any spring of that size regardless of stiffness.
@@andersjjensen
Never said it was done by a mechanical engineer. Probably Bubba or the European equivalent , figuring that , the disconnector is what makes gun go Brrrrrrrt .I be willing to bet ,if you mic that return spring it's a few coils short.
6:33 I really appreciate how safety-first you are. Guns are awesome, and historical firearms even more so, but they are still lethal weapons, and very precisely made machines (for the most part) that require a good foundation of knowledge to understand the more complicated bits, like trigger groups and gas piston systems.
They are first and formost lethal contraptions that impart explosive force (hopefully) in the intended direction, and everything else second, third, fourth, etc depending on how you value each individual other aspect.
I think he just doesn't want us to accidentally make unregistered full auto firearms without realizing it
@@dedonkers every gun nerd knows if you know how you should lmao. (For the FBI agent assigned to me, this is a joke)
@@andersjjensen That could be said for may things we use and operate today, but they dont receive the same level of disgust that guns do which isnt fair
I just want to say I have watched your videos since way back when you had those sponsored ads for your channel on RUclips, and I am so happy you have come so far since then, you seriously deserve this and more.
Wow, thank you!
Please post more content like this . Your presentation was very clear and interesting
Excellent analysis! I think the FG-42 would have been a far more viable rifle had they used 7.92x33 Kurz or maybe a similar variation. The Mauser cartridge was too much for it's intended purpose, and as you noted in this video, too much to deal with in the design of the rifle. I love the appearance of the FG-42, and I think that modern repros should be made to chamber 5.56....which would require an internals redesign...but with CAD it shouldn't be too hard to do, considering the ease of machining today. Maybe not cheap...but certainly doable.
" I think that modern repros should be made to chamber 5.56.."
According to Ian of Forgotten Weapons, the sort of people who are willing to pay a lot for reproductions of historic weapons want them to be as close to the original as possible, and do not care for alternative ammunition. Using 5.56 might make the gun easier to make, but would also make it harder to sell.
@@DavidCowie2022 Any 8mm Mauser firing ARs out there?
@@DavidCowie2022
There are versions chambered in .308/7.62 NATO. Ian has one video does the FG-42 live up to its hype. Much more controllable in full auto than say an M-14 from the shoulder judging by the video. Now was it a good idea? One also needs to remember that German infantry tactics were built around the MG-34/42.
Oh, the money I’ve I’ve made off people that say “that should be easy to do”. Please keep up being that naive, getting yourself in trouble then calling me to bail you out. The moment I hear someone say “we thought it would be easy” on the intro call, I double the cost.
@@c1ph3rpunkReading isn't easy for you.
As far as it's doing double duty as a light machinegun the manufacturer suggests this the FG42 rarely be used in that manor. I'm sure you read the book, Death From Above. which includes the manual where it states, "The weapon fires single-shot and in emergency, in the full-automatic mode."
I enjoyed your video! I fell in love with the FG42 so long ago because of CoD and the like. When the opportunity to acquire one (a repro) happened I jumped on it. I bought the ZF-4 scope before the rifle actually. There was a limited run by Meopta, the direct descendant of the original scope maker. I heard they made a 1000 unit run of the scope and didn't want to miss the opportunity for one of theirs rather than a Chinese knock-off. There is/was a gentleman in Auburn, WA machining the mounts (cool!). Got one. A correct reproduction sling was ordered. I picked up a magazine loader and ammo clips to feed the loader. I'd like to find some more magazines though. Luckily I have a VERY understanding wife!
Yes I did read the book😉
@@Backyard.Ballistics It was good to see another video on the FG42. Thanks.
I've owned firearms for fifty years and currently I have a small collection of pistols and rifles (about a dozen) that range from black powder to centerfire. The funny thing is that I've had this FG42 seven or eight years and have yet to take it to the range. Go figure. Take care, sir. 8 )
This channel is so underrated. Informative high quality content deserves more reckongnition and support.
Keep it up, keep it comming. I cant wait to see this channel blow up.
Outstanding presentation! You really did a very thorough presentation that taught me a lot about this firearm. Thank you. Great job.
That was a good take on the FG2, giving detail that other channels have not covered.
The CETME Modelo A for the Spanish Armed Forces was developed by refugee German gun designers postwar using the 8x41mm CETME cartridge; the introduction of 7.62NATO is the reason we do not have 8mm CETME today. This was what the FG-42 was supposed to be.
The requirements were for lightweight, long range accurate automatic fire, and supersonic past 800m or something. The projectile achieved this with an Aluminum/Aluminium core surrounded by a Copper jacket so that it would engage the rifling. It was brilliant. Too bad Spain went with 7.62NATO instead of going through with the perfect intermediate 8mm cartridge. It would have been legendary!
Brilliant video presentation mate. Really informative. Keep up the good work!
An absolutely magnificent weapon - hard to believe the design is 80 years old. That buffer/recoil spring and open/close bolt mechanism is pure genius! Ian McCullum from Forgotten weapons shot the select-fire OG example on a video, and says it lived up to it's hype...not including reliability or durability of course.
Regardless - you did a great job on the presentation, teardown and repair on this replica. Love your content - cheers!
Im happy that you decided to make the viedo about the fg-42 even if the restoration video got more votes in the poll. It's nice to see some variety!
Love how educational and satisfying these videos are, it's easy to see just how much effort you pour into these. You offer a wealth of knowledge! But I still can't place the accent...
In RCtW, the FG42 was a rather useful scoped battle rifle weapon. I only wished that the original IRL gun had the same slow but steady firing mode, with no crappy bipod and the gun flying all over the place in full-auto.
Heck, a wooden foregrip would have been nice to help with the accuarcy.
I appreciate that you got an opportunity to work on this one.
Excellent teaching video! I learned many things today. Thank you!
Sir, You are a true master. I must be lucky I found Your channel. So much to learn. I respect Your attitude towards artworks of engineering.
Really well put together videos with loads of information and professionally done. 👍
Thanks for all you do, your videos are highly informative and entertaining. You've given me the confidence to try to restore an 1893 Webley RIC my grandfather found in his home in th '80s. Wish me luck 🤞
Best of luck!
Very interesting video. Thanks for sharing!!
One of the coolest parts of how they made the closed bolt/open bolt hybrid design work is how the main action spring also serves as the striker/firing pin spring when in closed bolt. It’s basically black magic/witchcraft to me.
So jealous of your job! Such a beauty to take care of and restore!
Hey great video you are always very detailed and specific and I love it. Anyway I think that a long time ago you made video about some sort of air powered bullet(like you pump air in it and then with the hammer the pressure is suddenly released and the bullet goes flying) am I crazy and I'm misremembering or did you actually post something like that? And if that's so where can i find the video? Sorry for the long comment and again love your videos
It's really interesting to see all the little engineering quirks this design had primarily due to the insistence on creating a "jack of all trades" that utilized full size rifle cartridges. This undoubtedly was a direct influence on the development of intermediate cartridges and thus assault rifles. This thing actually reminds me a bit of the AUG with it's almost bullpup layout and the way it vents gas.
This is one of my favorite channel, with history secrets, Mark Felton, world war wisdom and few others. Everybody who is destroying hostory, like Mike B can fuck off. This channel is purely gold, preserving/saving history and telling about it. Some people out here are shooting real helmets, preaking historical items etc. Thank you Backyard Ballistics!
Watching your videos always makes me wonder how did you learn to disassemble all this guns.
You have truly impressive knowlage.
Superb presentation from beginning to end. The views and likes are rapidly clicking away as I'm typing this ! I watched other videos showing significant muzzle flash which I presume came from unburned propellant due to the unusually short barrel for 8mm Mauser to keep within the length and weight limits. I am curious there was no muzzle flash in your demo.
The propellant chemistry plays a big role, some powders are much more prone to flash than others. Modern propellants often have flash suppressants included
The way you proclaimed “bollocks”! really made my day, a truly British expletive. Nice one.
Imagine if WWII saw wider use of things like the FG42, the Colt Monitor, and the SVT 40
Certainly my favourite and probably one of the best guns of WW2. Great work as always.
I think one gun that I found is one of the easiest to take apart, clean, and put back together is a Browning Hi-Power.
Another very informative and interesting video
Thank you for posting this.
FG42 type E.
Nice.
👍😎
If this one feeds better with an magazine only 1/2 or 1/3 full a new mag spring is likely in order.
What a beautiful and complex weapon.
A few tweaks to the design could make this an amazing battle rifle for the modern day, fixing the feeding issues could be done with relative ease by switching to 308 and using standard 308 magazines, the gas system and front handguard can be adjusted to not vent hot gas onto the users hands, modern materials and techniques such as polymer materials and stamped parts can be used to reduce weight in certain areas and reduce production costs, the way they got closed and open botl firing is brilliant, and a modernized version of this could have serious potential.
Back to your gaming now.
1:02 my cousin made a documentary about this battle! my family fought in the war there and killed nazis and helped capture the German general and end the occupation. It always bothers me that so few people know about the battle of Crete. one of my cousins still has the rifle he stole from a German cache of rifles that was dropped on the island during the invasion. The germans dropped these big wooden crates basically that were filled with rifles and often they got blown closer to the villagers who would just steal all the rifles and then kill the nazis with them hahahaha
Wow. What rifle did he get? Very interesting story.
Crete is always a liar, an evil beast, and a lazy eater.You give them a hard scolding-Titus 1:12-13
I saw a documentary on the invasion of Crete. They interviewed residents who where there and fought back.
One of the coolest bits was an old gentleman showing off the MP40 he had captured personally and managed to keep.
All right! Thats German property! Give me back the rifles right now!
Funny how the wildly successful solution to the FG 42s design requirements would be met within a year of it's adoption by the conception of the 7.92x33 Kurtz and the plethora of cheap, light, and reliable select fire rifles that the germans would design and adopt in the following years. Though if the MP43 had been created in 1941, the world likely would have missed out on this wonderfully complicated yet amazing rifle here
Not exactly, 7.92x33 weapon could not act like an LMG stand-in on longer range. That's exactly why they needed FG42, similarly how today's battle rifles can't be replaced by 5.56 rifles
The best channel of its kind. No competition. Well done
Thanks!
Awesome video but at least one of if not the main advantage to an open bolt gun is that when you aren't firing the barrel is open on both ends making it cool itself a lot more easily than with a closed bolt gun.
This is an awesome channel. Great job.
@ForgottenWeapons channel has a whole set of videos about FG42: the description, comparing two patterns, shooting, legacy,...
So German engineers essentially was forced to make short SCAR-H suited for paratroopers all while in a war and with 1940s technologies and materials and the actually kinda succeeded? Insane
Thanks for sharing!
Good to see your videos my friend
Come to think of it - with the action behind the trigger and the breach directly above it is a early predecessor of the bullpup.
it would have been cool if the third position on this replica just did open bolt semi-auto.
6:54: - "Bollocks!" - one of THE best British words to describe displeasure.
the FG42 is an absolute beauty. My favourite gun from WWII with the STG being a close second.
Nice gun and very nice informative video!
Interesting, thank you for sharing.
It seems everything that the FG42 was trying to be, was successfully accomplished by the STG-44.
Great engineering and history lesson!
Great channel. Subbed
I’ve been to Crete. I had no idea of the events that took place in the Second World War
that little spring has a name, its called a pingfuckit
It's cousin the (E clip) Jesus clip, because after it launches you exclaim "Jesus where did it go?"
Wow, that’s crazy. I live 30 minutes away from Aberdeen proving grounds and my dad used to work on there.
Thanks for the history part, that's why I like guns!
it was still a very impressive design to even if only tentatively, do a decent attempt at its demanding criteria, while under ridiculous weight and length constrictions.
Indeed it was. And it was a driving factor behind moving to an intermediate cartridge. After looking at the impressive engineering effort, but ultimate failure, it was clear to everyone that you simply can't bend physics over and have your way with it. 8mm Mauser and 30.06 are practically pipe bombs where you hit the enemy with one end cap. You're either going to give up any kind of full auto controllability, accept substantial weight, or step down in power.
@@andersjjensen
One major factor behind its design and manufacture. The harness used on German parachutes basically had the jumper hanging from one strap reducing his ability to carry any loads while jumping. Also beyond a few limited occasions German paratroopers never jumped into combat after Crete.
The SSD replicas are high quality (as is the Smith Machine Group FG42, but the SSD is a more faithful rendition) but the example in the video appears to be over gassed as the recoil stroke looks too fast and violent. I'd try a smaller gas port in the regulator.
Another great video
So um I’m kinda new to this channel started watching a few months ago and love his videos but I also noticed his were shaking a bit around 5:20
Also I love your content a lot. I picked up a rusty bayonet from the 1800s and want to remove the rust from it, although im not sure if I should do your boiling water technique or a steel wool brush. How long would I leave it in boiling water for?
Loved the subject and the way it was presented.and the the "Bollocks" midway,guess youre based in UK.
Not sure if anyone else has said it but 'assault weapon' isn't a thing that has ever existed. You might mean Assault Rifle, though the FG42 is not one of those.
The best classification you could give to this gun would be an Automatic Rifle or Light Automatic Rifle. Not unlike the BAR.
I would say the feed issues are with the magazine ... these guns needed a lot of fine-tuning to function properly ...
WAIT..This WASNT found in an Italian crawlspace, or dumpster?
No, this is from our warehouse 😉. Essentially a private collection.
@@Backyard.Ballistics You guys know how lucky you are right? a warehouse filled with guns in Italy NOT EVEN IN THE US
Most excellent work! Thank you for your content.
.... I'm just going to say it.... Forgotten Weapons has really deteriorated and i have been looking for better content. I have subscribed to BB for many years but i shall be eagerly checking each new post now.
Great work.
Thanks.
Seems to me, right off the bat and I'm no 'firearms expert', but if they had just developed an intermediate cartridge for the gun, they would have had less issues with overpowering the buffer and the gun in general instead of using those 8mm Mauser rounds. Cutting back the round to a 7.62 x .39 or similar dimension would have taken a lot of stress off the gun and maybe made it a more workable machine?
I'd agree, except you have to consider the issue of logistics. They already had stocks and manufacturing lines ready for the 8mm Mauser cartridge, and although the adoption of 8mm Kurz was underway (sort of, the Angry Mustashe German Man wasn't a fan, but the development of 8mm Kurz and weapons in that cartridge was being done under his nose), they didn't have really any of that. Logistics wins wars, not wunderwaffe. Wunderwaffe helps, but only if you can get it to the troops (see M1 Garand).
Despite how expensive and how damn rare they are, people who have had the chance to shoot it say shooting it isn't like any other gun with it being just incredibly smooth
Its a beast , especially the original full auto . forgotten weapons has full auto at the range videos.
what company produced your FG42?!?! i love it, it looks so accurate to the original almost like it was a parts kit and its still shoot-able!
I think it's called Dittrich or something like that. I don't even know if they make them anymore. They were (and still are on the second hand market) very expensive.
That FG42 is YEETING that brass at Mach 2
Early-production FG-42?? I can hear Ian McCullum's spidy sense tingling from here.
awesome gun ... I don't even know if a semi auto version would be legal in Canada ... probably not
War Thunder itself doesnt really have a model of the FG42, that would be Gaijins other game "Enlisted" which is an first person shooter infantry/tanks game. The FG42 is truly beautiful there.
interesting that the action is very similar to the lewis gun and later the M60 machinegun. The example shown in this video has some similarity to the later U.S. developed M60 grip mounting hardware (single pin with flat spring) and the sear design.
This is just more evidence that firearms designs are another man's development of an earlier idea.
Love the 42, such an iconic weapon
Its a miracle that German engineers almost pull the miracle.
The problem that the bullets are pressed into the case also occurs with the Stg44. These machine weapons were built to always work, which is why they handle the ammunition very carelessly. With such weapons it is always helpful to only use bullets with a crimp groove and to crimp the cartridges. then this effect should no longer occur. I speak from experience. 😉
6:52 funniest part:D
Wow man you got an expensive gun! But it looks so new!?!
For the 40s, this seems like a very advanced weapon, at least in design and concept.
I like how an old man has to test those reliably weapons...
Don’t forget Charles Hazlitt Upham a new Zealand 🇳🇿 guy won the first of his 2 Victoria crosses at Crete
A compact, fully automatic weapon chambered for a rifle cartridge and designed to fulfill the role of an infantry rifle, assault weapon and light machine gun at the same time. From my completely uneducated perspective, that sounds like one of the first attempts at what we would today call an "assault rifle", pre-dating even the Sturmgewehr 44.
Video interessantissimo e fantastico
I have never heard an italian exclaim "bollocks!" Before. 6:51 it's dry and oaky, like a fine Miani 'Calvari' Refosco Colli Orientali del Friuli.
Do you sell these guns that you restore or do you just keep them or give them to museums?
Very cool!
That original grip angle looks insanely uncomfortable. No wonder they changed it.