MG42 (7)

After spending several hectic months visiting military units, gathering information for the new machine gun, and organizing new training methods, the first live-fire prototype was finally complete.

“At last..!”

Perhaps thanks to the expanded workshop, it had taken far less time than making the pistol. Though if I asked the people in the workshop, I was sure they’d say something like you made us work overtime every day. Either way, it was finished.

‘As if I didn’t work overtime, too.’

The machine gun on the test stand looked almost exactly like the one I remembered, at least on the outside.

First, the thick water jacket surrounding the barrel on old machine guns like the MG01 was gone. In its place was a long, angular steel shroud, with the black barrel visible through holes along its length.

Instead of spade grips, the rear of the machine gun had a stock like a rifle’s and a pistol grip. A cover for feeding in the ammunition belt sat on top of the receiver, and a side port allowed the hot barrel to be removed.

The machining marks were still visible on the surface, and every part was covered in numbers and revision marks. Even so, it was unmistakably the machine gun I remembered.

I tried to lift it first.

“?”...