MG M38(t) (15 mm)

From War Thunder Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search

Description

Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.

The MG M38(t) (15 mm) on the AF D1.


Vehicles equipped with this weapon

General info

Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.

Available ammunition

Describe the shells that are available for the weapon and their features and purpose. If it concerns autocannons or machine guns, write about different ammo belts and what is inside (which types of shells).

Comparison with analogues

Give a comparative description of cannons/machine guns that have firepower equal to this weapon.

Usage in battles

Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.

Pros and cons

Summarise and briefly evaluate the weaponry in terms of its characteristics and combat effectiveness. Mark pros and cons as a list.

Pros:

Cons:

History

The Germans during World War II were widely documented as using foreign weapons of a variety of different types.  Small arms, artillery, and even vehicles captured from their enemies were pressed into service. There were even instances where the captured weapons were considered preferable to their own designs such as the Soviet SVT-40, which would influence German effort to develop the Gewehr 43. Other weapons were seen as inferior, but still used in combat anyways due to the fact the Wehrmacht (German Armed Forces) military build-up was lagging behind due to expectations that they wouldn’t go to war until the mid-1940s. The MG M38(t) is an example of a weapon that was pressed into German service during the war.

The gun began life as a Czech machine gun. Czechoslovakia was a new nation in 1918 carved out from Austria-Hungary. However, the new nation was quick to get its arms industry operational and maintain a standing military. The Zbrojovka Brno company was formed in 1918 to handle the development of the needed small arms for the Československá armáda (Czechoslovak Army). The need for such weapons grew increasingly important after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 as the nation grew concerned about German attempts to claim their territory which would indeed occur when they tried to claim the Sudetenland in 1938 and ultimately annexed the entire country in 1939. The ZB-60 was designed to serve as a heavy machine gun in the Czechoslovak Army. Intended for both an anti-infantry and anti-aircraft role, the ZB-60 was mounted on a wheeled carriage and chambered for a proprietary 15x104 mm Brno cartridge. Like other designs from the company, the ZB-60 was also exported notably to Yugoslavia and the British would copy the design to make their 15 mm Besa machine gun used on their Light Tank Mk VICs and their Mark I-III Humbler Armored Cars.

When Germany annexed Czechoslovakia in 1939, they captured the ZB-60 and used by the Wehrmacht as the MG M38(t). Later in 1941, Germany invaded Yugoslavia and captured their ZB-60s which were re-designated FlaMG 490(j)s as Germany mostly used these weapons as anti-aircraft guns. Similarly, Czech ZB-60s used in this capacity were re-designated FlaM39(t)s. The ZB-60 was given to the forces of the Slovak Republic when it declared independence in 1939. The guns were used by German in some capacity through World War II.

Media

Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

  • reference to the article about the variant of the cannon/machine gun;
  • references to approximate analogues by other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

  • topic on the official game forum;
  • other literature.


Naval machine guns
USA 
7.62 mm  M73
12.7 mm  AN-M2
Germany 
7.62 mm  MG-3
7.92 mm  MG08 pattern 1908 · MG15 · MG34
13.2 mm  Hotchkiss
15 mm  MG M38(t)
USSR 
7.62 mm  Maxim
12.7 mm  DShK
14.5 mm  KPV
Britain 
7.62 mm  FN MAG
7.7 mm  Lewis 1916 · Vickers GO No.5
12.7 mm  Vickers Mk.V
Japan 
6.5 mm  Maxim · Type 38 pattern 1907
7.7 mm  Type 89 · Type 92
13.2 mm  Type 93
Italy 
6.5 mm  Breda Mod.30 · Fiat Model 26
12.7 mm  Breda-SAFAT
13.2 mm  Breda Model 31
France 
13.2 mm  Browning · Model 1929 Hotchkiss