On D-Day at least one MG.42 gunner fired twelve thousand rounds without a major malfunction. The MG.42 heavy machine gun fired 1,200 rounds per minute, an exceptional rate at the time. It was the ideal weapon to use against an invasion force.

In spite of its tendency to overheat, the MG-42 was an excellent weapon that was light-years of ahead of the US counterpart, the Browning M-1919A4 machine gun. Germany produced roughly 400,000 MG-42s during the war, some of which are still in active service.

Known as the “Buzz Saw” for the speed at which it could fire its lethal ammunition (1,550 rounds per minute), the weapon was among those operated by the German forces on D-Day. By 1944, the MG 42 had earned itself a scary reputation on the battlefield, with it reaching a point where Allied soldiers had developed a fear of coming face-to ...

In the early hours of June 6, 1944, a 20-year-old German soldier hurried to his post at Wiederstandsnest 62 (WN62) overlooking Omaha Beach to man his MG 42 machine gun. Tossed around in the English Channel in front of him were over 34,000 American troops waiting for their chance to land on that beach and earn their place in history.

On D-Day (June 6, 1944) WN-62 was manned by 27 members of the 716th Static Infantry Division and 13 members of Severloh's 352nd Division, whose task was to direct fire of the 10.5 cm howitzer artillery batteries located five kilometres inland at Houtteville.