MG51

Go Back to General Purpose Machine Gun

Go Back To Weapons Home

	Weapon: MG51 Type: General Purpose Machine Gun Country of Origin: Switzerland Year Adopted: 1951 Caliber: 7.5mm Swiss Action: Fully Automatic - Recoil Overall Length (mm): 1180.0 Weight (kg): 7.00 Effective Range (m): 1500

The Swiss MG51, or Maschinengewehr 51, is a general-purpose machine gun developed in the late 1940s by Waffenfabrik Bern. Designed to replace the earlier MG11, the MG51 is chambered in the 7.5x55mm Swiss cartridge and operates on a recoil-operated, roller-locked mechanism. Known for its precision engineering, the MG51 offers exceptional reliability, high accuracy, and a sustained rate of fire of approximately 1,000 rounds per minute, making it one of the fastest-firing machine guns of its era.

Production of the MG51 began in 1951, and it quickly became the standard machine gun of the Swiss Armed Forces. Although exact production numbers are not widely publicized, thousands were manufactured to equip Switzerland's well-trained military and militia forces. Its versatility allowed it to serve in a variety of roles, including as a mounted weapon for vehicles, aircraft, and fortifications, as well as in infantry configurations. The MG51's robust construction made it well-suited for Switzerland's alpine terrain and harsh weather conditions.

The MG51 gained a reputation for its unparalleled craftsmanship and reliability but was also criticized for its heavy weight, which limited its portability compared to other contemporary machine guns. Despite this, it remained in service for decades, with some units still employing it in secondary roles today. Its precision and durability have earned the MG51 recognition as a symbol of Swiss manufacturing excellence and a noteworthy example of Cold War-era military engineering.