MG 81 (7.92 mm)

Description

The 7.92 mm MG 81 is a German aircraft machine gun. It sees use in-game primarily as a defensive armament for larger German aircraft, though it sees rare usage as a offensive armament as well.

The MG 81 comes in either single or twin-mounted configuration. The twin-mounted configuration of the MG 81 was designated MG 81Z, with "Z" standing for Zwilling, or "twin".

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

General info

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Available ammunition

Offensive belts:

• Default: AP-T · AP-I · AI

The default belt that all players start with. With a mix of AP-T, AP-I, and AI rounds, its efficiency is severely limited as it does not focus on any role but rather tries to fulfill all of them in the same belt. It keeps damaging planes until 1,500 m distance.

• Universal: AP-T · AP · AI · AP-I

This belt is the best to attack both air and ground targets. It keeps damaging planes until 1,500 m distance.

• Tracers: AP-T

This belt is uniquely composed of armour-piercing tracer shells. Its damage potential drops severely beyond 5,00 m distance.

• Stealth: AI · AP · AP · AP · AI

This belt combines the benefits of armour-piercing rounds with incendiary rounds while packing no tracers to prevent from revealing your position. It keeps damaging planes until 1,500 m distance.

Defensive belts:

• Default: AP-T · Ball · Ball · AP-I · AI

• Armoured targets: AP · AP · AP · AP-T

This belt is for armoured targets due to the high content of armour-piercing rounds together with tracers to support your aim. Its damage potential drops severely beyond 500 m distance.

• AP-T: AP-I · AP-T · AP-I · AP-T

This belt combines the benefits of armour-piercing rounds with incendiary rounds. Its damage potential drops severely beyond 1,000 m distance.

Comparison with analogues

Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

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Pros:

• High rate of fire
• Varied selection of belts
• Accurate

Cons:

• Jams relatively quickly
• Small calibre rounds don't do much damage

History

Around 1938, Germany began seeking a replacement for their MG 15 in the role of a flexible armament of their aircraft. To save on development time, the design is a variant of the MG34, one of the first general purpose machine guns to enter service. The new gun, designated the MG 81, entered service in 1940 and would see service until the end of World War II in 1945.

Compared to the original MG 34, the MG 81 is lighter and has a higher rate-of-fire at 1,600 rounds per minute, twice the cyclic rate of its base model. The gun is also shorter over all with shorter barrel. A variant mount exists for the MG 81 called the MG 81Z (short for Zwilling or "twin") which was a twin mount. The MG 81Z notable saw a total of four guns mounted in the hollow nose cone of the Dornier Do 217 series of medium bombers which received the designation the R19 for the field modification kit. It was also notably in the ground attack role with Ju 87 and Ju 88 series of bombers. In the final months of the war, some MG 81s were modified to serve as infantry weapons.

Media

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See also

German airborne MG with the same calibre

• MG 15 (7.92 mm)
• MG 17 (7.92 mm)

Japanese airborne MG with the same calibre

• Type 1 (7.92 mm)
• Type 98 (7.92 mm)

Other airborne MG with the same calibre

• FN Browning (7.92 mm)

External links

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