MG131 heavy machine gun

The MG131 heavy machine gun is from German origin and was thier own equivalent to the Browning M2HB machine guns. It is lighter in weight, easier to produce/maintain but also had a higher ROF. The MG131 is also rumoured to use electrically fired ammo as it was also mounted in the nose of fighter aircraft so it was synchronised to shoot between the propellor blades.

If this weapon can be chambered in .50cal BMG, The MG131 can still be a perfect HMG even today.

More info: http://www.mgkmanufacturing.com/MG-131.htm

It certainly did use electrical priming. It was the Japanese Navy which used a percussion-primed version of the gun, as the 13mm Type 2.

The gun and ammunition were very compact because the MG 131 was intended to replace 7.92mm MGs in aircraft, so had to be kept small and light. It couldn't be rechambered for the .50 Browning ammo, which is much bigger and more powerful. The pic above (from the Ammunition Photo Gallery on my website) shows the principal HMG cartridges to see service: the .50 Browning is the 12.7x99, the MG 131 round is the 13x64B.


Tony Williams: Military gun and ammunition website and discussion forum