Deactivated M53 Machine Gun Post-War variant MG42

In Yugoslavia this MG 42 variant was built at the state-owned Zavodi Crvena Zastava company as the M53 machine gun using original German machinery, retaining the 7.92×57mm Mauser chambering. By doing so, the Yugoslavs retained the original weapon’s design features, making the M53 a near exact copy of the German MG 42.

The only major differences were a slower 950 rounds per minute cyclic rate of fire and no anti-aircraft sight mount. The aiming range of the M53 is 2,000 m (2,187 yd), and the terminal range of the bullet is 5,000 m (5,468 yd), the same as the MG 42. MG 42s captured in Yugoslavia at the end of World War II were put into reserve of Yugoslav People’s Army as M53/42s.

The last military use of M53s in Yugoslavia was in 1999. Some quantities of M53s were exported to Iraq in the 1980s and saw extensive action during both Gulf wars.

~ Condition ~

The piece is in good deactivated condition and deactivated to the 2018 spec, so ready to go.

The bolt is moving.

ref. GS006E4C5 / DBM#9G00