The SAS is short for the Special Air Service. This was a special

service unit organized in 1941 by young British officer, David Stirling

and showed activity in the desert of North Africa. The only one mission

of the SAS was to weaken the enemy by infiltrating deep behind his

lines and harassing the rear. It was the Jeep, that the SAS used as

their main means of transport. Although inferior to the Chevrolet Truck

in loading capacity, the Jeep with superior cross-country ability was

best suited for the mission of the SAS.

At about the middle of the 1930's, the German Army organized offensive infantry corps which had machine guns and machine pistols as the nucleus of their small arms. The infantry division contained three regiments as its main body. Each regiment consisted of three battalions, which had four infantry companies each. The 1st, 2nd and 3rd companies each had twelve light machine guns, sixteen machine pistols, three light mortars and two antitank guns. The 4th company, which was called machine-gun company, was equipped with twelve (later sixteen) heavy machine guns and six medium mortars.

The machine guns that gave birth to and constituted the background of such organization were the well-known model 34 (MG-34) and model 42 (MG-42).

In 1934, Mauser completed a new machine gun of 7.92 mm calibre based on the Swiss Solothurn 30 machine gun then used by the Austrian Army. The new machine gun employed the Solothurn mechanism such as the air-cooled recoil operation system and the selective fire lever between continuous fire and single fire. It was linear and slender in appearance. Muzzle brake was fixed to avoid vibration and recoil caused by high cyclic rate of fire (up to 900 rounds per minute) that was one of the advantages of the mechanism. The gun was of the belt-fed type. Belts containing 50 rounds each were carried in a gun belt box with a capacity of 300 rounds.

Immediately after completion, the new machine gun was adopted by the German Army. Officially designated model 34 machine gun (MG-34), the weapon was mounted on a great number of combat vehicles and military planes as well as used by infantry corps. The MG-34 later showed activity in all theatres of war.

In 1942, the Model 42 machine gun (MG-42) first appeared in the battlefield. The MG-42 was a remodelled version of the MG-34 and better suited for mass production. Since pressing process was largely used to facilitat manufacture, it is said that even a small factory was able to produce it. The MG-42 had considerable improvements in performance over the MG-34. The rate of fire was much higher and reached 1,500 rounds per minute. In addition, the MG-42 was durable enough to withstand changes in temperature and rough handling in the battlefield. It showed its excellent performance that was never affected by such conditions. The Germans used the same machine gun as a heavy machine gun or a light machine gun according to its tactical use. The former was so called when used on a tripod for support fire and the latter was so called when used on a hipod as an offensive weapon for infantry.

Accessories for the weapon used as a light machine gun consisted of 300 round gun belt boxes, 50 round saddle drum magazines, spare barrels, tool kit and machine oil. When used as a heavy machine gun, the weapons had additional accessories as follows: telescopic sight, tripod, tripod container, single AA mount, anti-aircraft ring sight, etc. (A sunshade was also added to the accessories when the gun was used in the tropics.)

Machine guns possessed by the Germans totalled 126,800 in number at the outbreak of World War II but they increased to 231,000 in January 1945 near the end of the war. This shows what great importance the German Army attached to its machine guns.

It was in 1934 that the German Army ordered Rheinmettal A G to develop

a new 3.7cm anti-tank gun. Rheinmettal ranked beside Krupp as the

biggest gun maker in Germany and already manufactured the first 3.7cm

anti-tank rapid firer in 1918. In 1935, Rheinmettal finished designing

the new anti-tank gun. The overall weight was 450kg. Having two

rubber-tired wheels, torsion bar suspension system and two rear trail

legs, the gun could be easily moved by only a few men. A gun shield of

4mm thickness was fixed for the protection of the gun crew. The gunner

was on the left side of the gun and could traverse it by 60 degrees

both ways, elevate by 25 degrees and depress by 8 degrees. The loader

was on the right side of the horizontal sliding breech block and the

gun could make continuous fire at a rate of 15 rounds per minute. The

3.7cm gun which was 45 calibres long had a muzzle velocity of 762

meters per second (when firing an armour-piercing projectile) and

penetrated a 48mm armour plate standing erect at a distance of 457

meters. The 3.7cm anti-tank gun was immediately accepted by the German

Army and officially designated Anti-tank Gun Model 35/36 (PAK 35/36).

In 1936, the Germans began to deliver the gun to the anti-tank gun

company of each division as its standard equipment. It is reported that

the excellent design of the then typical anti-tank gun exerted a great

influence on the progress of anti-tank guns in the Soviet Union, United

States, and Japan.

Add some more detail to your 1/48 scale dioramas with this scale model

of a German motorcycle and side car. Side cars were paired with

motorcycles by German forces in many areas of the WWII conflict, and

their excellent off-road ability combined with the bike’s engine power

made them a useful asset in transporting soldiers and equipment, some

even being mounted with machine guns.

The iconic Japanese hobby company Tamiya has been at the forefront of

the modeling industry and is synonymous with innovation, quality and

detail, since1948 when the company started with its first wooden model

kits. Tamiya’s range has grown to include plastic kits, radio control,

educational kits, modeling accessories, paints and tools all of which

are revered for their quality, level of detail and design by modeling

enthusiasts around the world.

Our latest 1/48 scale figure set features WWII German soldiers in

relaxed poses, standing, walking, wearing field caps and with weapons

shouldered. Also includes figures depicting tank crew at rest. 2

all-new officer figures and military policeman, which are available now

for the first time in any scale, are also included. This set is perfect

for modeling non-combat scenes and dioramas of life behind-the-lines.

The iconic Japanese hobby company Tamiya has been at the forefront of

the modeling industry and is synonymous with innovation, quality and

detail, since1948 when the company started with its first wooden model

kits. Tamiya’s range has grown to include plastic kits, radio control,

educational kits, modeling accessories, paints and tools all of which

are revered for their quality, level of detail and design by modeling

enthusiasts around the world.