The MG 81 is a German belt fed 7.92×57mm Mauser machine gun which was used in flexible installations in World War II Luftwaffe aircraft, in which capacity it replaced the older drum magazine-fed MG 15.
The MG 81 was developed by Mauser as a derivative of their successful MG 34 general-purpose machine gun. Development focus was to reduce production cost and time and to optimize the machine gun for use in aircraft. Developed in 1938/1939, it was in production from 1940 to 1945.
Variants.
A special twin-mount MG 81Z (the Z suffix stands for "Zwilling", meaning "twin") was introduced in 1942. It paired up two of the weapons on one mount to provide even more firepower with a maximum cyclic rate of fire of 3,200 rounds per minute without requiring much more space than a standard machine gun.
Towards the end of the war many specimens were delivered to the army and equipped for use in ground battles with shoulder rest and bipod.
After West Germany's entry into NATO in May 1955, Mauser offered the MG 81 chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. The twin-barrel MG 81Z was marketed for helicopter fixed mount with theoretical firepower of 6,800–7,000 rounds per minute for a MG 81Z mounted on each side of the helicopter. The MG 81 was also marketed for infantry use with bipod, wood buttstock, and reduced fire rate of 1,200 rounds per minute.
Applications.
The MG 81Z was found in many unique installations in Luftwaffe combat aircraft, such as a pair of MG 81Z (for a total of four guns) installed in the hollow tail cone of the Dornier Do 217 K-2. Designated R19 (R for Rüstsatz) as a factory designed field conversion/upgrade kit, it allowed the pilot of the Do 217 to shoot at pursuers.
Another application was the "Gießkanne" (Watering can), an externally mounted pod with three gun pairs, making a total of six guns and their ammunition. Able to fire at a cyclic rate of 9,000 rounds per minute, this was attached to Junkers Ju 87 or Ju 88 in an underwing mount and used to strafe ground targets.
References.
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