Steyr-Solothurn S2-200: the Austrian MG30 and Hungarian 31M
Hungary
•
18m
The S2-200 was developed by Louis Stange at the Rheinmetall company in Germany in the late 1920s. Because Germany was not allowed to be doing this sort of arms development at the time, Rheinmetall bought a controlling stake in the Swiss firm Solothurn AG, to make the product deniably Swiss. The gun itself is recoil operated, with a rotating locking collar connecting the bolt and barrel, rather like the Hotchkiss Portative. It was a design that had some early influence on the German MG34, although the German military declined to adopt it. Instead, it was taken into service in 8x56mm by both Austria (as the MG30) and Hungary (as the 31M). A third purchaser was El Salvadore, which purchased 47 examples in 7x57mm caliber.
After the anschluss in 1938, the Austrian guns were integrated into the Wehrmacht, where they were primarily used by mountain troops. Hungary did later make a version in 7.92x57mm, designated the 43M.
Many thanks to the Royal Armouries for allowing me to film and disassemble these two very rare LMGs! The NFC collection there - perhaps the best military small arms collection in Western Europe - is available by appointment to researchers:
https://royalarmouries.org/research/national-firearms-centre/
You can browse the various Armouries collections online here:
https://royalarmouries.org/collection/
Up Next in Hungary
-
Hungarian Blast Machine: AMD-65 at th...
"Rifles on the Danube" Kickstarter is live!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=ewy77iToday I took my AMD-65 out to the range. I've shot regular AKMs with AMD muzzle brakes, but never had the chance to try the AMD-65 in its original proper configuration. And ...
-
Researching Hungarian Kalashnikovs: I...
Rifles on the Danube: Hungarian Kalashnikov Firearms 1959-2002 is available now on Kickstarter:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=ezuyuvNic Jenzen-Jones, Director of Research for Headstamp Publishing, spent some time in Budapest speaking with László Becz, a...
-
AK-63F: Hungary's Last Military Kalas...
Join our Kickstarter for "Rifles On The Danube" today and get your copy of the best book on Hungarian AKs!
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/headstamp/rifles-on-the-danube?ref=dioegqIn 1978, as AMD-65 rifles in service were starting to get worn out, FÉG launched a program to refurbish the ol...
