Darne series of medium machine guns

DARNE

SERIES OF MEDIUM MACHINE GUNS

The Darne introduced the manufacturing and assembly methods that were to reach their zenith with the German MG42 in World War Two. At a time when machine guns were being built and machined virtually as hand-made items, the Darne was designed for cheapness and ease of manufacture. Unlike most arms manufacturers they saw no need to produce military weapons to commercial standards of finish and in doing so they suceeded in producing one of the crudest and cheapest machine guns on the market! While it looked cheap and nasty it was an efficient weapon that soon saw wide service, particularly as an aircraft gun and was produced for a number of air forces during the 1930s - even being evaluated by the british but it lost out to the Browning. Although it was named for the parent company it was mainly produced by the Unceta factory in Spain as well as in Czechoslovakia under licence. It was manufactured for France in 7.5mm and 8mm calibre and by Czechoslovakia in 7.92mm. Some of the Czech guns ended up in Yugoslavia. Many of the Spanish built guns were 7.5mm aircraft versions. After 1940 the Germans used captured Darne guns with the designation leMG 106(f) mainly as coastal defence guns, Some were emplaced in turrets in the Channel Islands.

VARIANTS OF THE SERIES

7.5mm leMG 106(f)

8mm leMG 106(f)

Fusil Mitrailleur Darne Modele 1922

Mitrailleuse Darne Modele 1918

Mitrailleuse Darne Modele 1922

Mitrailleuse Darne Modele 1922 à tourelle

Mitrailleuse Darne Modele 1922 à palette

Mitrailleuse Darne Modele 1933

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