The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG 34, is a German recoil-operated air-cooled machine gun, first tested in 1929, introduced in 1934, and issued to units in 1936. It introduced an entirely new concept in automatic firepower – the Einheitsmaschinengewehr (Universal machine gun) – and is generally considered the world's first general-purpose machine gun (GPMG). Military Weapons, Military Art, Military History, German Soldiers Ww2, German Army, Mg34, Ww2 Weapons, Navy Aircraft, Guns And Ammo