FG42

The Fallschirmjägergewehr 42, abbreviated to "FG42", is an assault rifle used in Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty 3, and Call of Duty: World at War. In Call of Duty and United Offensive, the weapon is only available when scoped. In Call of Duty 3, scoped and non-scoped variants are available.

History
The Fallschirmjägergewehr '42 was a predecessor to the assault rifle. It fired at a jaw-dropping 1400 rpm and 900rpm depending on the variant. It was a remarkable weapon, being fully automatic, yet barely any larger than a standard bolt action rifle. The FG42 was designed for the Luftwaffe Fallschirmjägers (paratroopers) and was first used by German paratroopers, officially called the "Fallschirmjäger Korps", during the Allied invasion of Sicily and the Soviet counterattack battles in the Soviet Union. Although it was a sound enough weapon, it had its flaws. Unlike the later Sturmgewehr 44, which fired a short cartridge specifically designed for automatic fire, the FG42 fired the same cartridge as the Kar98k and the Gewehr43, the recoil of which made fully automatic fire only marginally effective at best. Furthermore, the side magazine made the weapon unbalanced, and the rifle's overall complexity greatly impeded manufacturing; by the war's end, a mere 7 000 had been produced.

Of note is that part of the FG42's mechanism was used to create the M60 machine gun.

Call of Duty and United Offense
The FG42 can fire in fully automatic mode or semiautomatic. Unlike how the FG42 handles in real life, the Call of Duty one has very manageable recoil. Just fire three round bursts, and recoil is then fine. This weapon packs a major punch, and usually destroys enemies within three or so shots. It's high rate of fire means that you'll be putting a ton of lead into the air within a few seconds. Its only limiting factor is it's 20-round magazine, but reloading often can compensate for that.

The FG42 also has a built-in scope. In CoD1, the scope is identical to the Scoped K98k and Scoped Mosin-Nagant. However, in UO, the scope is revised, similar to the Springfield crosshair scope. Once again, burst fire is the key to effectively using this weapon, this time as a sniper rifle.

In Call of Duty Single Player, this weapon can only be found in the first four maps, mostly to help new players. In the first three, enemies will have it, while in the fourth, it'll be laying around in a bunker.

In Multiplayer, the FG42 can be found lying around if the server enables it. It comes with no extra magazines. Many clans have banned it because of how overpowered it is.

Call of Duty 3
Unlike in Call of Duty, there are both scoped and non-scoped variants in the game. The FG42 has a tremendous amount of recoil making it hard to control without firing in short bursts when scoped. However It's still very deadly, and especially deadly when non-scoped as the weapon's iron sights are quite manageable and the rate of fire means it can act as a substitute submachine gun when in close quarters. The scope increases accuracy and range, but accuracy is decreased if the user fires fully automatically, rather, it is often more recommended to fire in burst of three or two when scoped. Simply two or three shots are required to kill an enemy when scoped or non-scoped. Unfortunately, low ammo capacity of its 20-round magazine means frequent reloading. It can only be found in the second chapter in both scoped and non-scoped, the sixth chapter in unscoped, and the thirteenth chapter as only the scoped variant.

Singleplayer
In Call of Duty: World at War, the FG42 is found only during the Soviet Red Army campaign missions. The weapon is rarely found, and ammo is too scarce meaning the player is forced to trade in the weapon for another. There are also multiple hidden FG42s in the mission, Their Land, Their Blood. One is first found at the beginning of the level, inside the starting house. It is near the newly made "exit", laying on the wall to the right. There are several others found throughout the level. There are some that can be picked up in the bunkers in the trench area, and hidden behind crates later on. Ammo is still oftentimes too scarce for the weapon to be carried with the player throughout the mission without depleting the ammo supply.

Multiplayer
The FG42 is a German light machine gun unlocked at level 45. It has the same rate of fire as the MG42 in which both are quite high, but sacrifices a small portion of fire power for lower recoil, higher movement speed, and higher hip fire accuracy. The FG42 is the only machine gun that can be equipped with a Telescopic Sight. Its primary defect is its extremely small magazine, which means frequent reloading with this weapon. In Hardcore, when Stopping Power is equipped, it is always a one hit kill. In Core modes, Stopping Power and Bandolier are frequently used in order to conserve ammo. Sleight of Hand is popular as well.

With the FG42 players move just as fast as they would with an SMG or Shotgun. In the Limited Edition version, there is a code to get a FG42 which proved to be useful due to its fast rate of fire.

Trivia

 * In the level, Their Land, Their Blood, there is a FG42 in the little house you start in. Once Reznov saves the day, you can pick it up by the window.