Lmg 25

The Leichtes Maschinengewehr Modell 1925, abbreviated Lmg 25, is a Swiss recoil-operated light machine gun designed by Colonel Adolf Furrer, then director of the Waffenfabrik Bern, which also manufactured it. It was produced from 1925 until the 1960s and was the first light machine gun adopted by the Swiss Army as a portable infantry weapon. The gun fires the 7.5 mm Swiss Service cartridge from a 30-round box magazine at a cyclic rate of about 500 rounds per minute. Its toggle-lock action is similar in principle to that of the Luger P08 pistol, and it is air-cooled, unlike the water-cooled Mg 11. In fusilier squads it was served by two men, with the rest of the group carrying K31 rifles or a submachine gun, and a barrel change was planned after six magazines of fire. Variants included a standard version, a cavalry version with a folding stock and a version with a telescopic sight rail, and the weapon was also used in fortifications on a bracket mount. The Lmg 25 is considered accurate but sensitive to dirt, and it was costly to build because of its complex design. It was replaced in Swiss Army service by the Stgw 57 in 1957.