MENDOZA System Model 1934 light machine gun in 7x57mm Mauser caliber, Mexico.
In 1928, Mendoza was ordered to develop an improved machine gun for the Mexican Army. Mendoza completed his first prototype in 1929. After more prototypes and military trials in 1931 at Rancho del Charro, D.F., Mendoza’s design was officially adopted in 1934 after being demonstrated to President Cardenas personally. The National Arsenal was then given an order for 10,000 Model 1934 machine guns in caliber 7x57 mm Mauser. A U.S. patent for several features of the new gun was obtained in Mendoza’s name by the Mexican Government. The Model 1934 served the Mexican Army well until it was replaced in the late 1950s. The “Fusil Ametrellador Systema Mendoza” Model 1934 is an air-cooled, magazine-fed, gas-operated light machine gun weighing approximately 18.5 lbs. The design features a quick-detachable barrel with 39 radial cooling fins, a flash hider and a bipod. The top-mounted, 20-or 30- round box magazine is offset to the right, allowing the sights to be centered. The rotating bolt has eight locking lugs in three rows that lock directly to the steel receiver. The gas system is fed from an adjustable gas port 11" from the rear of the barrel. Gas flows through a tube in the gas port where it impinges on the recessed face of the piston, which forms part of the operating rod assembly. Cyclic firing rate is 380 to 550 rounds per minute (RPM) depending on the gas system setting. Designers consider that while the Mendoza borrows much from both the Lewis and the Hotchkiss machine guns, the Model 1934 is a first-class design in its own right. In many ways, the Mendoza Model 1934 is what the American BAR should have been. This model was made in 1942. http://www.nrapublications.org/archi...a_novbonus.asp
Photos and information from:
Roger Desbois
Website by:
E-Image Agency
