Solothurn MG 30
Official wording
Solothurn Maschinengewehr, Model 30 (MG30), cal. 7.92mm, machinegun, mfd. between 1930- 1935, by Waffenfabrik Solothurn AG, Solothurn, Switzerland.
What this entry requires
- ATF REQUIRESMade 1930–1935 (ATF’s dates)ATF: “mfd. between 1930- 1935”
- INFOStill an NFA firearm; only registered examples transfer, with ATF approval (26 U.S.C. 5812, 5861).
Editorial facts · Our research
- Country
SwitzerlandBasis: outside reference ¹- Manufacturer
- Waffenfabrik Solothurn AGBasis: the ATF wording
- Type
- MachinegunBasis: the ATF wording
- Action
- Select-fire / autoBasis: the ATF wording
- Caliber
- 7.92×57mmBasis: the ATF wording
- Made
- 1930–1935Basis: the ATF wording
- Service
- Military
Source
- Official wording
- ATF P 5300.11, April 2025 edition · Section IV · PDF p. 87 ↗ · ATF original ↗
- Entries
- 1 line
- Verbatim check
- Checked against the PDF text before every release
- Editorial facts
- Confidence: High · Last revised 18 October 2026 (Evidence pass) · How we rate confidence
- References
- 1. Wikipedia, “MG 30” ↗, country: infobox origin Switzerland / Austria; designed and made by Waffenfabrik Solothurn (ATF: Solothurn, Switzerland)
- Fact tags
- ATF the ATF wording states it.
- REF ¹ an outside reference supports it; the number points to the list of references.
- ESTIMATE an approximate or indirect reading, for example the production range of the base model.
- NO CITATION we haven’t attached a reference for this fact; it’s our editorial reading, not ATF’s.
- Source checked
- 20 October 2026: ATF’s page still lists the April 2025 edition
- Corrections
- None
Historical context
Image: Wikimedia Commons, “1671 - Salzburg - Festung Hohensalzburg - Österreichisch leichtes Maschinengewehr.JPG” by Andrew Bossi, CC BY-SA 2.5. Retrieved October 2026.
Summary: Wikipedia, “MG 30”. Text CC BY-SA 4.0.
FROM WIKIPEDIA
The Maschinengewehr 30, or MG 30 was a German-designed machine gun that saw some service with various armed forces in the 1930s. It was also modified to become the standard German aircraft gun as the MG 15 and MG 17. It is most notable as the design pattern that led to the MG 34 and therefor indirectly the MG 42, and thus is one of the major ancestors of many of the weapons in service which would later find widespread use into the 21st century.