DEACTIVATED YUGO M53

latest bit of kit deactivated yugoslavian m53 and some kit from military collectables

[@historicmilitaria1944]

Very nice,really pleased for you...the pain of the price paid soon goes away,been there many times...the m53 does not have an aa sight mount because at this moment in history it's the jet age and an aa spider sight would be of no use....production of the m53 stopped in 1999 when the factory was bombed by nato forces..you now need the sustained fire lafette lookeylike tripod!!!

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

That's great info CJ as I had wondered why the AA sight wasn't included , makes 100% sense. I did read about the factory stopping production but not that it was bombed. Yeh a mount for it...maybe one day not at the minute...Mrs stan is not in the best of moods!!🤣🤣. After cleaning up the drum mag I reckon it looks great as it is on the gun...thanks m8, and all the best to you 🙂🙃🙂

[@resistanceremembered]

That’s a beautiful MG53! Really like the accessories such as the ammo cans and drum as well. Thanks for sharing!

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Thanks for the comment...its a big piece and I havnt really got the room, but that's never a problem for a collector...room?...I will make some 🤣🤣🤣

[@Blitz1944]

Very nice piece of kit, looks great with the drum mag👍

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Cheers, yeh the drum mag is really nice 🙂

[@ChrisfurrsMilitaria1941]

It looks like a great piece of kit Stan and with the drum mag on also. To me it looks just like the mg42 with out knowing the little changes made to it. 😊👍

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Definitely, so similar, and the drum mag from 'military collectables ' which is genuine WW2 fits perfectly, so great display piece, 🙂🙃🙂

[@Gremovmuzej]

Hello! Yugoslavian partisans named the MG42 Šarac (Sharac). This name was transferred to the M53 after WWII. Some German MG42s were even in use in the war for Slovenia in 1991.

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Thanks Gremo, so šarac, was a person from history....I only had a quick look online. Yes also I wondered about the use of the MG42 and M53 in later years, especially in old news and documentary footage...it would be difficult to tell which version is being used!, thanks again m8 and all the best to you 🙂🙃🙂

[@WorldWarMilitaria1942]

Hi John, without knowing it is very similar to the MG42 😊 great purchase.👍

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Cheers James, yeh it's a good price against the MG42, and so similar that it wouldn't be noticed in the general run of things 🙂🙃🙂

[@Kingshieldwall]

Nice purchase Stan, well done 😉. If only we could afford the original WW2 German 🤔😔. We need to win the lottery.

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Cheers yeh it's not always possible for us mere mortals to buy original ww2 german kit....some stuff is cheap but other kit is bloody expensive, supply and demand....thanks and all the best 🙂🙂🙂

[@Landsturm]

Thanks for showing the ejection port - good to see that it still pops open when you pull back the charging handle as some deacts don't do that anymore. I actually briefly thought about buying a M53 from D&B militaria earlier this year but I bought a M16 instead (from Arundel) as it was much more suited to my own collecting interests. However, I can appreciate why you bought this MG and it will compliment your collection nicely.

[@JimTimber]

Your M16 is awesome Al bro !!

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Thanks Al, I'm glad it opens , as you said some deacs.....the actual way they deactivate weapons is for me rough and could be done more sympathetically, on the outside especially, I know I could do a better job, considering the cost etc, but unfortunately I think we are a sort of captured audience, so we have to make do. I'd love an M16 but the price is too much as I've only got a passing interest in the vietnam war. Thanks again m8🙂🙂

[@Landsturm]

@@steelhelmetstan7305 Not just Vietnam. The British army purchased 10000 M16s (AR15s) in the early 1960s and used them in the jungles of British Honduras and Borneo, etc. They were widely used by the SAS / SBS as well as the Royal Marines in the Falklands. The army used them extensively in Northern Ireland, usually issued to the soldier carrying the radio. The IRA, in turn, also used them against the British army there! The Gurkhas used them as well. Anyhow, your M53 is suitable for lots of displays, from Wehrmacht to postwar Bundeswehr, Austrian army and Yugoslavian / Balkans war scenario, so a great item for a general collection such as yours.

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

@@Landsturm cheers Al and yeh I get you regarding the M16's widespread use. I reckon you get to a point when you know your 'done' with something and I'm done with deac machine guns in the respect that I've got two...the M53 and the Bren, that's enough , financially and because of room to display them because of their size. Anyway it's nice to have 🙂🙃🙂

[@larryboyd5882]

Good video and the drum cleaned up really nicely.

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Thanks Larry , yeh bit of WD40 and some sympathetic scraping and it's pretty good, 🙃🙃🙂

[@JimTimber]

It's awesome Stan bro !! ..great review of it !! It does look superb !! I could have that under my arm at the post office ..I bet I'd soon be first in the queue ! lol 'Say hello to my leettle friend !' lol I've seen these being fired on YT videos and they are real bone saws !!

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

🤣🤣🤣, yes one might find oneself in a bit ot bother walking anywhere with this thing!🤣🤣, yeh I've seen the same videos it really fires at a fearsome rate for sure, cheers jimblers 🙂🙃🙂

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

That has got to be worth a few bob.

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

It's cheaper than a German ww2 variant that's for sure 🤣🙂🙃

[@AndrewScottishandyJohnston]

Thats a cracking bit of kit stan 😃

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Cheers Andrew , it's a bugger to lump around, I made sure it was back upstairs and out of the way before Mrs stan came home!🤣🤣, you know the score🙂🙃

[@Irishshootingchannel]

That's a sweet piece

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Aha cheers Jude m8...yep I've got a few of the ladies watching😊😊😊😊...😂😂...thanks for the comment m8, it is a nice bit of kit😊😊

[@Nazistuffintheattic]

nice stan, that will make a great display with some german helmets around it!!

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Yes indeed , it's the most expensive thing I've bought...I'd love to put it on display next to my bren gun but they would take up too much room. Thanks again and all the best 🙂🙃🙂

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

Nice gun Stan.

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Thanks Graham m8

[@JimTimber]

Ha ha !.. ,watch out for the crockery on the way walking through the house with it.. I bet I would clear all the bric-à-brac off the shelves if I was carrying it !! lol

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

I know, imagine carrying the the thing in battle!....its a hefty piece for sure 🙂🙃🙂

[@JimTimber]

@@steelhelmetstan7305 I once went into a record store in Australia wearing my backpackers rucksack.. it was the days when cassette tapes were the thang.. and they were displayed on rotating carousels. As I turned my backpack knocked one of them over.. and in my rush to try and save the felled tree of tapes I knocked another one over !! lol The shop keep said 'I think you'd better leave !' 🤣🤣😄😄

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

@@JimTimber 🤣🤣🤣🤣, good stuff...years ago I went to the local off licence and as I waited to get served a fella came in , instantly fell backwards into the wine display, smashing several bottles...he was drunk....he picked himself up and in a very posh accent said 'oh I'm terribly sorry'....then walked out!!!....it wasn't you was it timbers?🤣🤣🤣😂

[@JimTimber]

@@steelhelmetstan7305 Ha ha ..it sounds like me !! lol ..when I was in Lanzerote on a surfing trip I was pissed out of my noggin and I fell down a hole that some construction workers had dug !! lol ..nothing broken but my pride as I had to be rescued by two local kids who fetched a ladder !! 😄😄

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

@@JimTimber 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@KTM-xz9qj]

Fired one of these in Bosnia. On and off the sustained fire tripod. Burns through the ammo. I've also first the MG3 in Afghanistan with the German. The German SF guy said that they only changed a few things on the original MG42 pattern to get the MG3, barrel, calibre, couple of springs and they had the MG3. It's in use in the Ukraine at the minute.

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Cheers I did wonder about the MG3. The M53 is a good stand on for the MG42, but really the prices now are not what you'd call cheap, acceptable maybe?. I would imagine firing one is a completely different ball game than owning a deac, all the best KTM m8 🙂🙃🙂

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

The German army still use them the Mg3 in 7.62 NATO.

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Yeh I was wondering about the west german MG3, I don't think its as similar?...could be wrong though

[@grahamthebaronhesketh.]

@@steelhelmetstan7305 As far as I know it is the MG42 converted to 7.62mm NATO.

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

@@grahamthebaronhesketh. cheers Graham m8

[@davidbrennan660]

The M53 looks good if you have to lug it about ….. not so good.

[@steelhelmetstan7305]

Cheers David m8, yes indeed it's a fair old lump of kit....but a great display item , all the best to you🙂🙃🙂