ALFA 44
Fabrica de Armas Oviedo · Machine Gun · Discontinued · 1944
Also known as: Ametralladora ALFA Modelo 1944, ALFA Modelo 44, ALFA M44
Overview
The ALFA 44 (Ametralladora ALFA Modelo 1944) is a Spanish gas-operated, air-cooled, belt-fed medium machine gun chambered in 7.92x57mm Mauser. Designed and built at the Fabrica de Armas de Oviedo and adopted by the Spanish Army in 1944, it served as Spain's standard tripod-mounted support machine gun in the years after the Civil War. It fed from metal-link belts at roughly 780 rounds per minute and was typically deployed on a heavy tripod in the sustained-fire role. A later 7.62x51mm NATO variant, the ALFA 55, replaced it before both were superseded by license-built MG 3 guns in the 1970s.
Specifications
| Weight (empty) | 13000 g (458.6 oz) |
| Overall Length | 1450 mm (57.09") |
| Barrel Length | 750 mm (29.53") |
| Action Type | Gas Operated |
| Firing Mechanism | Striker Fired |
| Magazine Capacity | 100 rounds |
| Magazine Type | Belt |
| Muzzle Velocity | 760 m/s (2493 fps) |
| Muzzle Energy | 3696 J (2726 ft·lbf) |
| Effective Range | 1000 m (1094 yd) |
| Maximum Range | 3000 m (3281 yd) |
| Rate of Fire | 780 rpm |
| Barrel Rifling | 6 Grooves Right |
| Number of Grooves | 6 |
| Frame Material | Steel |
| Barrel Material | Steel |
| Finish | Blued |
Calibers
- 7.92x57mm Mauser · primary — also known as 8mm Mauser, 7.92 Mauser, 8x57 IS, 7.9x57mm
Features
- Firing modes: Full Automatic
- Feed systems: 100-Round Metal-Link Belt, Non-Disintegrating Steel Belt
- Features: Air-Cooled, Belt-Fed Medium Machine Gun, Long-Stroke Gas Piston Operation, Tripod-Mounted (Tripod Approx. 27 Kg), Quick-Change Barrel, Metal-Link / Non-Disintegrating Steel Belt Feed
Production
Production years: 1944-1962
Produced at Fabrica de Armas de Oviedo; succeeded by the 7.62x51mm NATO ALFA 55.
Origin
Country of origin: Spain
Discontinued: 1962
Notes
Sources differ on belt capacity (commonly cited 100-round metal-link belts, with 200-round non-disintegrating steel belts also referenced). Egypt received an export variant with cooling fins and a revised gas system in the early 1950s.
Background
Developed in an isolated, post-Civil-War Spain, the ALFA 44 let Spanish industry field a domestically built sustained-fire machine gun rather than rely on foreign imports, soldiering on until NATO standardization brought the MG 3 to Spanish service.