The MG 34 was the mainstay of German Army support weapons from the time of its first issue in 1935 until 1942, when it was supplanted by the next "Einheitsmaschinengewehr" generation Maschinengewehr 42 or MG 42. Although the MG 34 was reliable and dominant on the battlefield, its dissemination throughout the German forces was hampered due to its precision engineering and use of high-quality metal alloys, which resulted in high production costs and a relatively slow rate of production. For its successor, the MG 42, the Germans instead used mass production techniques similar to those that created the MP 40 submachine gun. The Germans nevertheless continued widespread production of MG 34s until the end of the war.