The MG 34 wasn’t as big a win as people think it is. It was a better belt fed weapon than the 1919 30 cal. But that’s because we were focusing on offensive support weapons while they were focusing on defensive ones. Thus we made the BAR and deployed it to as many squads as we could. They made the MG 34 and 42, which were better defensive weapons.
They did have a big issue though, they used too much ammunition. Modern GPMGs fire at half or even a third the ROF. (The MG 42 could do 1500 rounds a minute!) This not only had a bad effect on supply but also severely shortened their barrel life in combat.
Over all it seems hard to pick out the difference between a GPMG and a SAW these days but that BAR/MG 34 difference is where it’s rooted.
The MG 34 wasn’t as big a win as people think it is. It was a better belt fed weapon than the 1919 30 cal. But that’s because we were focusing on offensive support weapons while they were focusing on defensive ones. Thus we made the BAR and deployed it to as many squads as we could. They made the MG 34 and 42, which were better defensive weapons.
They did have a big issue though, they used too much ammunition. Modern GPMGs fire at half or even a third the ROF. (The MG 42 could do 1500 rounds a minute!) This not only had a bad effect on supply but also severely shortened their barrel life in combat.
Over all it seems hard to pick out the difference between a GPMG and a SAW these days but that BAR/MG 34 difference is where it’s rooted.