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Cetun t1_j1hzcoh wrote

Does anyone know how common it was for Americans to just pick up MG42s? The M1919 with the tripod must have been hell carrying around. The MG42 was probably 10 lbs lighter

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jreykdal t1_j1i0hw7 wrote

Probably not common. Needed different ammo and you need training for each guns peculiarities.

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Cetun t1_j1i1xaj wrote

They actually issued field manuals for the use of captured enemy weapons. The use of the weapon would assume the ammo is captured also.

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Kraka01 t1_j1ig56i wrote

There’s no need. And proficiency wouldn’t be nearly as good, regardless of manuals.

FWIW, tripods are much better than bipods.

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FiredFox t1_j1isops wrote

This would be a terrible idea:

  • The crews are not trained on the MG42 and they definitively would not have had the possible many years of muscle memory build crewing the M1919
  • Adding foreign weapons to squads on the assault would complicate resupply logistics to the detriment of the speed of the assault
  • Most importantly, firing a very recognizably sounding MG like the MG42 would turn you into a magnet for friendly fire, including mortars and tank rounds.
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