Why is the MG 42 given with a 50 Round magazine and not a 250 round belt?

[Merowech]

The MG gunner is mostly there to do supportive and supressive fire which is almost impossible to do with the mg 42s fire rate.
Even with bursts giving support is very difficult considering the size of the mag, so wouldnt a belt be better?

If its about balancing it would be much better to do it like Rising Storm 2 did, for example when someone decides to choose the mag he gets more overall ammo but if he would decide to choose the belt he would only get one.

[Andy]

Originally posted by Giuli:

The MG gunner is mostly there to do supportive and supressive fire which is almost impossible to do with the mg 42s fire rate.
Even with bursts giving support is very difficult considering the size of the mag, so wouldnt a belt be better?

If its about balancing it would be much better to do it like Rising Storm 2 did, for example when someone decides to choose the mag he gets more overall ammo but if he would decide to choose the belt he would only get one.

In the LMG role the drum is typically used. Mainly as if the squads on the move or on the attack. The drum is much easier to manage.
In real life they would have been able to switch out between belts and drums however dependant on situation. But Belts are for sustained fire or defencive. In the attack/on the move drums were preferable.

Belts are on the fixed versions of the guns in game.

Even in defence your on the move alot in PS, so for that reason, and in terms of balance, and that the belts are in game on tripods. It probably made more sence to use the drums for the LMG

It might be nice in future if the MG could swap to a belt. Mabee a riflemen could be ammo carrier for the MG and have 1 belt.
And for the Brits have a riflemen ammo carrier with a few Bren mags (which were typically carried by most of the section anyway)

I don't think it will trouble balancing that much, especially when we factor in Germans vs US with largly all semi auto weapons.

[Herr Morlock]

Originally posted by Andy:

In the LMG role the drum is typically used. Mainly as if the squads on the move or on the attack. The drum is much easier to manage.

I guess, to use an LMG with a ammo belt attached, you would have needed an assistance at your side to feed in the belt, without it getting blocked all the time. Would have been to impractical on attack with lots of movements and position changes, I think.

[Sven Wessel]

Yeah mainly because you are very mobile and a one man MG team they decided for the drums..
If its true that the static guns like HMGs or MMGs have belts i am fine with that.

I like the idea of someone carrying a belt, so you can have that teamwork advantage even more.
That said, like every discussion, we are in very early stages and I find the game more enjoyable than games that have been completed.
Lets hope we get more cool features tho!

[skrap101]

Those round drums on the sides of the mg34 and mg42 are not actually "magazines". They were just holders for the 50 round belts. There are no loose rounds in there.

And there is your useless bit of information for the day.

[IRDCAM]

Reality- The 50rd belt or drum was the 'standard'. Issue 'ammo cans' for storage and carry, included 4 50 rd belts, not a linked together as a 200rd belt. You could link together 50rd belts into longer belts but from expierience with the my era M-60 machinegun, any belt over 100rds on the move was just a 'wait a minute' catch on something waiting to happen. The MG34 and 42 could use both drums or belts, and NO ONE is capable of moving effectively with a 'fantasy' 250rd belt hanging off the gun and himself. Even as a mobile light machinegun, there was a three man 'crew' gunner, loader assistant, ammo bearer, this one man Rambo gunning is again pure game 'fantasy'. "Too heavy to run, too light to fight", think about it.

Ex US Army M-60 toter, understand the issues involved.

[Valiant]

When i was in the infantry here in Norway we used the MG42 or what we called it MG3. I remember how the MG guys where struggeling moving around in the woods with the long belts hanging down to the ground. Not practical when moving alot. So as one said above here, the drum was more practical. How many rounds does the logistic buildt MG position have? more then 50?

[Herr Morlock]

I'm not 100% sure, but as far as I can remember, from my try out yesterday, all HMG (german and british) have around 200 or 250 rounds per belt.

[IRDCAM]

Fixed 'tripod' mounter guns in support or defensive positions used longer belts as they were no required to move, but were used more like support 'artillery'. And were crewed by minimum of three, gunner, loader assistant, ammo bearer. Troops in the formation could also carry ammo cans and dropped those cans off at the now Medium/Heavy Machinegun fixed position. The crew linked the 50rd belts into longer belts. Common practice was to only link 100-200 together so breakdown for movement was easier, and 200 rd in sustained fire was a great time for a 'barrel change' on air cooled, or coolant fill up off condenser for water cooled

[IRDCAM]

Originally posted by Spatz:

I'm not 100% sure, but as far as I can remember, from my try out yesterday, all HMG (german and british) have around 200 or 250 rounds per belt.

Originally posted by Valiant:

When i was in the infantry here in Norway we used the MG42 or what we called it MG3. I remember how the MG guys where struggeling moving around in the woods with the long belts hanging down to the ground. Not practical when moving alot. So as one said above here, the drum was more practical. How many rounds does the logistic buildt MG position have? more then 50?

Usual loadout form a German Light Machinegun crew was only 500-700rds in 'ammo cans', 200rd ammo cans, and 50 in the gun, and 50 with gunner, additional 200rd belt cans were carried by the 'infantry' in the squad/platoon. This is from the German Infantry manual of the period. Weight was a serious factor in the machinegun teams.

[Valiant]

Hi hi hi...i can't help but telling you guys of a story when i served in International Operations in the middle east. A bunch of us in the squad was bored, so we took the MG3 and two 200 round belts hooked up together. Folded the bipod and held it out to the left with your left hand and the MG under your right arm just blasting 400 rounds...like a Terminator. :) Oh the hissing and the tick-tick sound from the barrel was insane. If it had been in the night the barrel would glow. :)

[Herr Morlock]

How much rounds can be fired in sustained fire? Actually, I believed the MG 42 (and other WW2 MGs) would overheat quite quickly. So, if you would fire, don't know, for 10 sec without pausing, it would damage the barrel?

[Valiant]

Thats why you always have an extra barrel you change. With some practice it went quick.

[Herr Morlock]

Originally posted by Valiant:

Hi hi hi...i can't help but telling you guys of a story when i served in International Operations in the middle east. A bunch of us in the squad was bored, so we took the MG3 and two 200 round belts hooked up together. Folded the bipod and held it out to the left with your left hand and the MG under your right arm just blasting 400 rounds...like a Terminator. :) Oh the hissing and the tick-tick sound from the barrel was insane. If it had been in the night the barrel would glow. :)

I hope you took off your shirt before, took on a headband around your head and threw some ammo belt above your shoulder...

The dude John R. would have abided that, for sure.

[WhipMyWombat]

i just hope they add the option for your squad to carry ammo for the machinegunner irl everyone in the squad would carry a ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ of ammunition for everyone in the group and specifically for the mg gunner especially back in ww2 when keeping the mg firing was a priority

[sgt.longbow]

while we are on the topic , the mg 34 is able to be sholder fired which is currently absent from the game and needs to be added.