Deleted member 1487
This isn't about having a war winning POD, just a technical/tactical what if and what impact it might on doctrines post-war.
So then, after the disclaimer on to the what if:
In the interwar period most militaries adopted LMGs with magazine feed to avoid problems with mud and dirt getting into a belt feed mechanism or the ammo fouling due to being exposed to the elements in a belt. In fact the Germans had such a weapon in the MG30, with a 30 round magazine side feed, that later was adapted into the MG34 with a belt feed mechanism. The thing is the MG30 looked a lot like the FG42, just bigger and heavier, which led me to wonder why it couldn't have been turned into something like the FG42, just open bolt only and with a 30 round magazine feed, while being made much lighter (like 6kg or so) with a reduced rate of fire for controllability (as well as simple muzzle brake) and to limit heat build up and conserve ammo. It would also have to ditch the quick change barrel and adopt a long stroke gas piston like the ZB26. Due to it being much simpler, made of stamped sheet metal and wood, and much lighter it could be produced much more cheaply and therefore issued two per squad and allow for a fire team approach to squad function, rather than the MG team and the rest of the squad division.
IOTL during offensives the German army found that the heavy belt fed MGs were too heavy to keep up with the rest of the infantry and helped lead to the push to try and replace it entirely with the StG44 when it was available.
So what if rather than adopt a belt fed heavy GPMG the Germans just work to make the MG30 very light, mass produceable, cheap, and have multiple MG/auto rifles per squad so that they could keep up with the infantry and provide mutually supporting fire for different elements of the squad? How does that impact tactics during and after WW2? Might the US adopt a version of that themselves as they did with their FG-42/MG-42 mashup the M60? It would fit better with the model they developed during WW2 with the BAR, except this would be a much more modern BAR.
So then, after the disclaimer on to the what if:
In the interwar period most militaries adopted LMGs with magazine feed to avoid problems with mud and dirt getting into a belt feed mechanism or the ammo fouling due to being exposed to the elements in a belt. In fact the Germans had such a weapon in the MG30, with a 30 round magazine side feed, that later was adapted into the MG34 with a belt feed mechanism. The thing is the MG30 looked a lot like the FG42, just bigger and heavier, which led me to wonder why it couldn't have been turned into something like the FG42, just open bolt only and with a 30 round magazine feed, while being made much lighter (like 6kg or so) with a reduced rate of fire for controllability (as well as simple muzzle brake) and to limit heat build up and conserve ammo. It would also have to ditch the quick change barrel and adopt a long stroke gas piston like the ZB26. Due to it being much simpler, made of stamped sheet metal and wood, and much lighter it could be produced much more cheaply and therefore issued two per squad and allow for a fire team approach to squad function, rather than the MG team and the rest of the squad division.
IOTL during offensives the German army found that the heavy belt fed MGs were too heavy to keep up with the rest of the infantry and helped lead to the push to try and replace it entirely with the StG44 when it was available.
So what if rather than adopt a belt fed heavy GPMG the Germans just work to make the MG30 very light, mass produceable, cheap, and have multiple MG/auto rifles per squad so that they could keep up with the infantry and provide mutually supporting fire for different elements of the squad? How does that impact tactics during and after WW2? Might the US adopt a version of that themselves as they did with their FG-42/MG-42 mashup the M60? It would fit better with the model they developed during WW2 with the BAR, except this would be a much more modern BAR.