Deleted member 1487
Not sure I buy that. It certainly could fit a family of small arms, but if you look at the Soviet example they adopted the 7.62 intermediate, but still kept the 7.62x54 rimmed cartridge for their MGs and adopted the 12.7mm HMG.I think if it was slated to become the primary cartridge for the new universal arms, a semi-auto rifle and true light machinegun then maybe. That sidelines the MP40, and 9mm, pushes the UMG up into MMG/HMG applications, and since we already need to produce a bunch of Kar98 the vacuum is there for the rifle. I like the concept for a true assault rifle, especially in an ATL where the Heer is more serious about a style of warfare and modern arms.
The SMG might be phased out in favor of a box fed magazine select fire rifle similar to the Vollmer carbine, but simplified for mass production via lower quality steel stampings.
This cartridge won't and can't be pushed into the HMG role and given the UMG concept the Germans were on for their MMG/HMGs they'd keep the 7.92 for that, especially given their stockpiles of the cartridge, but SMGs persisted until the 5.56mm carbine killed it permanently. Though the Hungarians did create an SMG version of the 7.62x39 with a 12 inch barrel and muzzle brake. It will probably just not have a front line use and be more a PDW...which means probably no MP40, but something even cheaper and easier to make, like the MP3008
I don't see how they could get away from the 8mm given the non-dismantled war industry and WW1 (or even an ATL without WW1) stockpiles they had. They'd probably pull a 'Czech' and adopt a 8x45mm or even x39mm (the Czechs did that with the 7.62x45 until the Soviets forced the x39mm on them).I am borrowing this for surviving Imperial Germany where the Mannlicher action is eyed for a semi-auto but no consensus on the 8mm, Germanh can restock A-H with 8mm from that nillion round surplus, maybe the OE, Bulgaria and the rest of their allies too, to make it less costly.