[Spoiler] Machineguns

SilverbladeTE I fully agree with you about the Bren. From a 55 year old memory - piston, body, barrel, butt, bipod was the assembly routine.
Very reliable, only possible defect was that they were too accurate. Tended to put each round on top of the last without a cone of fire. In training I once lugged one for 20 miles through very rough terrain to ambush the opposition, who knew we couldn't do it.

Daryl wrote:SilverbladeTE I fully agree with you about the Bren. From a 55 year old memory - piston, body, barrel, butt, bipod was the assembly routine.
Very reliable, only possible defect was that they were too accurate. Tended to put each round on top of the last without a cone of fire. In training I once lugged one for 20 miles through very rough terrain to ambush the opposition, who knew we couldn't do it.

Daryl
I've read of folk using the Bren more like a "marksman's".rifle but with high capacity, so they could keep hammering any poor sod coming through a gap in a fence, doorway etc

I know LindyBeige and Ian got into an argument on Youtube over Bren vs MG42, lol, but I think Ian overlooked how he was firing at short range and in better conditions so yeah the MG42, which is a heavy barrelled bipod weapon, would look more accurate in a comparison, as it is basically going to be accurate at that short range, but nothing like the Bren
Need 500 yard comparisons etc

Germans were dealing with crazy Russian mass wave attacks etc and needed a proverbial buzzsaw to either chop or make the enemy drop for cover over large area
where as British fighting well trained German troops needed mobility and accuracy IMHO
Roller lock and that rate of fire make MG42 shake horizontally slightly, which is a good thing for suppression

Belt fed are a massive problem
If carried loose, they kink and pick up dirt especially whenever the rifleman hits the deck
If wrapped in a jacket they can still kink though it's much less but take longer to set up and deploy
If carried in a can that's a huge pain in the ass for a rifleman to carry

As militaries are rediscovering, making the squad subservient to the GPMG js not a good idea at all
Better to have an integrated light machine gun using same magazines as rest, thus they can all get on with their job
So US Marines are finally doing that with new gun....while UK is still stuck with the SA80 who's "light support weapon" version was supposed to do that job, sigh