MG34 Belt Fed or Saddle Drum?

[Taggerung]

That's the point I've been trying to stress, the only reason for holding belt is to keep it from getting caught in something. You can easily and reliably fire the weapon without having to hold the belt and just having it hang freely, but the chance is there that it might get caught up in something.

Funny how you experienced those jams with the MG34 though, and then none with the MG42. I've seen MG34s being fired with a 100 round belt plenty of times without any issues before, the belt just lying across the ground. But ofcourse they occasionally jam, just like any other MG.



Huh ? I haven't noticed that, I only see cartridges flying out, I haven't noticed any belt segments flying around. And IIRC, the belt ingame looks exactly like this:

Which would make it correct.

A link to the loading procedure: [url]http://www.gunpics.net/german/mg34/mgbelt.html[/URL]

Go fire the Lafette MG34, and you will see what I am talking about, there isn't an empty 50 round belt coming out, it's coming out like an American MG belts would, where it's small pieces flying out like so...

http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/infantry/rifle/5.56mm/M27_links.gif

As for the Jamming, it had nothing to do with the belts, I should have edited that. It was simply because the gun was a POS, and was just prone to jamming because the guy that built it was an idiot.

 

[bas]

Wouldn't it be better to pull the "cooking handle" back before putting the belt on so you can have that last bullet on the belt without any problem. Or maybe that doesn't work on the mg34.

Thats the way I found works best if you're loading a belt from the assault drum. If you have a round in the last link, the feed cover doesn't close.

If you're using a loose belt with a starter tab its a lot easier, pull the bolt back, feed the tab through and pull the belt firmly until the first round clicks into place.

 

[Atomskytten]

That's the point I've been trying to stress, the only reason for holding belt is to keep it from getting caught in something. You can easily and reliably fire the weapon without having to hold the belt and just having it hang freely, but the chance is there that it might get caught up in something.

Funny how you experienced those jams with the MG34 though, and then none with the MG42. I've seen MG34s being fired with a 100 round belt plenty of times without any issues before, the belt just lying across the ground. But ofcourse they occasionally jam, just like any other MG.



Huh ? I haven't noticed that, I only see cartridges flying out, I haven't noticed any belt segments flying around. And IIRC, the belt ingame looks exactly like this:

Which would make it correct.

A link to the loading procedure: [url]http://www.gunpics.net/german/mg34/mgbelt.html[/URL]

It is true; the MG34 in RO2 uses a disintgrating link belt and not the historically correct 50 round non disintegrating one. You can clearly see the indvidual links being ejected and if you look at the right side of the gun after firing shots there are no belt hanging out.
I suspect it was done to avoid having to deal with a loose hanging belt with its own animation and what not.

 

[Atomskytten]

Wouldn't it be better to pull the "cooking handle" back before putting the belt on so you can have that last bullet on the belt without any problem. Or maybe that doesn't work on the mg34.

From a safety point of view it is better for this reason: If you first insert the belt and then cock the gun you risk the bolt going forward stripping a round from the belt and firing it if the cocking handle breaks or the gunner pushes it back before the bolt is locked in the cocked position.

With the MG42 you can't cock the gun if the belt is already loaded as the gun pulls the belt in both the bolt is moving forward and backwards so if you try to cock the gun with a belt inserted you can't cock the gun.

 

[Nikita]

Honestly, given the so many repeated frustrations I've experienced showing just how badly I fail at coding, much less animation, I can fully understand why TWI uses disintegrating links instead--the empty belt coming out the side would have to grow when firing, it'd have to be removed during reloading, it'd hang free during movement, etc...

I'm already astonished that the DP28 drum actually rotates and that the k98 and G41 eject an unfired round during reloading, among other great weapon details, so I'm more than willing to support this choice.

And in response to shadowmoses, an MG can absolutely tear up the opposition on Pavlov's, spartanovka, station, grain elevator--and even barracks! Placement is still key to being effective. Besides, this is Stalingrad--you're not going to find even a 500m long corridor of fire anywhere. I mean, how many cities regularly have open spaces more than five football fields long?

 

[Unus Offa Unus Nex]

Go fire the Lafette MG34, and you will see what I am talking about, there isn't an empty 50 round belt coming out, it's coming out like an American MG belts would, where it's small pieces flying out like so...

http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/infantry/rifle/5.56mm/M27_links.gif

Didn't even think of the lafette to be honest. As for the handheld MG34 ingame, I haven't noticed any belt segments flying out, but on the other hand you can't see a belt hanging on the right either as far as I can remember.

As for the Jamming, it had nothing to do with the belts, I should have edited that. It was simply because the gun was a POS, and was just prone to jamming because the guy that built it was an idiot.

Mismatching parts? Or just a completely worn out gun ?

 

[Zoring]

The MG34 was hardly a pos. It was one of the best MG's of the war, the only problem was the fine tolerences in regards to dirt and frost which is what led to jamming.

The gun was revolutionary, the world's first practical GPMG, it would hardly have caused the Germans to base all their tactics around it if it was a ****ty gun.

 

[Unus Offa Unus Nex]

The MG34 was hardly a pos. It was one of the best MG's of the war, the only problem was the fine tolerences in regards to dirt and frost which is what led to jamming.

The gun was revolutionary, the world's first practical GPMG, it would hardly have caused the Germans to base all their tactics around it if it was a ****ty gun.

I don't think he was talking about the actual design of the gun, but rather that the particular example that he fired was a POS, apparently due to poor assembly by the owner.

And yes, you're right, the MG34 was one of the best MG's of the war, and revolutionary in its time. And in terms of build quality and design, it's no less than an engineering marvel, those things are so bueatifully made that feels completely out of place for that era.

Also if well maintained the MG34 will hardly ever jam, it is VERY reliable, I've seen them being fired a bunch of times no issues what'so'ever. They jam just as much/little as pretty much every other MG out there, and it's almost always due to poor ammunition or some random user error, such as the belt getting snagged etc..