Author Topic: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts  (Read 13867 times)

Offline Captain Pyjama Shark

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #30 on: 20-07-2017, 18:07:21 »
They do not show up in these documents because they count as ammunition, not a weapon. So basically, they gave out as many as they had and as many as could be carried.

Thanks. These are very intersting posts. It makes me realize how much media has over-representented submachine-guns and other automatic weapons in WW2. It also usually depicts squads five guys and a sergeant which looks like is not the case at all.

Offline VonMudra

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #31 on: 30-07-2017, 02:07:28 »
Automatic weapons just weren't a priority for a lot of nations, the US and Britain especially focused on doctrines based around aimed rifle fire, with any automatic weapons basically just being in support of that fire.  The Russians started with that, but eventually came around to the submachine gun doctrine, which eventually translated into the AK47.

Offline Ts4EVER

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #32 on: 02-08-2017, 02:08:45 »
An additional note regarding the Fallschirmjäger loadout:
I recently bought the Osprey Book about the St. Lo Campaign. It has well known picture of the Fallschirmjäger aiming an FG42, with this caption:

"A paratrooper armed with one of the rare FG 42 automatic rifles with its distinctive side magazine. These were built in very small numbers, around 7,000, and it probably identifies him as serving in one of the Sturmtruppen of Fallschirm-Aufklarungs-Abteilung 12, the corps-level reconnaissance battalion of II Fallschirmjäger-Korps that was equipped with this weapon."

If this is true, it would indicate that the Germans used the FG42 in a similar fashion to the StG44 later, meaning they concentrated them in certain assault units.

Offline VonMudra

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #33 on: 02-08-2017, 06:08:19 »
The thing is, while there were only roughly 7,000 FG42's produced, there were only ~240,000 FJ to ever serve in WW2.  Given that the guns didn't start getting into the units until 1943, that means that there was one FG42 to every 34 FJ.  But given that plenty of the original FJ were gone by 1943, and that plenty more were supply/pak/other non-infantry jobs, one FG42 per squad would be a realistic figure.  That also means that they could have centered them into Sturmtruppen, or spread them around like an extra BAR-kinda thing.

Basically, sure it was a rare gun overall, but since it was only issued to the FJ, and the FJ were only ever a small number of active troops, it was still about as common as the BAR or Bren was for Allied infantry.

Offline Ts4EVER

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #34 on: 02-08-2017, 16:08:48 »
I looked into it more, and according to the book "Dying for St. Lo" every recon company formed one assault group, which was armed with a Puppchen rocket launcher, 3 FG42s (1 scoped) and a flamethrower. Probably the crewmen had K98ks and the squad leader a submachinegun.

Offline Dancho

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #35 on: 02-08-2017, 21:08:57 »
What's this? Looks like G43 with ZF scope. Leak? Conspiracy much?

Offline Ts4EVER

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #36 on: 02-08-2017, 21:08:58 »
That is just the G43 ZF ingame icon...

Offline Dancho

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #37 on: 03-08-2017, 00:08:47 »
Are you sure? Appearantly there are 2 icons which might mean 2 weapons. Why else would be another icon there.

Edit: I just read Ts4EVER's reply again. Why do you say "it's just the ingame G43 ZF's icon" when we don't have the weapon in the official release yet. ;D
« Last Edit: 03-08-2017, 02:08:31 by Dancho »

Offline GeoPat

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #38 on: 03-08-2017, 01:08:54 »
yep.  No one would ever make a tiny jpg if they didn't have a working model of a weapon ready to release.

Offline Ts4EVER

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #39 on: 03-08-2017, 07:08:49 »
It looks different because scoped weapons don't have a spawn menu icon, so I had to use the weapon selection icon and delete the white border around it. Most older weapon selection icons also have no magazine and might have been rendered differently. It is just the normal scoped G43.

Edit: Actually, I know what you mean now. That is just an editing mistake, I put the scoped G43 over the K98k ZF icon.
« Last Edit: 03-08-2017, 14:08:22 by Ts4EVER »

Offline Dago Red

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Re: [Historical Background] Weapon Loadouts
« Reply #40 on: 25-07-2022, 19:07:45 »
This is cool to see, and not just for tiny guns. My grandfather would have fit on these two pages, riding in a halftrack, armored infantry, 3rd Army. The first during training - no combat, he would have been where it's noted "crew 37mm AT gun," with his carbine.

When I was a kid he said that gun was already outclassed and they upgraded to 57mm AT guns (which were also lagging behind, as we know). It's my impression he saw combat with the 57, but was always evasive about it.

Later deployed and for sure seeing combat, mostly in rear areas moving quickly behind other forces in France, through Metz, and at least one major action near Pilsen at the end. Then he would have been on the 2nd page, still with his carbine, but usually manning or assisting the 50cal on a halftrack.


Spoiler
Some more American loadouts, this time Armored Infantry (meaning the guys in the halftracks) and Rangers.