Firing LMGs on the run

[xerxes]

It appears (judging from fire effectiveness) that Squad integral LMGs can fire on the move. This doesn't seem right to me (even though I saw it done by Rambo). I'd think the lmg would have to stop to fire.

Anybody know?

[MikeyD]

Remember, when you see your 3 men on the screen the other 6 men of a nine man squad would be invisible. So I'd imagine what you're NOT seeing is the squad mg guy stopping, dropping to one knee (or throwing himself prone), and squeezing off a few rounds to keep the enemy's heads down. Then jumping back up and continuing on. That's why Advance and Assault tire out your troops so quickly.

[Madmatt]

Yes, only advance and assualt allow units to fire while moving and each of those represent varying degrees of the squad leapfrogging forward while the other squad members lay down covering fire.

Madmatt

[YankeeDog]

Keep in mind that just because a squad is executing a movement order doesn't mean that all of it's members are moving at the same time.

Especially the Advance and Assault orders are abstracted representations of individual squad members taking turns rushing forward from cover to cover. That's why they're so much more tiring than Move, but actually no faster.

So while this type of movement order, the LMG man certainly could squeeze off a burst every now and then from a brief pause, either by going prone, or bracing against a handy rock or tree or something. The DP1928, BAR and Bren were all Magazine-fed, and so could certainly be fired by one person without assistance from a loader. It is more difficult to manage a belt-fed LMG by yourself, but it is possible, and acually both the MG34 and MG42 had a saddle-type enclosed magazine drum specifically designed to make the weapon easier to fire on the move and/or without a loader.

I have also seen training and combat footage of BARs and Brens being fired in short bursts from the hip while walking forward. Considering it's similar ballistics and ROF, I imagine that the same thing would be possible with a DP1928. You certainly wouldn't be winning any accuracy contests firing in this manner, though.

The MG34 also *could* be fired from the hip, but you needed to be pretty strong and stable to do so. The MG34 also actually had a semi-auto mode, which would make it much more manageable when firing from an upright position. I have read accounts of, and actually seen photos of modern reenactors firing an MG42 from the hip, but I wouldn't want to try, and I doubt any round past the first one of the burst would be anywhere near the intended target area - the recoil must be something awful.

I have seen training film of German LMG gunners resting the barrel on the shoulder of another soldier and using this as a rest while the soldier in front braces the bipod struts with his hands to absorb some of the recoil. In this way, the two-man team could move forward in tandem at the speed of a slow walk with the gunner squeezing off a short burst every few feet. It looked like it worked pretty well, but I'd hate to be the guy in front with the muzzle 12" from my ear. . .

Hope this answers some of your questions.

YD

[offtaskagain]

I've seen a few photos too of MG-42 crews doing that in the field. I'm not sure if they were training or in an actual battle. From personal experience with a 12 gauge 10" from my ear, that AG would have a migraine in abourt 2 seconds.

[Fishu]

I suppose your ear is least of your worries when you can hear the bullets whizzing by you from ahead.

But I suppose you could squeeze quick bursts with MG42.

By the time you release the trigger while doing that, you would have already fired 2-6 bullets before you even notice.

MG42 simply has so fast ROF that the recoil most likely wouldn't even mess up too much by the time bullets leaves the barrel.

Although it might be one meany kick.

[White Phosphorus]

During the battle of Berlin, there is footage of a guy running down the street firing his DP bullets going every which way.

[xerxes]

I thought that was just in the movies!

Learn something every day.

[RSColonel_131st]

We had much discussion about MG's firing on the move on the Day of Defeat Boards (Halflide Modification, First Person Tactical WW2 Game) and some guys produced reports about MG42's being used in a house clearing role. They used 50 round assault belts, or the 75 round drum magazine plus a sling over the shoulder.

So yes, that thing could and was fired on the move.

[SgtMuhammed]

When I was a M60 machine gunner I used to adjust my sling so I could fire from the hip while walking. Came in real handy in tall grass just don't let the 1SG catch you. Also during mout once all the riflemen were dead we 60 gunners used to hunt each other. We called it pig hunting.

A light or medium machine gun is no real problem to fire while moving. Not real accurate but it will keep people's heads down.

[kappa]

I shot the MG 74 quite a few times during my service in the Austrian Army (MG 74 is the modified version, or should we say less effective version, RPM was reduced from 1000's

to 600's) even though it did not shoot as many rounds as the MG 42 it did not have that much of recoil, so I could imagin shooting from the hip, would not be that accurate

but quite effectiv for keeping a lot of heads down.

[RSColonel_131st]

I think the weapon weight plays a huge part here. After all, the recoil is still the same as a standard 7,92 bullet, but the weapon is a lot heavier than a rifle.