not really problem of german production (e.g. they produced 14 million kar98k till end of war and kar98k was in service since 35). their whole infantry tactics were based around MG and rest of the squad was more or less support for MG. they started late with research into semi autos and AR and when everything was ready they were already losing war and had problem with resources and manpower (13.6 million troops out of 80 million population is almost all men of military age fit for service).
on other hand garand was standard service rifle since 36, carbine since 42, thompsons in various variants have been out since 21. they had ample resources and were not pressing every able men into service.
soviets on other hand had svt rifle in service since 38, had ppd design since 34 which was basis of ppsh, more manpower and loads of resource that enabled them to quickly switch to mass producing them.
they were on their way to making it standard issue, however the germans invaded so they had to go back to bolt actions since it was cheaper to produce that was also why the PPSH replaced the PPD and why they were looking into PPS
also the sten had itâs production numbers since 41 is because itâs a pipe gun, there is no joke here itâs just a pipe gun
I am not a huge fan of the term âstandard serviceâ because it implies that it was the base gun that most soldiers used - while in reality WW2 had a very varied usage of different types of weapons.
well kar98k was standard service rifle for germans, m1 garand/carbine(previous standard m1903 was also used till they produced enough m1s) for US, mosin nagant for USSR. while in ww2 they used variety of weapons, most soldiers were equipped with standard service rifles until they could replace them with something better cause of low availability of superior equipment.
Still they focused all their industrial might on the wrong things. They focused so much on if they could make the biggest baddest tanks and wonder weapons that they didnât stop to think if they should. Had they focused on better infantry equipment earlier on, they mightâve done a bit better. More lead down range = more dead enemies thatâs just science. Tanks for breakthroughs are great and all, but if your infantry canât exploit that breakthrough with superior firepower then whatâs the point?
So what stopped them from developing and mass producing their own semi auto sooner? I mean seriously 41, 43, and ESPECIALLY 44 is a tad bit late to be trying to introduce new rifles for your military. Had they tried to make a semi auto sooner, they may have done a bit better. But no, they squandered their industry on Kar98kâs and wonder weapons and mega tanks
Yeah, they only made Tiger IIs and Ferdinands and Maus and E-100s and sun cannons.
Best machine guns, first actual practicable assault rifle, the most economic SMG that was not a pipe gun (iirc), best anti tank weapons, deadly heavy AAA and a very good performing paratrooper weaponâŚ
What was the best US infantry weapon apart from the M1G?
What did US stopped from developing a usefull GPMG and mass producing their own GPMG sooner?
Probably infantry doctrine and research capabilties.
Nah, just put a handle and a buttstock on the M1919A4 and call it a day.
People forget that Panther tanks didnât really cost Germany more than a Panzer IV, while sustaining manpower was getting much more important than pumping out weapons- which is the main reason why late war German gear was getting more and more expensive.
1945 was when finally the industry started to pump out super cheap - fast to produce firearms, because of Volkssturm as well as most factories already being completely destroyed by air strikes.
But they did nothing to support that LMG. Sure, the LMG was the best of the war, but if everyone around that LMG has bolt actions then once that MG is out of order the rest of them will get chopped up either by M1âs or Soviet bullet hoses
Also, most Soviet units were riflemen with an MG and maybe on or two SMGs and their MG was the DP-27, which was mediocre at best and worse ammo mag size (and heavier mags).
And the infamous PPSH only chads would struggle against ranged weapons outside urban and CQC.
The US doctrine can vary but until 43 or 43 (iirc), the US didnt issue the M1G to all frontline units and many still had M1903. And SA rifles mostly have a edge in closer ranges and to limited surpressfire which is countered by a 1200rpm MG with 250 bullets.
BAR is nice and all, but it is not good for supression fire compared to actual machine guns and the M1919A6 was too heavy.
