Would the MG34 fitted to German Armour...(the cupola mounted weapon) usually be fed by belt or Drum, or would it come down to what ever the Tank crew could lay their hands on ?
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I think very early on the single drum seems to appear in photos - however, the faff of loading a drum quickly gives way to a straightforward 'top cover up, belt in , top cover down, cock n' rock!' approach! The saddle drum doesn't seem to a frequent contender for AFVs from my photo evidence. (Probably why the drum-fed Thompson SMG quickly fell out of favour!) I certainly wouldn't have wanted to charge a drum mag if I could have slapped a belt in! Perhaps if the drum mags had been charged earlier then their convenience would have been appreciated - I suppose the scenario that you envisage would dictate whether you choose one or the other ...
Steve -
Thanks Steve,
I've currently got a drum fitted to the MG34 on my King Tiger...I'll whip it off and see if i can find some 'belt' to replace it with..Comment
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Thanks mate, i'll have a ganders around my 'stash' tomorrow...Comment
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Hi Chris, to add a spanner to the whole drum or belt issue...actually both the drum and belt are belt fed. The German drum actually holds a length of belt ammo loose and doesn't need charging of any sort. Basically it was a container and neater for this then to have the belt flop all over the place and needn't have to have an assistant to prop the belt as it feeds in. The MG34 didn't have as high a rate of fire as the latter MG42 so the belted rounds in the drum didn't have to be much. Also feeding the drum and the belt is the same with a tether at the beginning to pull the belt through the chamber.
The MG34 remained as the main guns for armoured vehicles because of how it could fit into the apertures of the ball mounts and the use of drum ammunition as it it easily stored in the vehicle.
Saw this on Youtube.
Cheers,
RichardComment
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It would be belt-fed: as Richard says the side-mounted drum on the MG 34 was simply a round belt container.
However, I don’t think that’s what you were asking
Machine-gun ammunition in German tanks was held in cloth bags holding 150 rounds (three linked belts of 50 rounds each), and the common cupola mounting includes a bracket to hold one of those bags. Here on a Pz.Kpfw. IV:
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Of course, you can bet some crews used the steel drums instead for a variety of reasons.
The twin drum, though, with one on each side of the gun, would be highly unlikely to be on a tank machine gun. These held 75 rounds (non-belted) and required a different top cover on the gun, preventing the use of belt feed. Since the normal gun used on the cupola was either the bow gun or the coaxial one (see above: the gun has an armoured barrel shroud and no shoulder stock), rather than a third machine gun carried specifically for the commander, you would not want to have to fit a new cover every time the gun is mounted on the cupola.Comment
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thanks guysComment
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Can't help Chris, but an interesting question. Now had it been about :smiling2::smiling2::smiling2:Comment
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Gurtsack .. belt ammo in a hessian bag with a metal collar and lid...Comment
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Somehow I don’t think the Germans named it after that
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There be Mangolwurzels Allen. Theym be a sort of Beet for feedin Oi cows..Comment
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