My dad used to speak about this gun with awe.
Scared the heck outta everyone.
Slick thing about it was you could change the
hot barrel without touching it in seconds.
I believe German platoons had one gun for each squad. A lot more firepower than a Yank squad, even with the BAR.The quick barrel change you mentioned made the 42 even more deadly. Barrel changing the 1919 was a job of work for GIs. My uncle who fought in Italy and South of France told me the number of MG42S they’d face was very demoralizing.