[fso301]

I guess by saying the concept of a detachable barrel on the M-60 as opposed to the fixed barrel of the BAR and Browning .30 was influenced by the MG-42. Granted, not having a barrel shroud may have sounded good in a conferenceroom but in practice was a bad idea. Suspect it was someones bright idea to get the overall weight dow.

Given the MG-42s recoil managability issues, any idea why the Germans went with a conical flash hider rather than a combo muzzle break-flash hider?

[Renfield]

Yes, I do. The cone at the end of the barrel isn't intended as a flash hider (although it has that effect); it's a recoil booster, needed to make the action work properly. Remember, with a delayed roller-lock action, there is no primary extraction, as there would be in a gas-operated or Browning-style recoil operated mechanism. The breech block, after the locking rollers disengage from their milled recesses in the receiver, still must have enough rearward momentum to remove the spent cartridge from the chamber. The recoil-booster gives a little extra jolt to the barrel, which is transferred to the breecblock, to make sure the cartridge case gets pulled out of the chamber. You see the same conical recoil boosters on the SIG 710-1, 710-2, 710-3, the Cetme Armelli, and other MGs using roller-lock actions.

Some roller-lock guns employ fluted chambers, so that the cartridge case "floats" in pressurized hot gasses for an instant, just to aid in extraction. H & K guns (such as the G-3), and the earlier Cetme assault rifle, employ this type of chamber. Consequently, cartridge cases ejected from the G-3 are very, very hot, and will burn you if they touch you.