BAR, STG and FG

[Chopper]

What class would you put these weapons in? They are all listed as just machine gun....I think they are somewhere between SMG and LMG but not quite sure where.

[MegaAfroMan]

FG42 I am almost 100% positive is listed as an LMG although I dont think it behaves like one. The BAR I would assume is an LMG, and I actually would think the STG would be more of an AR, but if I had to pick between LMG and SMG I would say SMG.

[Chopper]

I just realised the STG is an AR! I think I will classify them both as Lite LMG's.

[MegaAfroMan]

So, in other words, I win! :D

[MysteryMachineX]

The BAR and FG42 are Light Machine Guns. The STG-44 is an Assault Rifle.

This is because the STG-44 in World at War was listed under "Rifles", yet it isn't a simple Rifle as most were that time. It was automatic. So it would be considered an "Assault Rifles".

The BAR and FG42 in World at War are listed under "Machine Guns", which is practically "Light Machine Guns" as "Submachine Guns" is another category entirely in which they are not listed.

[piepwns]

STG stands for Sturm Gewher, which translates directly into "Assault Rifle" It was the first AR ever made, but Hitler was not convinced. I could give an entire lecture about the STG-44, but I wish not to take up room on this thread. The BAR and the FG-42 are classified as LMGs in multiplayer.

[aegisknight]

pie is correct, it is the first assault rifle (in WaW, it is listed under the "rifle" category for this reason)

the BAR stands for Browning Automatic Rifle, it is a curious piece of equipment. It was designed to have semi-automatic and automatic settings, so it could be used either as a rifle (with surprising accuracy for its time) or as a supressive fire light machine gun. It saw service from the end of World War 1 all the way through Vietnam, and remains one of the highest-praised weapons in US service history.

Its role was strikingly similar to what we now delegate to Assault Rifles; able to hit a target at distance while also being able to provide covering fire. Its immediate successor was true assault rifles (although it was never standard issue), and due to its functions I classify it as a proto-assault rifle.

However, for much of its service life it served more as an LMG, one or two BARs were assigned to each unit with the sole purpose of providing covering fire to M1 riflemen during World War Two, and much the same with the M14 during Korea.

There is a similar story with the FG-42. It was designed as a selective fire weapon (semi-auto or full auto), with a 10 or 20 round box magazine, but it was produced in a few derivatives. At the end of the day, it was designed with the same purpose as the BAR, but for Nazi paratroopers. It is hard to classify, since its derivatives include both the STG (the first assault rifle) and the M60 (machine gun), but due to its actual uses in combat and production intents, I would classify it as an Assault Rifle as well.