[Tarrif]

Those figures come from two sources...

1. "FM 23-20 Basic Field Manual. Browning Automatic Rifle, Caliber .30" That's the official US Army manual for the BAR printed in 1940.

2. "TM 30-451 - Handbook of German Forces" That's the official US Army manual of German weapons of WWII.

On top of the other books I use, I also took possession of both weapons (since I work at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds) and did my own measurements.

The FG-42, in almost every respect, was better than the B.A.R. Although it was liked by the troops, the B.A.R. was not a great light machinegun or automatic rifle - although it could be a powerful weapon in the right hands. Its rate of fire was too slow, it was too heavy, and the magazine was too small. The FG-42 was an ideal weapon that was copied and modified by the US military which eventually became the venerable M-60 machinegun. It was only limited because it was complicated to produce and the Heer (German Army) didn't get along at all with the Luftwaffe (Germany Air Force) and was not willing to share its limited weapon production facilities with them.

The "practical rate of fire" is how many aimed rounds can be fired per minute, accounting for average reload times. The FG-42, with its integrated bi-pod and scope, can fire more acurately at longer ranges at put more aimed rounds down-range. The B.A.R., with its open sights and bi-pod removed (as was the case in most B.A.R.'s in combat service because it was damn heavy) jumps around a lot so its much harder to shoot accurately.

One possible reason for all the mis-information about the B.A.R. is because there were many models produced, both in the USA and in Belgium (which produced it in a number of calibers). That's why I stick to official manuals and my own measurements with the actual weapons at the U.S. Army Ordnance Meuseum at Aberdeen.

EDIT: The big weight difference between the combat weights and empty weights of guns because of the "frills" that come along with combat like bi-pods, scopes, a full magazine, etc. In the case of the FG-42 the bi-pod is integrated, but the B.A.R. often had it's removed, and so I did the same when getting its "empty" weight. That's why those numbers are lower than much of what you might see in other referrences online or maybe even in some books.

There's also a big difference between pre-war and wartime manufacture of some weapons. During the war, to save materials and speed production, guns were not manufactured to as fine a finish. That resulted in weight variances between pre-war and wartime weapons. Something as simple as different quality steel or a different kind of wood could offset a weapon's designed weight by as much as 10%.