http://www.forgottenweapons.com/dead-en ... #more-5563
Samuti oli huvitav teada saada sellest Reichswehr'i hirmust;Stange’s MG 39 Rh might have been lost for decades, but that doesn’t mean its design features were left to rot on the vine. The pivoted joint of gas piston with bolt carrier at once resembles that of the PK/PKM series, an impression further strengthened by the comparison of their belt feed mechanisms. But the PK/PKM belt-feed, although showing a surprising number of common points, is somewhat different – the belt stops were moved to the feed cover, and the L-shaped feed lever is governed by the bumps along the bottom of the bolt carrier, and not the cam-path in its side. Looking for a complete copy of the Stange’s belt feed, one should compare it with another Warsaw Pact GPMG – quite curiously, the Czech UK vz.59.
The German military of the 1920s and 1930s was irrationally prejudiced against drilling bores – gas-operated automatic firearms were a major no-no. Up until the time of introduction of the G.43 rifle, German military scientists and technicians held that drilling bore would obligatory and unfavorably influence the internal ballistics of the gun, ruining accuracy and service life through erosion and corrosion.