Luftwaffe defensive guns.

[Stovepipe]

Why did it take them so long to fit belt fed guns in their bombers?

 

[muttly]

Limited space perhaps?

 

[Apophenia]

From a Quora answer: "The MG15 magazine is a spring loaded feeding device for individual cartridges,. It feeds reliably because it is a double-stack magazine which feeds that double stack from two individual drums which are filled with individual cartridges, which feed those cartridges by spring pressure."

So, part of the issue was that a spring-loaded, double-stacked 'saddle drum' feed was more reliable than a straight belt feed. In any case, by the time the gunner has emptied his 75-round Doppel Trommel, it was probably a good idea to let the barrel cool down at least for the duration of the magazine change.

What made the German WWII era drum type magazines used by machine guns like the MG-15 and MG-34 more reliable than modern drum magazines ...

Answer (1 of 12): > What made the German WWII era drum type magazines used by machine guns like the MG-15 and MG-34 more reliable than modern drum magazines today? It would appear that several of the other anwers are poorly researched. The MG-15 and MG-34 could both use Dopell Trommel magazines...

www.quora.com

 

[Stovepipe]

I think Id rather have more or less continuous firing available to me as a gunner rather than pausing to swap out drums every few seconds. An Mg 15 could empty such a drum in about six seconds, even with careful firing and the cooling medium was instantly and constantly available.

 

[Apophenia]

Sure, but as a gunner, you'd be stuck working with the preferences of Luftwaffe planning and procurement officers ...

 

[Stovepipe]

bureaucrats, eh? there was at least one field modification where a gunner managed to fit two drum fed guns onto a single Scarff type mount, but it wasn't adopted.