I’m no expert so I wouldn’t know…LOL
But DICE will use any era authentic weapon they feel fits in the game and provides diversity and balance. It doesn’t matter if it was actually used in the war. That’s something Patrick Soderlund already stated.
I found some information about experimental weapons and technology during WW1. They experimented with air-to-air rockets, wireless communications and even sonar on submarines. A lot more advanced technology was developed during that time then we realize…
A lot of good discussions going on here.
The [SIZE=4]wireless communication[/SIZE] is still somewhat of a secret. Nikola Tesla was forced, coerced or whatever, to more his experiment away from the eastern sea board and inward to Colorado, if my reading sources are correct. (plenty more to this issue, I am sure)
In the past handful of years the Russians released their used and surplus bolt action service rifles of the past 100+ years, Mosin Nagants, into the U.S. market and have become so popular that the price went up 3x (from <$100 to <$300), since the ammo Russia supplied is low cost in comparison to domestic calibers, and in abundance from former War Saw Pact countries importation to the US. The quality of rifle build is better in a 100 year old gun than SOME brand new rifles (an absolute shame). These old rifles have better external ballistics at 200 yards than some new rifles at 100 yards, and they do not break easily.
Today’s service entry weapons are diluted versions, or scaled down, for reasons of attrition, from WWI. The 30-06 was scaled down to .308 (NATO 7.62x51), then scaled down in Russian assault rifles to 7.62x39. Mind you, many 30 calibre rifles have bullet diameters that are a few thousandths of an inch in variance from country to country, thus, not direct descendants by its credited creators, such as the example I gave of Russians creating the 7.62x39. But countries do respect and take into consideration what foreign rounds (cartridges) have done on the battlefield, such as the Russians- twice. The second cartridge being somewhat of a copy of the U.S. 5.56x45 M16 cartridge with their 5.45x39 cartridge in the newly introduced AK-74 (sic: AK Seventy-Four) in 1974. The argument used is Russians seen how much more ammo U.S. soldiers were able to carry in Vietnam and the war of attrition caused from its use; causing more casualties from a small round, but not fatalities, which leads to greater need for enemy resources to be allocated to their wounded soldiers that are no longer useful on the battlefield, but have to be cared for, for the rest of their lives. Even if the round did kill, most times it took some time, which took a toll on resources, as well. Dead soldiers no longer have the need for the same resources than that of living soldiers still fighting on the front, you see? That’s how empires win wars these days, through wars of attrition, which is also a good “checks and balances” for those in a free republic, giving them time to object to unjust offences and wars as the years go by.