"German water cooled 'M42' Machine Guns" - A possible explanation

Reference has been made, in a recent mini book review, to mentions of "German water cooled 'M42' Machine Guns" which drew considerable scorn from the reviewer. If the mention is drawn from contemporary accounts there is one possible explanation "Fighting the Breakout - the German Army in Normandy" edited by David C Isby, contains detailed accounts by German commanders in the field and shows that numbers of German units instead of being equipped with the MG42 were issued with the MG08/15 a WW1 attempt to convert the MG08 Maxim medium water cooled machine gun into a light machine gun. The heavy mounting sled was replaced with a bipod and a butt and a slimmed down water jacket were fitted. The gun could be belt fed but drum magazines were also available and used. Allied troops in Normandy would have encountered these water cooled weapons in positions where they would have anticipated MG42 air cooled guns and might well have used the phrase "German water cooled 'M42' Machine Guns" probably having no knowledge of the MG08/15.

 

Makes sense. Remember all artillery was 88s and all tanks Tigers. MGs tended to be referred to a Spandaus which considering the MG15 tends to have 'Spandau' written on the receiver cover was, for once accurate.
On a similar note I read someone question Sgt. Hollis VC's account of burning his hand firing a Lewis Gun from a landing craft - obsolete and jacketed. I rest my case on RN arms in Normandy on these chaps..
WINSTON CHURCHILL DURING THE SECOND WORLD WAR

 

The 700-series German divisions which made up the majority of the enemy force the Allies met on June 6th had a good deal of foreign and second line equipment, or at least their artillery units did.The 716th Infantry Division, to name just one of these, had French, Czech, and Polish guns in its batteries; even Panzer Lehr had some Russian guns. What the small arms situation was I don't know, but I imagine investigation would show that it was similar. Clifford Shore (With British Snipers to the Reich) found many French rifles in service with the Germans in Normandy, and I've seen two examples of Hotchkiss M1914s captured by the Allies after German use.

 

The German commanders who contributed to "Fighting the Breakout - the German Army in Normandy" speak of the plethora of equipment but make specific mention of the MG08/15 being issued in the place of the MG42. Large numbers of these would have passed into Allied hands 1918/19 and many were sold at bargain prices to Belgian arms dealers who would still have had significant stocks in 1940 ready for them to fall back into German control.