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In practice, the FG42 suffered the same core issue as other battle rifles; a gun that needed to be a SMG and a squad automatic weapon at the same time
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meant compromises on both fronts. Without belt feed or interchangeable barrels, the rate of fire was limited compared to a dedicated SAW, and running full power rifle ammo through a lightweight gun made control difficult. While never used for a large scale parachute drop (Hitler pulled the plug on those after Crete), the FG42 was still issued to the Fallschirmjaegers, with many observed on the Western Front and in the Falaise Pocket. A number are known to have been captured and studied by American forces, and are believed
to have been (along with the MG42) an influence on the design of the M60 machine gun.