The barrel of the MG 34 could be quickly changed to avoid overheating during sustained fire by the machine gun crew and weighed . During a barrel change, the operator would disengage a latch on the left side of the receiver which held the receiver to the barrel sleeve. The entire receiver section could then pivot off to the right on its latitudinal axis, allowing the operator to pull the barrel out the back of the sleeve. A new barrel would then be put in the back of the sleeve, and the receiver rotated back in line with the barrel sleeve and latched. The entire process took just a few seconds when performed by a well-trained operator, causing minimal downtime in battle. The butt-stock could be easily removed to reduce the space occupied when mounted inside a vehicle.