Sieger, I can't attribute the information about throwing away side plates, but there are a number of people that have said that this was happening. It might be an "urban legend" but it makes sense.
The same thing happened with Garand rifles on the US side. When a weapon was about to be captured with a soldier, they often removed the trigger group and threw it away to prevent the firearm being used.
Marc
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 Igitur si vis pacem, para bellum -
- Therefore if you want peace, prepare for war.
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