Military Arms?

[Daniel Cary]

Those that served & still do are a breed apart. Thank you, foremost.

Familiar with the M-16 & a bit of hx behind it. What was the larger machine gun (depicted in Vietnam) that the soldier usually Bear'd what look like 30-06 ammo around the chest?

And today, any insight to what is used in warfare I'd love to know.
Many thanks.

 

[CZDiesel]

I think you are talking about “The Pig”, The M-60 light machine gun that fires belt fed 308 Winchester
Today the M-249 belt fed 556 and the M-240 belt fed 308 are used but both are being phased out with new platforms that include a medium machine gun that will fire a 338 Mag

 

[flatwater bill]

I think CZ is right. M-60 and Ma Duece only two I ever saw, but I did have one occasion to use a BAR and it fired 30-06. IMO a .338 medium machine gun is long over due........FWB

 

[skydiver386]

Yep, the old M60 7.62. Hated those things like nothing else. They either worked, or they didn't. The FN built MAG58 (also called M240B) was a much better machine gun. I had both as well as the 5.56mm SAW.

With the M240, I was the Ayatollah of Rock and Rolla!

 

[speedfire]

M60 was based off the FG42 which is an automatic rifle design rather than a traditional LMG. The americans in 1944 made a belt fed FG42. Essentially went from there with the M60. Incorporating many features from various weapons after seeing how successful the bren gun was as a walking LMG. The M60 became a very mobile and multi purpose Light machine gun.

 

[Red Leg]

You are referring to the M-60, which unfortunately copied only a few of the better characteristics of the MG-42 (Wehrmacht). It was awesome when it functioned. That functioning was based upon a well-trained gunner and no more than a reasonable amount of mud or dust. The M-240 does the same thing far more reliably.

Getting a M2 .50 cal into a firefight is like introducing a tactical nuclear weapon.

 

[SaintPanzer]

Former MOS: 0331. Machine Gunner. As stated, in VN it was the M60. 7.62mm, air cooled, belt fed, open bolt, medium machine gun. Replaced in the mid-80s with the M60E3, and in the early 90s to mid 90s by the M240G. I had the MOS from '86 to '91, so I trained on both. In 2000 I went to school to become an 0303 (Light Armored Vehicle Officer), and both the pintle mount and the coax were M240s.

Biggest difference between the VN era M60 and the M60E3 was the older version of the weapon had the bipod legs attached to the barrel. The M60E3 moved the legs to the receiver, making it much easier to change the barrel, especially on a hot gun.

All of the above comments on the M60 are true. As I have explained it on more than one occasion, my M60 was a lot like my ex-girlfriend. I loved it to death, but it always was letting me down, especially when it was really important.

 

[skydiver386]

Former MOS: 0331. Machine Gunner. As stated, in VN it was the M60. 7.62mm, air cooled, belt fed, open bolt, medium machine gun. Replaced in the mid-80s with the M60E3, and in the early 90s to mid 90s by the M240G. I had the MOS from '86 to '91, so I trained on both. In 2000 I went to school to become an 0303 (Light Armored Vehicle Officer), and both the pintle mount and the coax were M240s.

Biggest difference between the VN era M60 and the M60E3 was the older version of the weapon had the bipod legs attached to the barrel. The M60E3 moved the legs to the receiver, making it much easier to change the barrel, especially on a hot gun.

All of the above comments on the M60 are true. As I have explained it on more than one occasion, my M60 was a lot like my ex-girlfriend. I loved it to death, but it always was letting me down, especially when it was really important.

...and that dang asbestos glove was never where you needed it to be when it was time to change barrels.

 

[318AE]

Former MOS: 0331. Machine Gunner. As stated, in VN it was the M60. 7.62mm, air cooled, belt fed, open bolt, medium machine gun. Replaced in the mid-80s with the M60E3, and in the early 90s to mid 90s by the M240G. I had the MOS from '86 to '91, so I trained on both. In 2000 I went to school to become an 0303 (Light Armored Vehicle Officer), and both the pintle mount and the coax were M240s.

Biggest difference between the VN era M60 and the M60E3 was the older version of the weapon had the bipod legs attached to the barrel. The M60E3 moved the legs to the receiver, making it much easier to change the barrel, especially on a hot gun.

All of the above comments on the M60 are true. As I have explained it on more than one occasion, my M60 was a lot like my ex-girlfriend. I loved it to death, but it always was letting me down, especially when it was really important.

Coming from a background in competitive shooting, open bolt was a total WTF for me….to your point, when it worked, it worked….

 

[skydiver386]

Most military belt fed weapons are open bolt. With their high rate of fire it prevents cook offs with a hot barrel.

 

[SaintPanzer]

Open bolt makes a lot of sense on fully automatic weapons. Even the old Thompson Submachine Gun was open bolt.

 

[318AE]

Most military belt fed weapons are open bolt. With their high rate of fire it prevents cook offs with a hot barrel.

As compared to the m2 50 cal on all the track vehicles I had

 

[Hunter-Habib]

M-60. Made famous by the first two Rambo films but ridiculously overrated.

 

[Hunter-Habib]

We had two at our base camp during the Indo-Pak war of 1971, designated as the LMG NATO. We also had the PK machine gun which was designated LMG SOVIET LONG. And the RPD machine gun which was designated LMG SOVIET SHORT.

It was quickly relegated to the base camps around the Chittagong hill tracts & Sylhet tea gardens, since they were declared far to unfit for jungle duty in muddy areas where they were prone to jamming.

I always liked the PK machine gun most during my wartime service.

 

[PerH]

We had MG3 the German ones ran like clockwork

Then we helping the TA with their
Nib Turkish ones , unboxed them set up and tried them . They were flawed , lot of malfunctions. Then some time later the Turkish barrels were withdrawn , too tight and more things .

Bit later the lead free craze came and 5,56 and 7,62 were to be lead free . Went so well the mil had to get orders out for lead ammo to be used abroad . That was in Afghan and elsewhere . Since the lead free both was not so good in weapons ,and in gas guns made some troops sick . Due to gases in face and similar .

 

[Altitude sickness]

If you kept it to 3 round bursts it was relatively accurate and reliable. When you went full auto too long it had issues from the belt links.
Here I’m being coached by my buddy Lou Esposito
“Spofrog”

 

[Altitude sickness]

If I remember right, that’s a full auto Galil in the background.

 

[skydiver386]

If I remember right, that’s a full auto Galil in the background.

Yep, a 9 pound magazine fed full auto in 7.62mm. What fun.

 

[TheGrayRider]

M60 "Light" Machinegun? Wasn't anything light about it when I was carrying her around and that was without the extra barrel and extra belts of ammunition that the assistant gunner carried.

Wouldn't a better name have been M60 "Semi-heavy" machinegun? Happy hunting to all, TheGrayRider a/k/a Tom.

 

[SaintPanzer]

Well, I consider .30 cal as the break between a light gun and a medium gun, and then .40 cal as getting into the heavy guns. The "weight" description refers to the round, not the weight of the gun.

Some other thoughts on the differences between the M60 and M60E3. The E3 is lighter (19.9#). The front pistol grip on the E3 is obvious. Both are gas operated, but the E3 has a uni-directional piston, the older model was distinctly directional, and if you put it in backwards you had a 20+# bolt action rifle. The older version had a feed tray that did not work well, the secret was to use a C Ration can to smooth the feed. This was improved on the E3, which was a good thing because an MRE wrapper would not have helped.

I'm sure there are more differences I'm forgetting. But it was such a long time ago...