Misplaced Pages

#261738

33-538: The XM806 Lightweight .50 Caliber Machine Gun ( LW50MG ) was a developmental .50 caliber belt-fed heavy machine gun . Development began in 2009 and was cancelled in 2012. The XM806 weighed about 63 pounds (29 kg) less (49% lighter), had 60% less recoil than the M2 , and had a greater rate of fire than the failed previous attempt to replace the M2, the XM312 . The XM806 did however have

66-553: A bipod in the light machine gun role or on a tripod or other weapon mount as medium machine guns. An example was the Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun weighing 27.6 lb (12.2 kg) fitted with a mini-tripod and using linkable 30-round ammunition strips, but there was also a belt-fed version. This type of multipurpose machine gun would be further developed, and later given names such as "universal machine gun", and later "general-purpose machine gun", and would eventually supplant

99-491: A 24-inch barrel. A famous photo of Maxim showed him picking it up by its 15-pound tripod (6.8 kg) with one arm. It was similar to present-day medium machine guns, but it could not be fired for extended periods due to overheating. As a result, Maxim created a water jacket cooling system to enable it to fire for extended periods. However, this added significant weight, as did the change to more powerful rifle cartridges. There were thus two main types of heavy, rapid-fire weapons:

132-512: A considerably slower rate of fire than the M2. The XM806 also had improvements to user safety and was easier to disassemble. The XM806 was spun out from the cancelled XM307 and was developed by General Dynamics to augment the M2 . General Dynamics received a $ 9 million contract for the weapon in May 2008. It was expected to be deployed starting at the end of fiscal year 2012. Delays caused its planned deployment to be pushed to 2013 or 2014. The XM806

165-572: A counter- VBIED weapon system, due to their greater ability to penetrate uparmored VBIED threats that standard rifle calibers used by designated marksmen (typically 7.62×54mmR and 7.62×51mm) are not able to reliably stop. Despite having been designed to be used against equipment, anti-materiel rifles have also been used for killing soldiers from distances that are beyond the effective range of regular rifle-caliber cartridges. Anti-materiel rifles can also penetrate most obstacles and building materials, making them viable for engaging targets behind cover that

198-558: A crew of several soldiers to operate them. Thus, in this sense, the "heavy" aspect of the weapon referred to the weapon's bulk and ability to sustain fire, not the cartridge caliber. This class of weapons was best exemplified by the Maxim gun , invented by the American inventor Hiram Maxim . The Maxim was the most ubiquitous machine gun of World War I, variants of which were fielded in large simultaneously by three separate warring nations—Germany with

231-509: A very effective tactic in vehicle-centered warfare, and the significantly lighter air-cooled designs could nearly match the capabilities of the water-cooled versions. Gatling -type machine guns such as the Minigun and GShG-7.62 reappeared after World War II. These are typically mounted on ships and helicopters because of their weight and large ammunition requirements due to their extremely high rate of fire. The need for sustained automatic fire on

264-411: A well-trained crew could fire nonstop for hours, given sufficient ammunition, replacement barrels and cooling water. Carefully positioned HMGs could stop an attacking force before they reached their objectives. However, during the same period a number of lighter and more portable air-cooled designs were developed weighing less than 30 lbs (15 kg). In World War I they were to be as important as

297-641: Is usually hard enough to stop rifle-caliber cartridges. In general, anti-materiel rifles are chambered for 12.7×99 mm NATO (.50 BMG) , 12.7×108 mm Russian , 14.5×114 mm Russian , and 20 mm cartridges. According to the US Army , the range of a standard sniper rifle firing a 7.62×51mm NATO round is a distance of about 2,600 feet (800 m) while the Barrett's effective range is 3,300 feet (1,000 m) against personnel targets, and 6,600 feet (2,000 m) against materiel targets. The offensive use of anti-materiel rifles

330-455: The German Empire 's 13.2×92mmSR caliber MG 18 TuF ( Maschinengewehr 18 Tank und Flieger , 'Machinegun 18 Tank and Aircraft') during World War I , these weapons are designed to provide increased range, penetration and destructive power against vehicles, buildings, aircraft and light fortifications beyond the standard rifle calibers used in medium or general-purpose machine gun, or

363-638: The MG 08 and the Vickers, as well as the American M1917 Browning machine gun , were all substantial weapons. The .303 Vickers, for example, weighed 33 lb (15 kg) and was mounted on a tripod that brought the total weight to 50 lb (23 kg). The heavier designs could, and in some cases did, fire for days on end, mainly in fixed defensive positions to repel infantry attacks. These machine guns were typically mounted on tripods and were water-cooled, and

SECTION 10

#1732884754262

396-533: The MG 08 , Britain with the Vickers , and Russia with the PM M1910 ). The modern definition refers to a class of machine guns chambered in "heavy caliber" ammunition, generally with a minimum bullet diameter of 12mm, a minimum cartridge case length of 80mm and a minimum bullet weight of 500 grain , but below a bullet diameter of 20mm which are considered "medium caliber" ammunition for autocannons . Pioneered by

429-451: The Nordenfelt gun and Gardner gun were often made in a variety of calibers, such as 0.5-inch and 1-inch. Due to their multiple barrels, overheating was not so much of an issue, but they were also quite heavy. When Maxim developed his recoil-powered Maxim gun using a single barrel, his first main design weighed a modest 26 pounds (11.8 kg) and fired a .45-inch rifle-caliber bullet from

462-725: The Wz. 35 anti-tank rifle , around 800 of which were captured by Germans and put into service as Panzerbüchse 35(p). The PTRD-41 and PTRS-41 anti-tank rifles were used by the Soviets on the Eastern Front . Germany used the Panzerbüchse 39 , while Japan used the Type 97 automatic cannon , though the latter became obsolete by 1942. Notably, the United States did not develop or field any anti-tank rifles during

495-586: The ZB vz. 30 , the Bren , the MG34 and the MG42 . The heavier designs continued to be used throughout World War II and into the 1960s, but were gradually phased out in favor of air-cooled designs. The mediums were now used both as medium machine guns while mounted on tripods and as light machine guns while mounted on bipods. This was possible in part because a heavy, static MG position was not

528-514: The U.S. to Swedish forces. The M82 rifle first saw action in the early 1990s, during the Gulf War . The U.S. Marine Corps initially purchased around 125 M82 rifles; orders from the Army and Air Force followed. These weapons were used with rounds such as armor piercing incendiary rounds (API) which were effective against such targets as buildings, trucks, and parked aircraft. The purpose of this round

561-508: The armor, while others believed that the higher caliber rounds would cause greater damage. The weapon was quite heavy at 109 lb (49 kg) and had an 88-inch (220 cm) barrel, and it carried the nickname "the elephant gun". During the Cold War , the Barrett M82 rifle was produced by the United States, and was chambered to fire a .50 BMG (12.7×99mm NATO) round. This weapon was sold by

594-459: The bullet weight and velocity of anti-materiel rifles gives them exceptional long-range capability even when compared with designated sniper rifles. Anti-materiel rifles are made in both bolt-action as well as semi-automatic designs. The anti-materiel rifle originated in the anti-tank rifles , which itself originated during World War I . While modern tanks and most other armored vehicles are too well protected to be affected by anti-materiel rifles,

627-478: The first anti-materiel rifle. The rifle was designed to penetrate the thick armor of the British tanks. The rifle weighed 41 lb (19 kg) when loaded, fired a 13.2 mm round weighing 55.5 g (1.96 oz), and had an effective range of about 1,600 ft (500 m). This weapon had a two-man crew: one to load and the other to fire the weapon, although they often switched roles. The recoil of this weapon

660-509: The ground, however, is now nearly entirely filled by air-cooled medium machine guns. Anti-materiel An anti-materiel rifle ( AMR ) is a rifle designed for use against military equipment, structures, and other hardware ( materiel ) targets. Anti-materiel rifles are chambered in significantly larger calibers than conventional rifles and are employed to eliminate equipment such as engines and unarmored or lightly armored targets. Although not originally designed for use against human targets,

693-504: The guns are still effective for attacking unarmored or lightly armored vehicles. They can also be used against stationary enemy aircraft, missile launchers, radar equipment, unexploded ordnance , small watercraft, communications equipment, crew-served weapons and similar targets. Their value lies in their ability to precisely target and disable enemy assets from long range at relatively low cost. The history of anti-materiel rifles dates back to World War I . The need for anti-tank rifles

SECTION 20

#1732884754262

726-627: The heavier designs, and were used to support infantry on the attack, on aircraft, and on many types of vehicles. The lightest of the new designs were not capable of sustained automatic fire, as they did not have water jackets and were fed from comparatively small magazines . Essentially machine rifles with a bipod , weapons like the Lewis Gun , Chauchat and the Madsen were portable by one soldier, but were made for single and burst fire. The medium designs offered greater flexibility, either being fitted with

759-400: The intermediate cartridges used in light machine guns. In this sense, the "heavy" aspect of the weapon refers to its superior power and range over light and medium caliber weapons, in addition to its weight. This class of machine gun came into widespread use during World War II , when the M2 was used widely in fortifications, on vehicles and in aircraft by American forces. A similar HMG capacity

792-413: The lead up to and during World War I . These fired standard full-power rifle cartridges such as the 7.92×57mm Mauser , 7.7×56mmR (.303 British) or 7.62×54mmR , but featured heavy construction, elaborate mountings and water-cooling mechanisms that enabled long-range sustained automatic fire with excellent accuracy. However, these advantages came at the cost of being too cumbersome to move and required

825-611: The manually powered, multiple-barrel machine guns and the single-barrel Maxim guns. By the end of the 19th century, many new designs such as the M1895 Colt–Browning and Hotchkiss M1897 were developed, powered by gas operation or recoil operation . Also, rather than the heavy water jacket, new designs introduced other types of barrel cooling, such as barrel replacement, metal fins, heat sinks or some combination of these. Machine guns diverged into heavier and lighter designs. The later model water-cooled Maxim guns and its derivatives

858-519: The war, choosing instead to use explosive anti-tank weaponry such as the M1 Bazooka . One anti-tank rifle used was the Lahti L-39 , a Finnish anti-materiel rifle. One version was designed to fire a 13.2 mm cartridge and another a 20 mm cartridge. There was debate over which was more effective at piercing armor. Some argued that the smaller cartridge travelled faster and could penetrate deeper into

891-471: The water-cooled designs. These later designs used quick-change barrel replacement to reduce overheating, which further reduced the weapon's weight, but at the cost of increasing the soldier's load due to the extra barrels. Some earlier designs like the Vickers had this feature, but it was mainly for barrel wear, as they normally used water cooling. It was in the 1920s and 1930s that quick barrel replacement for cooling purposes became more popular in weapons such as

924-410: The widespread adoption and modernization of the class, and most nations' armed forces are equipped with some type of HMG. Currently, machine guns with calibers smaller than 10mm are generally considered medium or light machine guns, while those larger than 15mm are generally classified as autocannons instead of HMGs. In the late 19th century, Gatling guns and other externally powered types such as

957-502: Was cancelled in July 2012, with the Army using the money allocated to upgrade their M2 machine guns to the M2A1 version. This article relating to machine guns is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Heavy machine gun There are two classes of weapons generally defined as HMGs: The term originally referred to the generation of machine guns which came to prominence in

990-586: Was first encountered by the Germans when faced with the British Mark 1 tank. The Mark I could cross ditches up to nine-foot (2.7 m) wide, which made it a major threat to infantry in trench defenses. As a counter, the Germans first used "direct fire mortars", which were mortars aimed at low angles pointing towards enemy tanks. Later, the Germans developed the T-Gewehr anti-tank rifle, which can be credited with being

1023-494: Was later fielded by the Soviets in the form of Vasily Degtyaryov's DShK in 12.7×108mm . The ubiquitous German MG42 general-purpose machine gun, though well-suited against infantry, lacked the M2's anti-fortification and anti-vehicle capability, a fact that was noted and lamented by the Germans. The continued need for a longer-range machine gun with anti-materiel capability to bridge the gap between exclusively anti-infantry weapons and exclusively anti-materiel weapons has led to

XM806 - Misplaced Pages Continue

1056-501: Was so high that it was known to break collar bones and dislocate shoulders. The rifle fired a steel core armor-piercing round specifically designed to be used with this rifle. During World War II , anti-materiel guns were widely used. The British Boys anti-tank rifle was used to great effect against lightly armored tanks, but was soon replaced by the PIAT due to its ineffectiveness against more armored tanks. In September 1939 Polish army used

1089-919: Was to penetrate non-armored vehicles and burst into flames on impact. Saboted light armor penetrator ammunition was also used in anti-materiel rifles during the conflict. In the modern era, the armor of tanks and other vehicles increased, making it difficult for .50 BMG bullets to penetrate. As such, modern day anti-materiel rifles are no longer used in an anti-tank capacity, and generally used to penetrate light armor vehicles or for its barrier-blind capabilities against targets behind concrete barricades and buildings; as well as being used to destroy unexploded ordnance. Additionally, modern anti-materiel rifles are frequently used as sniper rifles against personnel targets, due to their long range, relatively low cost of construction for craft-produced models, and robust penetrating capabilities. They have seen frequent use in Syria and Iraq as

#261738