NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Heavy machine gun

A heavy machine gun refers to either a larger-caliber, high-power machine gun or one of the smaller, medium-caliber (rifle caliber) machine guns meant for prolonged firing from heavy mounts, less mobile, or static positions (or some combination of the two). The latter meaning is generally thought of as an older meaning, and the former as a modern one, but both weapon types have histories extending back to the 1800s. Furthermore, heavier smaller-caliber weapons continue to be used up to the present. Image File history File links An M2 machine gun, public domain photo from [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links An M2 machine gun, public domain photo from [1] File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... M2 Type Heavy machine gun Nation US Era post WW1 onwards History Date of design 1921 Production period 1932 to present Service duration 1932 to present Operators see text War service Variants M2HB, M2HBQCB Number built Specifications Type Calibre . ... A tripod refers to any three-legged structure. ... The international prototype, made of platinum-iridium, which is kept at the BIPM under conditions specified by the 1st CGPM in 1889. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ...

A classic example of a rifle-caliber heavy machine gun would be a water-cooled Maxim machine gun that was belt fed, had a water jacket, was crew served, and mounted on tripod or wheeled mount. Other types used linkable strips (such as the Hothkiss) or large magazines. A common example of a heavy-caliber machine gun would be the Browning M2 .50-caliber machine gun. Firearms with calibers larger than 13 to 15 mm are generally thought of as autocannons instead of heavy machine guns. M2 Type Heavy machine gun Nation US Era post WW1 onwards History Date of design 1921 Production period 1932 to present Service duration 1932 to present Operators see text War service Variants M2HB, M2HBQCB Number built Specifications Type Calibre . ...

In the late 1800s, Gatlings, and some other externally powered types such as the Nordenfelt were often made in range of calibers, such as half inch and one inch. Thanks to their many barrels, overheating was not so much of issue, and they were also quite heavy. Gatling gun illustrated in an 1885 encyclopedia in Swedish The Gatling gun was the first successful machine gun. ...

When maxim developed his recoil-powered machine gun that used a single barrel, the first main design was a modest 26 pounds (11.8 kg) and fired a .45-inch rifle-caliber bullet (from a 24-inch barrel). As a famous photo of Mr. Maxim himself will attest that even he could picked it up by its 15-pound tripod (6.8 kg) with one arm. It was similar to present-day (2005) medium machine guns, but it could not be fired for extended periods. As a result, he created a water jacket cooling system to enable it to fire for extended periods. This added significant weight, as did the change to more powerful cartridges. Hiram S. Maxim Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim (February 4, 1840 - November 24, 1916) was the inventor of the Maxim Gun in 1884, the first portable, fully automatic machine gun, and the ubiquitous mousetrap. ...

There were two main heavy, rapid-fire weapons, the heavy-caliber, manually powered machine guns and the water-cooled Maxim types. Soon, by the turn of the century, many new designs were developed, some powered by gas or recoil or some combination of the two (Colt 1895, Hotchkiss, etc). Also, rather than the rather heavy water jacket, new designs introduced other types of cooling, such as barrel replacement, metal fins, or heat sinks or some combination of them.

Machine guns diverged into heavier and lighter design. The later model water-cooled Maxim guns and its derivatives the MG 08 and the Vickers gun, as well as the American Browning Model 1917 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, literally fire for days on end. The need was to be able to cut down potentially thousands of charging soldiers. The heavy machine gun was mounted on a tripod and was often water cooled, and a well-trained and well-supplied crew could fire for hours on end. Carefully positioned heavy machine guns could stop an attacking force before they reached their objectives. An early Maxim gun in operation with the Royal Navy The Maxim gun was the first self-acting machine gun. ... MG08 with optical sight. ... Vickers machine gun Type Nationality UK Era WW1 - WW2 History Date of design 1912 Production period 1912- Service duration 1912-1968 Operators War service Specifications Type Calibre 0. ... Browning Model 1917 Type machine gun Nation US Era WW1 History Date of design Production period Service duration Operators US. War service WW1, WW2 Variants 1917A1 Number built Specifications Type Calibre . ...

However, during the same period a number of new, lighter air-cooled designs were developed that rather than weighing well over 30 lb (15 kg) were lighter and mobile. In World War I they were to be as important as the heavier designs, and were used to support squads and infantry on the move, on aircraft, and on many types of vehicle as well (and on tanks to some extent). The two that would become critical were new medium and light machine guns. The new medium machine guns offered less, or more difficult to use, cooling than the heavier designs, but more than the lightest.

The lightest of the new designs were not capable of sustained fire, as they did not having extra cooling features and were fed from a comparatively small magazine. Essentially a machine rifle with a bipod, weapons like the Chauchat or the Madsen 1902 were the most mobile, but were made for single and burst fire. These were used in assaults to great effect by infantry, but were not as popular on other mounts. The Chauchat (pronounced show-shah), from a design by Hungarian Rudolph Frommer, was the primary French light machine gun of World War I, first introduced in 1907. ...

The medium designs offered greater flexibility, either using a bipod and being used like lighter designs, or being put on a tripod or on heavier mounts. The Hotchkiss Mark I (e.g., Benet-Mercie, M1909) was a 27.6 lb (12.2 kg) MG that normally used a mini-tripod and linkable 30-round strips, but there was also a belt-fed version of it. Not to be confused with heavier Hotchkiss models (such as the M1914), the design proved a useful intermediate and would serve even to the end of WWII in some jobs. The design would be followed by lighter machine rifles and better medium types.

The Lewis gun, which weighed 27 lb (12.3 kg), was commonly used with a 47-round drum and bipod; it was used on the move in support of squads, and on vehicles and aircraft as well, or on a tripod (either more AA, or to fill in for a heavier MG). What made it very useful was that it was significantly lighter than water-cooled weapons, but could fire nearly as much due to a very large cooling assembly. This sort of multipurpose machine gun would be further developed, and later given names like Universal Machine gun (latter called the general-purpose machine gun) and would eventually supplant the water-cooled designs. Later designs have mostly switched to fast barrel replacement for cooling, which further reduces the weapons weight (but can increase the total weight carried by a soldier). Some earlier designs like the Vickers had this feature, but it was mainly for barrel wear, not for cooling (as they normally used water cooling). It was in the 1920s and 1930s that fast barrel replacement for cooling became more popular (such as the ZB 1930, and later the MG34 and the Bren). Lewis Gun Type machine gun Nation Era WW1 History Date of design 1911 Production period Service duration Operators War service WW1, WW2 Variants Number built Specifications Type light machine gun Calibre . ... A general purpose machine gun or GPMG in concept is a compromise weapon, a machine gun intended to be capable of doing the tasks of a light machine gun, medium machine gun while at the same time being man-portable, but performance in either role may be inferior to a... MG34 Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: MG34 The Maschinengewehr 34, or MG34, was a German machine gun that was first produced and accepted for service in 1934, and first issued to units in 1935. ... Bren Gun Type Light machine gun Nationality United Kingdom Era World War II History Date of design 1935 Production period 1938 - Service duration 1938 - 1958 (longer as L4) Operators United Kingdom, Commonwealth War service World War II, Korean War, Specifications Type machine gun Calibre . ...

A 7.62 mm GAU-17 Gatling gun of the U.S. Navy

The heavier water-cooled designs continued to be used throughout WWII and into the 1960s, but were gradually phased out in favor of air-cooled designs. The mediums are now used both as heavy 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 a very effective tactic in vehicle-centered warfare, and the lighter air-cooled designs could nearly match the capabilities of water-cooled designs with a combination of other lighter cooling features. Also, during WWII, many new larger-caliber machine guns were developed, the Soviet Union having developed a number of larger calibers, as well as other countries. (There was the large-caliber Vickers design, for example.) Image File history File links Navy photo of GAU-17 firing in philippine sea from helicopter (not copyrightable) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Navy photo of GAU-17 firing in philippine sea from helicopter (not copyrightable) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A tripod refers to any three-legged structure. ... A Home Army (Polish resistance) soldier equipped with an Brno ZB26 LMG during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. ... A bipod is a support device that is similar to a tripod or monopod, but with only two legs. ...

By the latter half of the 20th century, use of heavy machine guns, especially water-cooled designs, was declining. The venerable Browning M1917 saw its last major use during the 1960s in the Vietnam conflict. At the same time, however, Gatling-type weapons were making a comeback. Those firing 7.62 mm such as the GAU-17 were popular for ships, and helicopter mounted weapons, and have established a niche; the Soviet Union also developed a number of Gatling-type weapons. The need for sustained fire on the ground, however, was now nearly entirely the domain of air-cooled medium machine guns that used some cooling manifolds, barrel replacement, and special or heavier barrels. Since there were no more rifle-caliber machine guns (aside from the Gatlings), the term heavy machine gun now mainly just refers to heavy-caliber machine guns. By the 21st century, new heavy-caliber machine guns have been become much lighter (for a given type) as well; less then many of the old water-jacketed types. The Vietnam War was a war fought between 1957 and 1975 on the ground in South Vietnam and bordering areas of Cambodia and Laos (See Secret War) and in bombing runs (Rolling Thunder) over North Vietnam. ... GAU-17 is the name of a 7. ...