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M240 Machine Gun
The M240 machine gun, officially the Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240, is the U.S. military designation for the FN MAG, a family of Belt (firearms), belt-fed, gas-operated reloading, gas-operated medium machine guns that chamber the 7.62×51mm NATO Cartridge (firearms), cartridge. The M240 has been used by the United States Armed Forces since the late 1970s. It is used extensively by infantry, most often in rifle Company (military unit), companies, as well as on ground vehicles, watercraft and aircraft. Though it is heavier than some comparable weapons, it is highly regarded for reliability and its standardization among NATO members is a major advantage. All variants are fed from disintegrating belts and are capable of firing most types of 7.62 NATO ammunition. M240 variants can be converted to use non-disintegrating belts. There are significant differences in weight and some features among some versions which restrict the interchangeability of parts. The M240s used by the U.S. m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
General-purpose Machine Gun
A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for various fully powered cartridges such as the 7.62×51mm NATO, 7.62×54mmR, 7.5×54mm French, 7.5×55mm Swiss and 7.92×57mm Mauser, and be configured for mounting to different stabilizing platforms from bipods and tripods to vehicles, aircraft, boats and fortifications, usually as an infantry support weapon or squad automatic weapon. History The general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) originated with the MG 34, designed in 1934 by Heinrich Vollmer of Mauser on the commission of Nazi Germany to circumvent the restrictions on machine guns imposed by the Treaty of Versailles. It was introduced into the Wehrmacht as an entirely new concept in automatic firepower, dubbed the ''Einheitsmaschinengewehr'', meaning "universal machine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Crew-served Weapon
A crew-served weapon is any weapon system that is issued to a crew of two or more individuals performing the same or separate tasks to run at maximum operational efficiency, as opposed to an individual-service weapon, which only requires one person to run at maximum operational efficiency. The weight and bulk of the system often also requires multiple people for transportation. Crew-served weapons operated by infantry include sniper rifles, anti-materiel rifles, machine guns, automatic grenade launchers, mortars, anti-tank guns, anti-aircraft guns, recoilless rifles, shoulder-launched missile weapons, and static anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles. See also * Heavy weapons platoon * Small arms A firearm is any type of gun that uses an explosive charge and is designed to be readily carried and operated by an individual. The term is legally defined further in different countries (see legal definitions). The first firearms originate ... for weapons used by indi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
M2 Tripod
The M2 Tripod is a U.S. machine gun tripod originally used with the Browning M1919 infantry machine gun. Since then, it has seen several redesigns, but remained largely the same. In this fashion, the M2 tripod has seen combat service in every conflict that the U.S. Army and Marine Corps has been involved in since World War II. It has also been widely used by numerous other nations, such as U.S. Allies in various wars, especially those countries that used the same machine guns as the United States military. Modern U.S. machine guns, such as the M60, M249 and M240 series machine guns, use slightly updated versions of the M2, designated the ''M122 tripod''. The M60 was originally going to be used on an experimental M91 tripod, but the M122 was selected over it in the 1950s. The M122 weighs 16 pounds (7.3 kilograms). The differences between the M2 and M122 are found in the types of mounting pintles and the traverse & elevation mechanisms. The actual tripod is referred to as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combined arms, implementing its own infantry, artillery, aerial, and special operations forces. The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the six armed forces of the United States and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. The Marine Corps has been part of the United States Department of the Navy since 30 June 1834 with its sister service, the United States Navy. The USMC operates installations on land and aboard sea-going amphibious warfare ships around the world. Additionally, several of the Marines' tactical aviation squadrons, primarily Marine Fighter Attack squadrons, are also embedded in Navy carrier air wings and operate from the aircraft carriers. The history of the Marine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United States Constitution (1789).See alsTitle 10, Subtitle B, Chapter 301, Section 3001 It operates under the authority, direction, and control of the United States Secretary of Defense, United States secretary of defense. It is one of the six armed forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. The Army is the most senior branch in order of precedence amongst the armed services. It has its roots in the Continental Army, formed on 14 June 1775 to fight against the British for independence during the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783). After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army on 3 June 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army.Library of CongressJournals ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Weapon Mount
A weapon mount is an assembly or mechanism used to hold a weapon (typically a gun) onto a platform in order for it to function at maximum capacity. Weapon mounts can be broken down into two categories: static mounts and non-static mounts. Static mount A static mount is a non-portable weapon support component either mounted directly to the ground, on a fortification, or as part of a vehicle. Turret A gun turret protects the crew or mechanism of a weapon and at the same time lets the weapon be aimed and fired in many directions. A turret is a rotating weapon platform, strictly one that crosses the armour of whatever it is mounted on with a structure called a barbette (on ships) or basket (on tanks) and has a protective structure on top (gunhouse). If it has no gunhouse it is a barbette, if it has no barbette (i.e., it is mounted to the outside of the vehicle's armour) it is an installation. Turrets are typically used to mount machine guns, autocannons or large- calibre guns. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Company (military Unit)
A company is a Military organization#Commands, formations, and units, military unit, typically consisting of 100–250 soldiers and usually commanded by a Major (rank), major or a Captain (armed forces), captain. Most companies are made up of three to seven platoons, although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure. Usually several companies are grouped as a battalion or regiment, the latter of which is sometimes formed by several battalions. Occasionally, ''independent'' or ''separate'' companies are organized for special purposes, such as the Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company, 1st Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company or the 3rd Force Reconnaissance Company. These companies are not organic to a battalion or regiment, but rather report directly to a higher level organization such as a Marine Expeditionary Force headquarters (i.e., a corps-level command). Historical background The modern military company became popularized during the reorganization of the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the Military, military forces of the United States. U.S. United States Code, federal law names six armed forces: the United States Army, Army, United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps, United States Navy, Navy, United States Air Force, Air Force, United States Space Force, Space Force, and the United States Coast Guard, Coast Guard. Since 1949, all of the armed forces, except the Coast Guard, have been permanently part of the United States Department of Defense. They form six of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Each of the different military services is assigned a role and domain. The Army conducts land operations. The Navy and Marine Corps conduct maritime operations, the Marine Corps specializing in amphibious and maritime littoral operations primarily for supporting the Navy. The Air Force conducts air operations. The Space Force conducts space operations. The Coast Guard is unique in that it specializes in maritime opera ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cartridge (firearms)
A cartridge, also known as a round, is a type of pre-assembled firearm ammunition packaging a projectile ( bullet, shot, or slug), a propellant substance ( smokeless powder, black powder substitute, or black powder) and an ignition device ( primer) within a metallic, paper, or plastic case that is precisely made to fit within the barrel chamber of a breechloading gun, for convenient transportation and handling during shooting. Although in popular usage the term "bullet" is often used to refer to a complete cartridge, the correct usage only refers to the projectile. Military and commercial producers continue to pursue the goal of caseless ammunition. Some artillery ammunition uses the same cartridge concept as found in small arms. In other cases, the artillery shell is separate from the propellant charge. A cartridge without a projectile is called a '' blank''; one that is completely inert (contains no active primer and no propellant) is called a '' dummy''; one that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Medium Machine Gun
A medium machine gun (MMG), in modern terms, usually refers to a belt-fed machine gun firing a full-powered rifle cartridge, and is considered "medium" in weight (). Medium machine guns are light enough to be infantry-portable (as opposed to a heavy machine gun, which completely relies on mounting onto a weapons platform for operational stability and mobility), but still cumbersome enough to require a crew for optimal operational efficiency (as opposed to a light machine gun, which can be operated to full capacity by only a single gunner). History Late 19th century In the late 19th century, Gatling guns and other externally powered types, such as the Nordenfelt, were often made in different ranges of calibers, such as half-inch and one-inch. Thanks to their many barrels, overheating was not a major issue, and they were also quite heavy, being, essentially, heavy machine guns. When Hiram Maxim developed his recoil-powered machine gun that used a single barrel, the f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
