Heavy weapons platoon (HWP) is a term from

military science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

which refers to an

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may rang ...

equipped with

machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles ...

s, mortars,

rocket-propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads a ...

flamethrower A flamethrower is a ranged incendiary device designed to project a controllable jet of fire. First deployed by the Byzantine Empire in the 7th century AD, flamethrowers saw use in modern times during World War I, and more widely in World ...

grenade launcher A grenade launcher is a weapon that fires a specially-designed large-caliber projectile, often with an explosive, smoke or gas warhead. Today, the term generally refers to a class of dedicated firearms firing unitary grenade cartridges. The mo ...

anti-tank weapon Anti-tank warfare originated from the need to develop technology and Military tactics, tactics to destroy tanks during World War I. Since the Triple Entente deployed the first tanks in 1916, the German Empire developed the first anti-tank weapon ...

s, or any other weapons that are portable but heavier than a single infantryman can reasonably transport and operate by themselves for combat, generally a

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 pe ...

. Heavy weapons platoons are grouped into a

weapons company A weapons company, sometimes called a manoeuvre support company, is a company-sized military unit attached to an infantry battalion to support the rifle companies of the battalion. It usually possesses some combination of machine-guns, mortars, anti ...

or maneuver support company, which focuses on moving and using heavy weapons to support

light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often foug ...

rifle companies armed with standard-issue small arms.

British Army

In the British Army, the manoeuvre support company possesses an Anti-Tank platoon armed with 8 Javelin missile launchers, a reconnaissance platoon, a mortar platoon (with eight

81 mm mortar An 81 mm mortar is a medium-weight mortar. It is a smooth-bore, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used for long-range indirect fire support to light infantry, air assault, and airborne units across the entire front of a battalion zone of ...

s), an assault pioneer platoon, and, in the case of Light Role battalions, a machine gun platoon (with nine

FN MAG The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries and it has been made under licence in several countries, in ...

general purpose machine guns).

U.S. Army regulations

According to

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

regulations 320-5 (AR 320-5) "heavy weapons" are all "weapons such as mortars, howitzers, guns, heavy machineguns and

recoilless rifles A recoilless rifle, recoilless launcher or recoilless gun, sometimes abbreviated "RR" or "RCL" (for ReCoilLess) is a type of lightweight artillery system or man-portable launcher that is designed to eject some form of countermass such as propel ...

which are usually part of infantry equipment."

Size

As with most support units in any army, the size of a weapons platoon is generally smaller than that of its light infantry equivalent. For example, a typical light infantry platoon consists of 30 to 40 men divided in three or four squads (or sections) of 9–13 men, whereas a weapons platoon substitutes the squads with smaller groups for mortar teams, machine gun crews, anti-tank teams etc. Some platoons also include the assault element of a company. A company's weapons platoon will carry portable support weapons by sections, but also include a fast-attack light-infantry specialist squad of soldiers trained for breaching, raiding, and close combat. A heavy weapon platoon is generally used as a support group to a number of other platoons in the immediate command area/zone in question. A ratio of one heavy platoon to three basic infantry platoons is the accepted number, anything above or below this may result in a specialised "company" such as a rifle company, or a long-range support company. The addition of a HWP can greatly increase the chances of victory in a combat zone, due to the unique specialist abilities the soldiers in that group can offer to the company. In more modern times, the application of heavy weapon support groups has increased. The ability to provide covering fire, and the suppression tactics of the heavy platoon mean that it is better equipped to give cover, and forms a vital component to the overall success, supporting the bulk of the company as they advance. The advancement in troop transportation has lessened the problems of re-locating heavy weaponry and large quantities of ammunition.

Example: US Army Weapons Platoon in WW2

A February 1944

Table of organization and equipment A table of organization and equipment (TOE or TO&E) is the specified organization, staffing, and equipment of units. Also used in acronyms as 'T/O' and 'T/E'. It also provides information on the mission and capabilities of a unit as well as the u ...

show the following details about a US Army WW2 weapons platoon: * A Rifle Company was made up of 3 Rifle Platoons and 1 Weapons Platoon. * A Weapons Platoon was made up of a six-man Headquarters, a Mortar Section and a Light Machine Gun Section. * The Platoon Headquarters was armed with a single .50 caliber

M2 Browning The M2 machine gun or Browning .50 caliber machine gun (informally, "Ma Deuce") is a heavy machine gun that was designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, ...

heavy machine gun * The Mortar Section was made up of a two-man HQ and three five-man squads, each squad armed with a single 60mm

M2 mortar The M2 Mortar is a 60 millimeter smoothbore, muzzle-loading, high-angle-of-fire weapon used by U.S. forces in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War for light infantry support. Description The U.S. M2 60 mm mortar was licens ...

- a total of 17 men and 3 Mortars. * The Light Machine Gun Section was made up of a two-man HQ and two five-man squads, each squad armed with a single .30 caliber

M1919 Browning machine gun The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, ...

- a total of 12 men and 2 machine guns. * A full-strength Weapons platoon had 35 men in total with one officer. Apart from the special weapons, 16 of these men were issued with the light

M1 carbine The M1 carbine (formally the United States Carbine, Caliber .30, M1) is a lightweight semi-automatic carbine that was a standard firearm for the U.S. military during World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. The M1 carbine was produced ...

and 9 being issued the heavier

M1 Garand The M1 Garand or M1 rifleOfficially designated as U.S. rifle, caliber .30, M1, later simply called Rifle, Caliber .30, M1, also called US Rifle, Cal. .30, M1 is a semi-automatic rifle that was the service rifle of the U.S Army during World W ...

rifle. 5 of those armed with the M1 rifle were also issued with the

M7 grenade launcher The M7 grenade launcher, formally rifle grenade launcher, M7, was a 22 mm rifle grenade launcher attachment for the M1 Garand rifle that saw widespread use throughout World War II and the Korean War. The M7 was a tube-shaped device, with one end ...

. The remaining 10 men were armed with the

M1911 pistol The M1911 (Colt 1911 or Colt Government) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered for the .45 ACP cartridge. The pistol's formal U.S. military designation as of 1940 was ''Automatic Pistol, Caliber .45, M1911'' for t ...

as their sidearm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heavy Weapons Platoon Infantry units and formations fr:Arme#Les armes lourdes