Heavy machine gun
This article needs additional citations for verification. (January 2021) |
A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns.[1] HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or tactically mobile, have more formidable firepower, and generally require a team of personnel for operation and maintenance.
There are two classes of weapons generally defined as HMGs:
- The historical definition refers to machine guns, typically chambered in standard Maxim machine gun and M1917 Browning machine gun.
- The modern definition refers to "heavy caliber" machine guns, pioneered by the 12.7×99mm, 12.7×108mm and 14.5×114mmcartridges.
Classification
The term originally referred to the generation of machine guns which came to prominence in the lead up to and during
The modern definition refers to a class of machine guns chambered in "heavy caliber" ammunition, generally with a minimum
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.[citation needed]
History
In the late 19th century, Gatling guns and other externally powered types such as 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 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: 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
Designs
Machine guns diverged into heavier and lighter designs. The later model water-cooled Maxim guns and its derivatives 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 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.
Light machine guns
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 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
were portable by one soldier, but were made for single and burst fire.Medium models
The medium designs offered greater flexibility, either being fitted with a
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 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 the
World War II and later
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 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.
See also
- Autocannon
- Medium machine gun
- Squad automatic weapon
- List of firearms
- List of machine guns
- List of multiple barrel machine guns
References
- ^ "Machine Gun". Britannica.
- ^ "How The Machine Gun Changed Combat During World War I". Norwich University Online.
- ^ "Medium Caliber Ammunition (MCA) - USAASC".