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Somali pirates hijack oil tanker going to US: "...Comments: characters left Comments yankeeddl says: Get some old WWII PT Boats. They carry torpedos & Machine Guns and are very fast. The pirates would be no match for them. 11:09 AM MST on Tue., Nov. 3, 2009 re: "Rival..."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YETWAL4hSqM

The Best Targeter Bren Light Machine Guns

Bren Gun

The Bren (from Brno, the Czechoslovak city of design, and Enfield, site of the British Royal Small Arms Factory), usually called the Bren Gun, was a series of light machine guns adopted by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1991. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry light machine gun (LMG) in World War II, it was also used in the Korean War and saw service throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including the 1982 Falklands War and the 1991 Gulf War.

The Bren was a modified version of a Czechoslovak-designed light machine gun, the ZB vz. 26, which British Army officials had tested during a firearms service competition in the 1930s. The later Bren featured a distinctive curved box magazine, conical flash hider and quick change barrel. In the 1950s the Bren was rebarrelled to accept the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. Although fitted with a bipod, it could also be mounted on a tripod or vehicle-mounted.

The Bren was replaced as the section LMG by the L7 general purpose machine gun (GPMG), a heavier belt-fed weapon. This was in turn supplemented in the 1980s by the L86 Light Support Weapon firing the 5.56x45mm NATO round, leaving the Bren only in use on some vehicles.

As of November 2007, the Bren is still manufactured by Indian Ordnance Factories as the "Gun, Machine 7.62mm 1B".[1]

Development

The British Army adopted it in 1935 following extensive trials of the Czechoslovak ZB vz.26 light machine gun manufactured in Brno, although the ZB vz. 26 was not actually submitted for the trials; a slightly modified model was submitted, the ZB vz. 27. A licence to manufacture was sought and the Czech design was modified to British requirements. The major changes were in the magazine and barrel. The magazine was curved in order to feed the rimmed .303 British cartridge, a change from the various rimless Mauser-design cartridges used to date, such as the 7.92 mm Mauser round. These modifications were categorised in various numbered designations, ZB vz. 27, ZB vz. 30, ZB vz. 32, and finally the ZB vz. 33, which became the Bren.

Other weapons that were submitted for the trials were: the Madsen, Vickers-Berthier, Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR), and the Neuhausen KE7. The Vickers-Berthier was later adopted by the Indian Army and also saw extensive service in WWII.

A gas-operated weapon, the Bren used the same .303 ammunition as the standard British rifle, the Lee-Enfield, firing at a rate of between 480 and 540 rounds per minute (rpm), depending on model. Each gun came with a spare barrel that could be quickly changed when the barrel became hot during sustained fire, though later guns featured a chrome-lined barrel which reduced the need for a spare. The Bren was magazine-fed, which slowed its rate of fire and required more frequent reloading than British belt-fed machine guns such as the larger .303 Vickers machine gun. However, the slower rate of fire prevented more rapid overheating of the Bren's air-cooled barrel, and the Bren was several pounds lighter than belt-fed machine guns. Because it was more easily portable, it could be fired on the move and from standing positions. The magazines also prevented the ammunition from getting dirty, which was more of a problem with the Vickers with its 250-round canvas belts.

RPK

The RPK (Ruchnoy Pulemyot Kalashnikova, Russian: Ручной пулемёт Калашникова or "Kalashnikov hand-held machine gun") is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel with the AKM assault rifle. It was created as part of a program designed to standardize the small arms inventory of the Red Army, where it replaced the 7.62x39mm RPD light machine gun. The RPK continues to be used by the armed forces of countries of the former Soviet Union and certain African and Asian nations. The RPK was also manufactured in Bulgaria and Romania.

Features

The RPK has a new, heavier and extended barrel with an increased heat capacity. The chrome-lined barrel is permanently fixed to the receiver and cannot be replaced in the field. It is fitted with a new front sight base, gas block (lacks the bayonet lug) and an under-barrel cleaning rod guide. The barrel also features a folding bipod, mounted near the muzzle and a front sight base with a lug that limits the bipod's rotation around the barrel. The barrel's muzzle is threaded, enabling the use of a blank-firing adaptor. When the blank-firing attachment is not used, the threading is protected by a thread protector cap from the AK. The barrel is pinned to the receiver in a modified trunnion, reinforced by ribbing, and is slightly wider than the trunnion used in the AKM. Symmetrical bulges on both sides of the barrel chamber ensure proper fit inside the receiver.

The RPK receiver cover is stamped from a smooth 1.5 mm (0.1 in) sheet of steel (compared to only 1 mm sheet metal used in the AKM). Interchangeability of parts between the RPK and AKM is quite significant.

The RPK uses a different recoil mechanism as compared to the AKM, which consists of a rear spring guide rod from the AK, and a new forward flat guide rod and coil spring.

The RPK features a thicker wooden forearm, a fixed wooden buttstock shaped like the RPD stock, optimized for prone firing, and a pistol grip from the AKM.

The weapon is fed from box magazines with a 40-round capacity or a 75-round drum magazine, both are compatible with magazines used with the AK-47 and AKM series.

FN MAG

The MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale (FN) by Ernest Vervier. It is used by almost 70 countries, in 25 of those countries it is a standard-issue support weapon, it was produced locally in eight countries (Argentina, Egypt, India, Singapore, Sweden, Taiwan, the USA and the United Kingdom). The weapon’s name is an abbreviation for Mitrailleuse d'Appui Général[1]—"general purpose machine gun" (GPMG). The MAG is available in three primary versions: the standard, heavy infantry Model 60-20 machine gun, the Model 60-40 coaxial machine gun for armoured fighting vehicles and the Model 60-30 aircraft variant.

Operating mechanism

The MAG uses ignited powder gases vented through a port in the barrel to propel a gas piston rod connected to the locking assembly (it uses a long-stroke piston system). The barrel breech is locked with a vertically-tilting, downward locking lever mechanism that is connected to the bolt carrier through an articulated joint. The locking shoulder and camming surfaces that guide the locking lever are located at the base of the receiver. The MAG uses a series of proven design concepts from other successful firearms, for example the locking mechanism is modeled on that of the Browning M1918 (BAR) automatic rifle, and the feed and trigger mechanisms are from the WWII-era MG42 universal machine gun.

The MAG fires from an open bolt. Both the spring-powered extractor and ejector are contained in the bolt. After firing, spent cartridge casings are removed through an ejection port located at the base of the receiver (a spring-loaded dust cover of the MG42 type covers the ejection port). The machine gun has a striker firing mechanism (the bolt carrier acts as the striker as it contains a channel that houses the firing pin, which protrudes out from the surface of the bolt upon firing), an automatic-only trigger assembly and a manual cross-bolt push-button safety, which is located above the pistol grip. With the safety placed in the “safe” setting, the sear mechanism is disabled. The safety can only be engaged with the weapon cocked

High and Light Machine Guns

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1. The FN Minimi, one of the most popular modern 5.56 mm light machine guns among NATO countries.
2. PD-USGov-Military-Army}} LMG M249SAW (USA) 
3. Heckler & Koch MG4 of the German Army.
4. Bren light machine gun.
5. .30-.06 BAR Model 1918                                             

   

A machine gun is a fully automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle bullets in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute. The first design/invention of the machine gun was by Leonardo Da Vinci, presenting a design of an eight barreled machine gun that was operated manually by a handcrank, and was mounted onto the ground, and barely portable.

In United States law, machine gun is a term of art for any fully-automatic firearm, and also for any component or part that will modify an existing firearm into a fully-automatic firearm.[1] Machine guns are generally categorized as sub-machine guns, machine guns, or autocannons. Submachine guns are designed to be portable automatic weapons for personal defense or short range combat, and are intended to be fired while being hand held. Submachine guns use small pistol caliber rounds. A proper machine gun is often portable to a certain degree, but is generally used when mounted on a stand or fired from the ground on a bipod. Light machine guns can be fired hand held like a rifle, but the gun is more effective when fired from a prone position. Proper machine guns use larger caliber rifle rounds. The difference between machine guns and autocannons is based on caliber, with autocannons using calibers larger than 16 mm.[2]  

 

 

 

A light machine gun or LMG is a machine gun designed to be carried and fired by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant, and used in a front-line infantry support role. LMGs are often used as squad automatic weapons.

A light machine gun may be identified either by the weapon or by its tactical role. It is used to fire in short bursts, usually from a bipod: a sustained-fire mount such as a tripod is a characteristic of a medium machine gun. Some machine guns - notably General purpose machine guns - may be deployed as either a light machine gun or a medium machine gun. As a general rule, if a machine gun is deployed with a bipod it is a light machine gun; if deployed on a tripod it is a medium machine gun - unless it has a caliber of about 10mm or larger, making it a heavy machine gun. Modern light machine guns often fire smaller-caliber cartridges than medium machine guns, and are usually lighter and more compact. Light machine guns, such as the British Lewis, were first introduced in World War One to boost the firepower of the infantry. By the end of World War II, light machine guns were usually being issued on a scale of one per section or squad, and the modern infantry squad had emerged with tactics that were built around the use of LMGs. It is possible to fire a light machine gun from the hip or on the move, but this is seldom accurate. They are usually fired from a prone position using a bipod. Many light machine guns (such as the Bren gun or the BAR) were magazine-fed. Others, such as the MG 34, could be fed either from a belt or a magazine. Modern light machine guns are designed to fire more rounds of a smaller caliber and as such tend to be belt-fed. Some LMGs, such as the Russian RPK, are modifications of existing assault rifle designs. Adaptations generally include a larger magazine, a heavier barrel to resist overheating, a more robust mechanism to support sustained fire and a bipod. Other modern light machine guns, such as the FN Minimi, are capable of firing from either an ammunition belt or a detachable box magazine.

1. Madsen machine gun (Multi-caliber) 
2. Bergmann MG15 nA Gun (7.92 x 57mm) 
3. M1909 Benet-Mercie (.30-06 Springfield) 
4. Lewis Gun (.303 British) Bren (.303 British) 
5. Browning Automatic Rifle (.30-06 Springfield) 
6. Browning M1919A6 (LMG variant with stock and bipod) 

Fusil-Mitrailleur Mle 1915 'CSRG', 'Chauchat' light machine gun (8x50mmR Lebel) Degtyaryov light machine gun (7.62x54mm R)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    

The Madsen was a light machine gun developed by a Captain Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen of the Danish artillery in 1896 and adopted by the Danish Army in 1902. It was one of the first true light machine guns produced in quantity and sold to over 34 different countries worldwide, seeing extensive combat use in various conflicts around the globe for over 80 years.[1] The Madsen was produced by Compagnie Madsen A/S (later operating as Dansk Rekyl Riffel Syndikat A/S and then Dansk Industri Syndikat A/S).

Design details

The Madsen has a rather sophisticated and uncommon operating cycle not used in any other crew-served weapon. The machine gun uses a mixed recoil-operated locking system with a hinged bolt that is patterned after the lever-action Peabody Martini breechblock.[1] The recoil operation is part short and part long recoil. After firing a round, the initial recoil impulse drives the barrel, barrel extension, and bolt to the rear. A pin on the right side of the bolt moves backward in grooves in an operating cam plate mounted to the right side of the receiver. After 12.7 mm (0.5 in) of travel, the bolt is cammed upward, away from the breech (the "short" portion of the recoil system). The barrel and barrel extension continue to move rearward to a point slightly exceeding the combined overall length of the cartridge case and projectile (the long portion of the recoil system, responsible for the weapon's low rate of fire). After the breech is exposed, an odd lever-type extractor/ejector, mounted under the barrel, is pivoted to the rear, extracting the empty case and ejecting it through the bottom of the receiver. The bolt's operating cam then forces the bolt face to pivot downward, aligning a cartridge feed groove in the left side of the bolt with the chamber. While the bolt and barrel are returning forward, a cartridge-rammer lever, mounted on the barrel extension, is pivoted forward, loading a fresh cartridge.Up to and including World War I It was used extensively by the Imperial Russian Army, which bought 1,250 examples and deployed them during the Russo-Japanese war, and was deployed (arming infantry companies, mountain troops and later storm troopers) in 1914 by the German Army in 7.92 mm calibre. It saw service during World War I. It was considered expensive to produce, but was known for its reliability. It was sold to 34 nations in a dozen different calibres[2] before and after World War I, seeing service in China during the Warlord era.

Inter-war era

The gun was bought by the Paraguayans in the 1920s and early 1930s as that country quietly girded for war with Bolivia over mutual claims to the Gran Chaco region, and it served in the Paraguayan army in the Chaco War (1932-1935). Almost 400 were on hand when the war began, and more were bought as the war progressed.[3] When Brazil acquired some 23 CV-35 tankettes from Italy in the late 1930s, a majority of the vehicles were armed with twin-mounted 7 mm Madsens.World War II Madsen machine guns were still in use as late as April-June 1940 as the Norwegian Army's standard light machine gun in the Norwegian Campaign, 3,500 M/22s in 6.5x55 Krag being available for the defence of Norway. By 1940 each Norwegian infantry squad was allocated one Madsen machine gun, the weapon having previously been grouped in separate machine gun squads.[5][6] Each Norwegian infantry battalion had a standard complement of 36 Madsens, in addition to nine M/29 heavy machine guns. The Madsen machine gun was however not well liked amongst Norwegian soldiers as it had a tendency to jam after only a few rounds, leading to it gaining the nick name Jomfru Madsen (English: Virgin Madsen).[7] Captured Madsens were used by the Germans for second line units throughout the war, and the Danish Army did not retire the last Madsens until 1955. It was standard equipment (in 6.5 mm) with the Royal Netherlands East Indies Army (KNIL) during the inter-war period, some being captured and used by the Imperial Japanese Army after the fall of the Portuguese Colonial War During the Portuguese Colonial War of the 1960s and 1970s the Portuguese Army used Madsen machine guns. One of the employments of the Madsen was as temporary armament for Auto-Metralhadora-Daimler 4 × 4 Mod.F/64 armoured cars; which were Daimler Dingos modified with the addition of a turret-like structure.Continued use in Brazil

The Madsen continued to be used by the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil, in 7.62 calibre.[9] Although some of the Brazilian guns were captured from drug traffickers and pressed into service (mostly old weapons originating from the Argentine Army as well as some stolen from museums[10]), the majority of Madsens used by the Brazilian police were donated by the Brazilian Army. Those guns were .30 cal weapons converted to fit 7.62 mm NATO. Official sources state that the Brazilian army retired the Madsen machine gun in 1996. The Brazilian police guns are, as of 2008, being substituted by more modern guns with faster rates of fire.[11] It was reported that the last Madsen guns were finally retired in April 2008.[12] However, photos taken during clashes between Brazilian police and drug traffickers on October 19, 2009 clearly show the Madsen gun still in use by the Brazilian police.

The Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun was a French designed light machine gun of the early 20th century, developed and built by Hotchkiss et Cie. It was also known as the Hotchkiss Mark I and M1909 Benet-Mercie.

It was adopted by the French army as the Hotchkiss M1909 (or Mle 1909) in 1909, firing the 8 mm Lebel. A variant to use the .303 round was produced in Britain as the "Hotchkiss Mark I" and manufactured by Enfield. The British army employed three different types of machine gun: the Vickers medium machine gun, the Hotchkiss for cavalry use and the Lewis Gun with the infantry. It was adopted by the US in 1909 as the "Benet-Mercie Machine Rifle, Caliber .30 U. S. Model of 1909" firing the .30-06 cartridge. The name comes from three sources: Hotchkiss, the name of the American Benjamin B. Hotchkiss who started the company in France; the two main designers, Lawrence Benet and Henri Mercie; and the US designation system at time which label arms with 'Model of Year'. Lawrence Benet was related to the former head of US Army Ordnance at the time of adoption. It is also known as the Hotchkiss M1909 and M1909 Benet-Mercie but should not be confused with the heavier Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun.

It was also used by other countries, including Belgium, Spain, and Australia.

Lewis Gun

The Lewis Gun (or Lewis Automatic Machine Gun) is a World War I era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and most widely used by the forces of the British Empire. It was first used in combat in World War I, and continued in service with a number of armed forces all the way through to the end of the Korean War. It is visually distinctive because of a wide tubular cooling shroud around the barrel and top mounted drum-pan magazine. It was commonly used as an aircraft machine-gun, almost always with the cooling shroud removed, during both World Wars.

History U.S. Marines field test the Lewis machine gun in 1917. The Lewis Gun was invented by U.S. Army Colonel Isaac Newton Lewis in 1911, based on initial work by Samuel Maclean.[1] Despite its origins, the Lewis Gun was not initially adopted by the American military—most likely because of political differences between Lewis and General William Crozier, the Chief of the Ordnance Department.[2] Lewis became frustrated with trying to persuade the U.S. Army to adopt his design and so ("slapped by rejections from ignorant hacks", as he said[3]) retired from the Army, left the US in 1913 and headed to Belgium (and, shortly afterwards, the UK). He established the Armes Automatique Lewis company in Liege to facilitate commercial production of the gun.[4] In the meantime, Lewis had been working closely with British arms manufacturer BSA in an effort to overcome some of the production difficulties of the gun.[1] The Belgians quickly adopted the design in 1913, using the .303 British round, and not long after that, in 1914, BSA purchased a license to manufacture the Lewis Automatic Machine Gun in the UK, which resulted in Col. Lewis receiving significant royalty payments and becoming very wealthy.[3] The onset of World War I increased demand for the Lewis Gun, and BSA began production (under the designation Model 1914). The design was officially approved for service on 15 October 1915 under the designation "Gun, Lewis, .303-cal.".[5] No Lewis Guns were produced in Belgium during World War I;[6] all manufacture was carried out by BSA in the UK and Savage Arms Co. in the U.S.] Later, more aircraft guns were used on vehicle mounts in the heat of the Western Desert and again did not suffer without the tube. However, the Royal Navy retained the tubing on their deck-mounted AA-configuration Lewis Guns. Differences between British and American-made Lewis Guns The Lewis Gun was only produced by BSA and Savage Arms during World War I, and although the two guns were largely similar there were enough differences to stop them being completely interchangeable. In fact, even BSA-produced Lewis guns were not completely interchangeable with other BSA-produced Lewis guns, although this was rectified during World War II.[9] The major difference between the two designs was that the BSA guns were chambered for .303 British cartridges and the Savage guns were chambered for .30-06 cartridges, which necessitated some difference in the magazine along with the feeding mechanism, bolt, barrel, extractors, and gas operation system.[7] Savage did make Lewis Guns in .303 British calibre; the Model 1916 and Model 1917 were exported to Canada and Great Britain in this calibre and a few were also supplied to the U.S. military, particularly the U.S. Navy.[7] The Savage Model 1917 was generally produced in .30-06 calibre, however, and a number of these guns were supplied to the UK under lend-lease during World War II.

Google Map of Early European Photographs

Google Map of Early European Photographs: "Huis Doorn Photo Collection The Huis Doorn own a database of photographs from the collection of the German Emperor Wilhelm II (1859 - 1941). In 2007 they began digitising the 12,000 photos housed in this collection. So far, 5,500 photos have been processed. As well as digitising the collection the Huis Doorn are also geo-tagging the collection and displaying the photographs on a Google Map. Clicking on the photograph on the map will take you to a dedicated page for the photograph with detailed information about the selected image. The website is available in English and Dutch. ________________

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