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.