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Light machine gun

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The FN Minimi, one of the most popular modern 5.56 mm light machine guns among NATO countries.
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The FN Minimi, one of the most popular modern 5.56 mm light machine guns among NATO countries.
The 0.303 in. Bren gun. British and Commonwealth LMG; in service with the former from 1938 to 1991
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The 0.303 in. Bren gun. British and Commonwealth LMG; in service with the former from 1938 to 1991

A light machine gun (commonly abbreviated LMG) is a categorization type (or class) of machine guns that are generally lighter than other machine guns of its period, and usually designed to be carried by an individual soldier, but sometimes with an assistant. In practice, they are either automatic rifles (machine rifles) or medium machine guns with a bipod, a stock, and sometimes a pistol grip. Modern light machine guns are often chambered for smaller calibers than medium machine guns, and are mostly considerably lighter and more compact.

Usually, a light machine gun is intended to act as a support weapon, in that it can generate a greater volume of continuous automatic fire than the usual firearms carried by infantry soldiers, at the cost of greater weight and higher ammunition consumption.

While it is usually possible to fire a light machine gun "from the hip" or on the move, a soldier would only do this to advance in position. The enemy would stay in cover as the soldier opens fire while moving. Actual accuracy is achieved when fired from a prone position, especially when using a bipod. Early light machine guns (especially those derived from automatic rifles, such as the Browning Automatic Rifle) were sometimes magazine-fed. Modern light machine guns, however, are designed to fire more rounds of a smaller calibre ammunition and as such tend to use a belt of ammunition; this allows them to fire continually for longer periods of time without the need to reload. Other modern light machine guns, such as the Minimi, are capable of firing from both an ammunition belt or a detachable box-type magazine.

Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons (SAW).

Contents

[edit] Selected Examples

A Romanian soldier aids a United States Marine in clearing an RPK during the weapons familiarization phase of Exercise Rescue Eagle 2000 at Babadag Range, Romania, on July 15, 2000.
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A Romanian soldier aids a United States Marine in clearing an RPK during the weapons familiarization phase of Exercise Rescue Eagle 2000 at Babadag Range, Romania, on July 15, 2000.

These were either exclusively light machine guns, had a light machine gun variant or were employed in the light machine gun role with certain adaptations:

[edit] 1900s–1920s

[edit] 1920s–1950s

[edit] 1950s–1970s

[edit] 1970s-Present

[edit] See also

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