Machine Gun Team
1] Gunner
2] Assistant gunner
3] Ammunition bearer
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What exactly do all these men do?..The way it sounds is one man shoots and the others just stand their and load it?..It seems they would have rifles or something to help fire..So what exactly do these men do?
2006-09-28 23:49:31 · 7 answers · asked by Anonymous in Politics & Government ➔ Military
Everyone except the gunner has also an assault rifle.
The Assistant gunner keeps the belt of ammo untangled all the time. He also takes over when the gunner is killed- which is soon because he is a prime target for the enemy. He also assists in choosing where to fire.
The Ammunition bearer just carries around two boxes of extra ammo, and brings them over when they are needed. (Otherwise he is just a regular rifle man- he just has to carry more, poor sod)
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This wasn't about a heavy machine gun, which is usually mounted in a defensive position, a jeep or a boat. They take more than 3 people to carry into position anyway.
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Watering isn't necessary- you just have to keep short pauses between every 100 (or every belt) shot. Or maybe that's just in Finland where it is bloody cold. ;)
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In fact, a soldier in a light mortar unit is required to not only carry his equipment (about 30kg), plus his rifle 4kg, plus a mortar part (20kg) for extended distances. In national service we had guys who were almost lugging around their own weight in equipment. :D
This of course bears no comparison to what the rocket launcher crew has to carry... A light machine gun only weighs about 7-8 kg. I can't remember how much the ammo weighed, but probably aroun 6kg each for a box.
2006-09-28 23:53:59 · answer #1 · answered by dane 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Do you have any idea how much an M-50 weighs and how much the ammunition weighs...think about carrying those through a jungle or up a sand dune. The old Maxim gun took a crew of about 15...but it won the Zulu war. Try this, get a five pound weight, about 2 kgs, and hang it over your shoulder and walk a few kilometres or so....now the machine gun weighs several times that amount and the ammuntion weighs more...a normal man can carry about 80 pounds for a limited distance...how about all day? Would you like also to carry a rifle too? Remember too the firing speed of the machine gun...while it is not fired continuously but in bursts to prevent distortion of the barrel but if we did so, all the ammuntion both men carried would be used up in only a few minutes.
2006-09-29 00:01:35 · answer #2 · answered by Frank 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
What the heck? People are talking about "watering" machines guns? They're not plants, damn it! Water cooled machine guns were used sparingly in WWII and discontinued after that because the equipment was outmoded technology. Air cooled guns are what we use now. Keeping the gun properly lubricated is a concern, though.
The ammo biach uses his rifle for security or could carry a light machine gun such as the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW).
2006-09-29 02:26:27 · answer #3 · answered by Mike R 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My MOS was 0331. M60 machine gunner. The A-gunner and Ammo bearer had M16's and the gunner had a 45cal pistol for a backup weapon.
2006-09-29 03:56:05 · answer #4 · answered by RayRay 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The gunner does the shooting . the A-gunner loads and directs the gunners fire , the ammo man passes ammo and uses his rifle as needed .
2006-09-29 00:47:00 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
They do have their sidearms also, but you don't realize the scale of the Heavy Machine guns or heavy weapons category.
2006-09-28 23:54:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
They have to keep the gun fed and watered. If you have a weapon that can dispense hundreds of rounds of heavy bullets a minute, you need a team to do that.
2006-09-29 00:00:00 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋