To see the machine gun, go to
http://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?ei=UTF-8&p=m1919a4&js=1&fr=yfp-t-471-s&b=21&ni=20
It is a M1919A4 (Browning Light Machine Gun)
2007-08-09 10:17:33 · 16 answers · asked by yoyo 2 in Sports ➔ Outdoor Recreation ➔ Hunting
the barrel gets very hot while on automatic. The holes keep the heat down.
2007-08-09 10:20:13 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
The picture is of an Air Cooled Browning 30 cal LMG 1919 . Ma Duece is similar and has the same type of shrouding over the barrel. The barrel is surrounded by a perforated shroud to cool the barrel as with any firearm the more and faster it is shot the hotter the barrel gets decreasing the life of the barrel.
The shroud allows air to circulate around the barrel. Initially the high rate of fire weapons such as the browning and it's predecessors had a water jacket around the barrel to cool it.
http://www.1919a4.com/manuals/tm9-1205a.asp
2007-08-10 03:08:57 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
What you think is the barrel is actually a shroud that covers the barrel and the shroud itself acts like a heat sink to wick away heat but by adding holes in the shroud it allows the air to get in and conduct heat away from the barrel. It also acts as a protection for the shooter to keep them from getting burned. But don't grab ahold of the shroud without a glove if you have been doing sustaned fire. It will be hot also. Some machine guns have a solid jacket around them and to cool the barrel the jacket is filled with water.
2007-08-09 10:48:24 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 6⤊ 1⤋
Venting for cooling. If you look back at WW I and earlier machine guns they had a big round water jacket that was used to cool the barrel. They were not very portable as a result unless you had a mule or two handy. The air cooled versions are more readily moved from one spot to another.
2007-08-10 03:37:35 · answer #4 · answered by acmeraven 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's not actually on the barrel, it's in the cooling chamber around it. If the holes are in the muzzle, it's to diffuse the flash and the recoil.
It's a WWII 30 caliber light machine gun. The holes are not in the barrel, it's in the casing. They allow the barrel to cool, but not too fast. It's to diffuse the heat so the barrel does not warp.
2007-08-09 10:20:10 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 1⤋
Those are ventilating holes. It keeps the barrel rigid at very high temperatures (machine gun barrels get very hot when they are fired for extended periods) and it lets the barrel cool down while firing.
2007-08-09 10:21:24 · answer #6 · answered by Albannach 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
They are there to try and keep the barrel cool after repeated firing. Without these, the barrel would warp due to high heat and the gun would become useless.
2007-08-09 10:21:12 · answer #7 · answered by Brian 2 · 3⤊ 1⤋
After putting so many rounds through a solid barrel they had a tendency to overheat and subsequently melt, the holes are simply a cooling system for longer sustained fire and less chance of damage to the weapon.
2007-08-09 10:20:35 · answer #8 · answered by CrazyJ 3 · 0⤊ 4⤋
To keep the weight down and aid in cooling of the barrel, while at the same time protecting the hands (from burns) of the person handling the weapon.
2007-08-09 10:20:59 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 6⤋
i thnk it helps reduce the recoil. it works as a compensator.
2007-08-10 01:32:07 · answer #10 · answered by Aero 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋