Re: [SGII] Heavy Support Weapons

At 8:47 AM -0600 4/5/02, DAWGFACE47@webtv.net wrote:
>WELL,	about a geologic age ago, the so-called LMG and GPMG fired the
>same cartridge in use with the basic rifle  caliber.
>
>the bipod  concept was to permit rapid battlefield and tactical
movement
>for  these beltt, magazine or clip (yes clip was not a magazine
>originally) fed air cooled  LMG in an age when most  MGs were water
>cooled,  and  mounted on  tripods or wheeled carriages.

<pet peeve>
They still aren't technically clips despite everyone wanting to call 
them such. M16's don't have clips, they have detachable box 
magazines. M1 Garands have clips, en-bloc clips. Enfield rifles use 
chargers (a kind of clip) that is used to load or charge the magazine 
which is a detachable box magazine that is hardly ever detached.
</pet peeve>

>the GPMG machine concept was a rifle caliber air-cooled weapon mounted
>on a tripod for sustained and plotted fires from a defensive  position
>OR used with a bipod as a LMG.

It used to be called the Heavy MG in the days of yore based on it's 
amount of fire. The water cooled models are the ones I speak of.

A Vickers gun with a good supply of water and ammo could fire all 
day. They could be used in fact for long range indirect interdiction 
fire. The volume and duration of fire is amazing.

>HMG, are an outgrowth of  WW I 11MM FRENCH AA machineguns and GERMAN
big
>bore AT rifles.

Or American. We call those heavy machine guns now. Back then, they 
were Anti-tank rifles.

>as i remember it, the UK, USA, and USSR were the only nations to
>actively employ 12.7 mm or larger caliber HMG in WW II and between
wars.
>maybe the ITALIANS, too.
>
>as HMG these were always mounted on  infantry tripods, aircraft,
>vehicles, and	ships. early model USA HMG were water cooled but quickly
>became air-cooled before  WW II.

So were some of the British large calibre MGs. There were .51 (iirc) 
Vickers guns that were water cooled. I think the Pompoms fell into 
the Cannon class though.

>then along came NATO, which went from a 7.62mm rifle and LMG/GPMG
>cartridge to a 5.56mm rifle cartridge (thank you UNCLE SUGAR!).
>
>which inturn saw the  birth of the 5.56mm SAW.

Which the us took a long time to see as useful. FN jumped on the 7.62 
market and the 5.56 market very wisely when it came to MGs.

>  and the point is?
>
>SAW shoud have a higher rate of fire (maybe) than an assault rifle or
>ACR (does not matter if the bullet/flechette is launched with explosive
>cartride, binary propellant, or gauss pulse) ut IMPACT and ARMOR
>DEFEATING POTENTIAL SHOULD BE THE SAME !
>
>now , if the LMG/GPMG uses a more powerful round, even it it shoots
>slower than the  SAW,	IMPACT and ARMOR DEFEATING POTENTIAL SHOULD BE
>BETTER! also range, and accuracy!
>
>and now we come to the monster bore HMG and anti-material weapons.  the
>HMG maybe slower shooting  than the SAW, BUT, boyo, boyo, boyo who ever
>is on the  recieving end is in deep shit!
>and the ATR is slower shooting still, but,  the love tap at the
>recieiving end will ruin the reciever's whole day!

The HMGs and ATRs should have the same impact. Perhaps the HMG should 
have the same impact as an HMR?

>so these should be rated as very powerful weapons when compared to
SAWs,
>GPMGs/LMGs, and individual weapons that fire projectiles.

All good logic.

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