Re: WWII MGs

At 12:25 PM -0500 3/7/03, Flak Magnet wrote:
>
>And here I'm thinking that mines and arty were the only viable
>area-denial weapons.  Go figure.

Mortars were new at the time. MGs were pretty well and developed at the
time.

You can get a finer Area denial with the MGs than you can with 
mortars and AFVs weren't an issue much at the time. All that plunging 
fire would naturally preclude the use of trenches with out over head 
fire.

Max range was something like 4600 yards. Pretty respectable. At about 
a belt a minute standard fire rate (bursts, faster than what modern 
MGs can keep up and not over heat) you have about 7 belts worth 
before your barrel jacket has boiled off. Fill it back up or maintain 
it and you're good to go for far more belts. Barrels are good for 
10,000 rounds if kept cool.

>
>I was thinking more along the lines of line-infantry weapons, though I
>didn't explicity state that.

Infantry weapons are generally too light to be water cooled. The 
water iteself is bloody heavy. Vickers gun teams tended to have a 
vehicle of some sort for each gun. A Vickers carrier (universal 
carrier) in WWII was ideal. You'd move to the battle area in the 
vehicle, sometimes operate from the vehicle, sometimes from ground 
positions. The effective range allowed for a nice long distance from 
your targets as I understand it.

>
>>From what I hear, there are 3rd world countries still training with
>Vickers.  It's a gun that should never die...

India still has them. So does Pakistan. I see them in photo's of 
Kashmir every so often. They have the range and the firepower (as 
well as reliability) to handle the harsh conditions. Those receivers 
are all milled steel that's forged in some cases. They're bloody 
tough guns and last for millions of rounds. If you look close, you'll 
see Enfields, Brens, Fals and other old british weapons alongside the 
AKs that are really only good for short ranged work. Those enfields 
can put lead out to 1000 yards.

http://photo.worldnews.com/PhotoArchive//Kurt/RPH2002121100596_large.jpg

Fn Fal, Mk III turtle helmet (I think). WWI Mills Pattern sling, just
green.

I'll see these photos and videos every so often. When you see 
footage, look close at what they have.

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