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Light Machine Gun

 
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A light machine gun or LMG is a machine gun
Machine gun

A machine gun is a Automatic firearm mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire List of rifle cartridgess in quick succession from an Belt or large-capacity Magazine , typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
 that is generally lighter than other machine guns of the same period, and is usually designed to be carried by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant.






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M249mg
Mg4
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A light machine gun or LMG is a machine gun
Machine gun

A machine gun is a Automatic firearm mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire List of rifle cartridgess in quick succession from an Belt or large-capacity Magazine , typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute....
 that is generally lighter than other machine guns of the same period, and is usually designed to be carried by an individual soldier, with or without an assistant. Modern light machine guns often fire smaller-caliber cartridge
Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and Percussion cap into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm....
s than medium machine gun
Medium machine gun

A medium machine gun or MMG, in modern terms, usually refers to a Belt automatic firearm firing a full-power rifle Cartridge and typically weighs from 15 to 40 pounds ....
s, and are usually lighter and more compact. LMGs are often used as squad automatic weapon
Squad automatic weapon

A squad automatic weapon is a light machine gun or general purpose machine gun, used by a military. They are designed to give infantry squads or Section s a compact and mobile method source of suppressive fire....
s.

There is confusion between what is a true light machine gun and what is a medium machine gun. Some weapons on this page, as written, are not in any way light machine guns (for example, the Browning 1919).

The term "light machine gun" is both literal and context-sensitive. Some machine guns - notably General purpose machine gun
General purpose machine gun

A general purpose machine gun in concept is a multi-purpose weapon, a machine gun intended to fill the role of either a light machine gun or medium machine gun, while at the same time being man-portable....
s - may be deployed as either a light machine gun or a medium machine gun. As a general rule, if a machine gun is deployed with a bipod it is a light machine gun; if deployed on a tripod it is a medium machine gun
Medium machine gun

A medium machine gun or MMG, in modern terms, usually refers to a Belt automatic firearm firing a full-power rifle Cartridge and typically weighs from 15 to 40 pounds ....
 (unless it has a barrel diameter of about 10mm or larger, making it a heavy machine gun
Heavy machine gun

The heavy machine gun is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I....
).

Originally, the machinegun was the antithesis of infantry
Infantry

Infantry are soldiers who are primarily trained for the role of fighting on foot. A soldier in the infantry is known as an infantryman. Infantry units have more physically demanding training than other branches of armies, and place a greater emphasis on fitness, physical strength and aggression....
 tactics, as was especially obvious in World War One and the high casualties of 1914 and 1915. It was obvious to several militaries that a light machinegun at the platoon
Platoon

A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two to four Section or squads and containing about 30 to 50 soldiers. Platoons are organised into a company , which typically consists of three, four or five platoons....
 or squad
Squad

In military terminology, a squad is a small military unit led by a non-commissioned officer that is subordinate to an infantry platoon. In countries following the British Army tradition this organization is referred to as a section ....
 level would boost the firepower of infantry and allow them to suppress targets like enemy machinegun posts. By the end of the war, light machineguns were sometimes being issued on a scale of one per section or squad, and the modern infantry squad had emerged with tactics that were built around the use of LMGs.

It is possible to fire a light machine gun from the hip or on the move, but this is seldom accurate. They are usually fired from a prone position, especially when using a bipod
Bipod

A bipod is a support device that is similar to a tripod or monopod, but with two legs. It provides significant stability along two Coordinate axis of motion ...
. Early light machine guns (especially those derived from automatic rifles, such as the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle) were sometimes magazine
Magazine (firearm)

A magazine is an ammunition storage and feeding device within or attached to a repeating firearm. Magazines may be integral to the firearm or removable ....
-fed. Some LMGs, such as the Russian RPK
RPK

The RPK is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet Union design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel to the AKM assault rifle....
, are modifications of existing assault rifle
Assault rifle

An assault rifle is a rifle designed for combat, with selective fire . Assault rifles are the standard small arms in most modern Army, having largely superseded or supplemented battle rifles such as the World War II-era M1 Garand rifle and SVT-40....
 designs. Adaptations generally include a larger magazine, heavier barrel to resist overheating, more robust action to support sustained fire, and often a bipod. Modern light machine guns are designed to fire more rounds of a smaller caliber ammunition and as such tend to use a belt
Belt (firearm)

A belt is a device that holds cartridge adjacent to each other in a single row for feeding into a firearm, typically a machine gun. The belt itself only serves to link the cartridges together so that they may be fired in a uniform manner; it does not perform the feeding of the firearm....
 of ammunition; this allows them to fire for longer periods of time without the need to reload. Other modern light machine guns, such as the FN Minimi
FN Minimi

The Minimi is a Belgium 5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun developed by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal in Herstal by Ernest Vervier. First introduced in 1974, it has entered service with the armed forces of several countries, among them: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand, Sweden, the...
, are capable of firing from either an ammunition belt or a detachable box magazine.

Selected examples


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

1900s–1940s

  • Madsen machine gun
    Madsen machine gun

    The Madsen was a light machine gun developed by a Captain Vilhelm Herman Oluf Madsen of the Denmark artillery in 1896 and adopted by the Danish Army in 1902....
     (Multi-caliber)
  • M1909 Benet-Mercie
    Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gun

    The Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun was a French designed light machine gun of the early 20th century, developed and built by Hotchkiss et Cie. It was also known as the Hotchkiss Mark I and M1909 Benet-Mercie....
     (.30-06 Springfield
    .30-06 Springfield

    The .30-06 Springfield cartridge or 7.62 x 63 mm in metric notation, was introduced to the United States Army in 1906 and standardized, used until the 1960s and early 1970s....
    )
  • Hotchkiss Mk I
    Hotchkiss M1909 Benet-Mercie machine gun

    The Hotchkiss M1909 machine gun was a French designed light machine gun of the early 20th century, developed and built by Hotchkiss et Cie. It was also known as the Hotchkiss Mark I and M1909 Benet-Mercie....
     (.303 British
    .303 British

    .303 British, or 7.7mmx56R, is a .311 inch calibre rifle and machine gun Cartridge first developed in United Kingdom in the 1880s as a blackpowder round, later adapted to use cordite and then smokeless powder propellant....
    )
  • Lewis machine gun
    Lewis Gun

    The Lewis Gun is a pre-World War I era light machine gun of American design that was perfected and most widely used by the forces of the British Empire....
     (.303 British)
  • ZB vz.26
    ZB vz.26

    The ZB vz. 26 was a Czechoslovak light machine gun developed in the 1920s, which went on to enter service with several countries. It would see its major use during World War II, and spawned the related ZB vz....
     (7.92x57mm Mauser
    7.92x57mm Mauser

    The 7.92x57mm Cartridge was designed by the Germany Gewehr-Pr?fungskommission for the Model 1888 Commission Rifle and later used in Mauser bolt-action rifles....
    )
  • Bren (.303 British)
  • Browning Automatic Rifle (.30-06 Springfield)
  • Browning M1919
  • Fusil-Mitrailleur Mle 1915 'CSRG', 'Chauchat'
    Chauchat

    The Chauchat was a light machine gun used mainly by the France Army but also by seven other nations, including the USA, during and after World War I....
     light machine gun (8x50mmR Lebel
    8 mm Lebel

    The 8x50Rmm French rifle Cartridge was the first smokeless powder cartridge to be made and adopted by any country. It was introduced by France in 1886....
    )
  • Degtyaryov light machine gun (7.62x54mm R)
  • RPD
    RPD

    The RPD is a 7.62 mm caliber light machine gun developed in the Soviet Union by Vasily Degtyaryov for the intermediate 7.62x39mm cartridge. It was created as a replacement for the Degtyaryov light machine gun machine gun chambered for the 7.62x54mmR Mosin-Nagant rifle round....
     & RPDM (7.62x39mm)


1950s–1970s

  • RPK
    RPK

    The RPK is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet Union design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel to the AKM assault rifle....
     (7.62x39mm)
  • MG51
    MG51

    The 7,5mm Maschinengewehr 1951 or Mg 51 is a General Purpose Machine Gun manufactured by Waffenfabrik Bern of Switzerland. The weapon was introduced into Swiss service when the Swiss Army initiated a competition for a new service machine gun to replace the Heavy machine gun MG 11 and the light machine gun Lmg 25, adopted in 1911 and 192...
     (7.5mm GP11)
  • FN MAG
    FN MAG

    The MAG is a Belgium 7.62 mm caliber general purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale de Herstal by Ernest Vervier....
     (7.62x51mm NATO)
  • M60
    M60 machine gun

    The M60 is a family of United States general purpose machine guns firing 7.62x51mm NATO Cartridge s from a disintegrating Belt of M13 links. It can fire three types of ammunition, ball, tracer, and armor piercing....
     (7.62x51mm NATO
    7.62x51mm NATO

    The 7.62x51mm NATO is a rifle Cartridge developed in the 1940s and 50s as a standard for small arms among NATO countries. Specifications for the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge are not identical to the commercial .308 Winchester though they are safely interchangeable....
    )


1970s-present

  • RPK-74 (5.45x39mm
    5.45x39mm

    The Soviet 5.45x39mm round was introduced into service in 1974 for use with the new AK-74 assault rifle. It gradually supplemented and then largely replaced the 7.62x39mm round in service....
    )
  • FN Minimi
    FN Minimi

    The Minimi is a Belgium 5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun developed by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal in Herstal by Ernest Vervier. First introduced in 1974, it has entered service with the armed forces of several countries, among them: Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Greece, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Thailand, Sweden, the...
     (5.56x45mm NATO)
    • M249 Squad Automatic Weapon
      M249 Squad Automatic Weapon

      The M249 squad automatic weapon , formally Squad Automatic Weapon, 5.56 mm, M249, is an American version of the Belgium Fabrique Nationale de Herstal FN Minimi....
       (5.56x45mm NATO)
    • Mk 48 Mod 0 (7.62x51mm NATO)
  • IMI Negev
    IMI Negev

    The Negev is an Israeli 5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun, developed by Israel Weapons Industries of Ramat HaSharon , as a replacement for the 5.56 mm IMI Galil light machine gun, whose barrel would overheat easily during sustained fire....
     (5.56x45mm NATO)
  • CETME Ameli
    CETME Ameli

    The Ameli is a 5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun designed for the Spanish Army by the nationally owned and operated Centro de Estudios T?cnicos de Materiales Especiales research institute ....
     (5.56x45mm NATO)
  • Heckler & Koch MG4
    Heckler & Koch MG4

    The MG4 is a belt 5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun designed and developed by the Germany company Heckler & Koch. The weapon was developed in the late 1990s and was first seen publicly in September 2001....
     (5.56x45mmNATO)
  • Ultimax 100
    Ultimax 100

    The Ultimax 100 is a Singaporean 5.56x45mm NATO light machine gun, developed by the ST Kinetics ? CIS by a team of engineers under the guidance of United States firearms designer L....
     (5.56x45mm NATO)
  • L86 LSW (5.56x45mm NATO)
  • Heckler & Koch MG36 (5.56x45mm NATO)


See also

  • General purpose machine gun
    General purpose machine gun

    A general purpose machine gun in concept is a multi-purpose weapon, a machine gun intended to fill the role of either a light machine gun or medium machine gun, while at the same time being man-portable....
  • Medium machine gun
    Medium machine gun

    A medium machine gun or MMG, in modern terms, usually refers to a Belt automatic firearm firing a full-power rifle Cartridge and typically weighs from 15 to 40 pounds ....
  • Heavy machine gun
    Heavy machine gun

    The heavy machine gun is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I....
  • Squad automatic weapon
    Squad automatic weapon

    A squad automatic weapon is a light machine gun or general purpose machine gun, used by a military. They are designed to give infantry squads or Section s a compact and mobile method source of suppressive fire....