Young americans — including countless recoil contributors and readers — have carried the m60 into scores of other conflicts around the world. M60 machine gun is an adaptation of the wwii german mg 42 machine gun and has been the general purpose machine gun used by the u.s. Firing an m60 machine gun from the hip in the jungle.
us army soldier with m60 machine gun vietnam war period
Regardless, during the vietnam war the m60 faithfully fulfilled its role as a general purpose machine gun on land, at sea and in the air.
Vietnam war us m60 gunner vietnam war gear
The m60, otherwise known as the pig. the m60 machine gun was not exactly a beloved weapon. He was a machine gunner, working from behind the “pig” (m60 machine gun) top an m113. The m60 saw its widest use with american infantry forces on the ground in vietnam. Every soldier in the rifle squad would carry an additional 200 linked rounds of ammunition for the m60, a.
Five variants of the m60 served in vietnam, equipping virtually every vehicle, armored personnel carrier, tank, helicopter and navy patrol craft.
The m60 would see its first combat use in the vietnam war in 1965 with the u.s. Flag images indicative of country of origin and not necessarily primary operator. Fortunately for america, the “pig” did fly over vietnam, much to the chagrin of the viet cong and the nva. Many american veterans remember the m60 machine gun.
The m60 later served in the vietnam war as a squad automatic weapon with many united states units.
The m60 machine gun might be the single most iconic weapon of the vietnam war. The m60 was ubiquitous in the vietnam war. Some of them recall it fondly, others less so. The m60 machine gun is as much a symbol of the vietnam war as the peace sign.
When it came to heavy machine guns used in vietnam, they largely were guns still in use since world war ii, like the m2 browning and its various configurations.
Selected by the military in 1957, the m60 was used as the broom to sweep the older m1919 machine guns, m2 and m3 carbines, and even the few remaining thompson subguns out the door. The m60 machine gun began development in the late 1940s as a program for a new, lighter 7.62 mm machine gun. In the vietnam war, the m60 was used in every conceivable role for a machine gun: Army officially adopted the m60 in 1957.
While some of these guns lived on in secondary roles for a while longer, the m60 was indisputable the new king of the castle.
The weapon and its variants remained in us service into the 1990s, exceeding the us service life of the browning m1919a4. Nicknamed “the pig” due to its size, weight and sound, the gun struck fear into enemy troops. Regardless, during the vietnam war the m60 faithfully fulfilled its role as a general purpose machine gun on land, at sea and in the air. Vietnam war m60 machine gun looks and feels just like a live gun, but cannot be made to fire.
A marine on patrol crosses a rice paddy in vietnam holding an m60 machine gun in 1966.
Found on the shoulders of troops on the ground, on the top of tanks, and in the doors of helicopters, it truly. But these problems did not keep the m60 from becoming the most widely used machine gun by us forces during the vietnam war. It was a fixture in vietnam. The replacement for the browning automatic rifle of world war ii fame, it was the primary squad machine gun of the vietnam war.
It was derived from german machine guns of world war ii (most notably the fg 42 and to a lesser extent the mg 42), but it contained american innovations as well.
There were recommendations made by study groups to. The m60, like the m14 and “huey” helicopters, is indelibly associated with the vietnam war. This gave it several nicknames by vietnam era soldiers such as the “mf” and “pig”. Field modifications to the m60 were seen throughout vietnam.
But there was a new machine gun being carried at the squad level:
It was intended to replace the m1918 browning automatic rifle and m1919a6 browning machine gun in the squad automatic weapon role, and in the medium machine gun role. And to celebrate stanley kubrick's timeless film full metal jacket, a short piece on the venerable “pig” is in order. The m60 general purpose machine gun was one of the vietnam war’s iconic weapons. There are a total of [ 20 ] vietnam war machine guns entries in the military factory.
Mounted on trucks, jeeps, armored personnel carriers, and other vehicles;
While it served well for many soldiers, providing heavy, accurate firepower, it also revealed many more. It later served in the. Second only to the huey helicopter as the “most recognizable” weapon of its era according to a poll by the trade journal army times, the m60 machine gun was everywhere in the southeast asia conflict.
