Was the M60 a good gun?
American soldiers loved it and hated it. They loved its reliability and rate of fire but disliked its bulk, which earned it the nickname “the Pig.” Changing the barrel on an M60 was an awkward, cumbersome task, all but impossible in the heat of battle.
What caliber does an M60 shoot?
7.62mm
M60 7.62mm Machine Gun. The M60 Machine Gun has been the US Army’s general purpose machine gun since 1950. It fires the standard NATO 7.62 mm round and is used as a general support crew-served weapon. It has a removable barrel which can be easily changed to prevent overheating.
How many bullets does an M60 hold?
The M60 is a gas-operated, air-cooled, belt-fed, automatic machine gun that fires from the open-bolt position and is chambered for the 7.62 mm NATO cartridge. Ammunition is usually fed into the weapon from a 100-round bandolier containing a disintegrating, metallic split-link belt.
Why was the M60 so bad?
A common complaint was the weapon’s weight; though the M60 was among the lightest 7.62 mm machine guns of the era, the weapon was poorly balanced, and thus awkward to carry for long periods.
Why did the US stop using the M60?
In the 1980s, the M60 was partially replaced by the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon within Army infantry squads. Their new doctrine with the weapon reduced the general-purpose machine gun role in favor of portability and a greater volume of fire. The weapon still was not durable and its performance was reduced.
What wars was the M60 machine gun used in?
In the Vietnam War, the M60 was used in every conceivable role for a machine gun: mounted on trucks, jeeps, armored personnel carriers, and other vehicles; on tripods inside fortifications; on aircraft and boats. The M60 saw its widest use with American infantry forces on the ground in Vietnam.
Where did the M60 machine gun come from?
The M60 machine gun began development in the late 1940s as a program for a new, lighter 7.62 mm machine gun. 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.
What is the rate of Fire of a M60 machine gun?
The M60 is a gas-operated, air-cooled, belt-fed, automatic machine gun that fires from the open-bolt position and is chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO. It has a cyclic rate of fire of around 500–650 rounds per minute (RPM).
What was the M60 in the Vietnam War?
The U.S. Army officially adopted the T160E3 as the M60 in 1957. It later served in the Vietnam War as a squad automatic weapon with many U.S. units. Every soldier in the rifle squad would carry an additional 200 linked rounds of ammunition for the M60, a spare barrel, or both.
What kind of machine gun did Walter White have?
The M60 was legendary in film and TV over the past half century. This has made it probably one of the most recognizable belt-fed machine guns in modern history. Heck, the final season of Breaking Bad seems to revolve around an M60 machine gun in Walter White’s trunk. M60D had spade grips for pintel mounting on ships, vehicles and aircraft.