What does M60 stand for?

The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links.

What does the M stand for in M60?

The M stands for Model. The M1903 rifles were named after the cartridge they used. i.e. M1900 = Model 1900 cartridge.

Why was the M60 called the Pig?

In Vietnam, the M60 dangled from helicopter doorways, stood guard on bunkers, and accompanied squads into combat. It became the “Hog” or the “Pig” to American soldiers because its report sounded like the grunt of a barnyard hog. The Army was enthusiastic when the M60 was being developed in the Cold War 1950s.

Do Navy SEALs still use M60?

Introduced in 1957, the M60 is still used by all branches of the U.S. military, and continues to be manufactured. The Navy SEALs use two M60 variants: the M60E3 (a lightweight version) and the M60E4 (designated MK43 Mod 0) by the U.S. Navy.

What was the nickname for the M60?

The M60 remained an infantry mainstay until 1994, when testing began on a possible replacement. The gun's latest variant, the M60E4, is arguably among the most mechanically perfect weapons of its kind. Since the United States adopted the gas-operated .

M60: Its Purpose, Mechanics, and Development

Is an M60 legal in the US?

A collector's item, the M60 is relatively hard to buy on the open market, with sales prices estimated by some auctioneers at $69,000 or more. Machine guns made since 1986 are banned in the US – but US federal law allows any weapons that were registered before 1986 to be traded on an approved basis.

Was the M60 used in Vietnam?

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.

What machine gun was used in Vietnam?

One of the most common infantry weapons used by U.S. troops in Vietnam was the M-60 machine gun, which could also be used as an artillery weapon when mounted or operated from a helicopter or tank.

Was the M60 Patton used in Vietnam?

The M60-based AVLB and the M728 CEV were the only variants of the M60 deployed to Vietnam. The Armored Vehicle Launch Bridge, commonly referred to as the "Bridge tank" was mounted on an M60 tank hull, and the M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle was an M60 tank mounting a short-tubed 165 mm main gun that fired a shaped charge.

Is M60 a good gun?

Though the M60 is reputed to have a mercurial nature, overall it has proven to be a reliable, robust weapon. During its development, one T161E2 machine gun was put through a sustained fire test in which it fired 25,000 rounds over the course of four hours at a rate of 100 rounds per minute.

How much ammo do soldiers carry in Vietnam?

During the Vietnam War, Soldiers were issued a semiautomatic rifle with automatic capability and up to 20 magazines of 20 rounds each along with fragmentation and colored smoke grenades.

What is the difference between M60 and M249?

The M60 was typically served by a gunner and one or two assistant gunners or ammunition bearers, but the M249 and ammunition were light enough it required only one soldier to operate, and additional ammo could be distributed through the squad to ordinary riflemen.

What does AR-15 stand for?

The “AR” in “AR-15” rifle stands for ArmaLite rifle, after the company that developed it in the 1950s. “AR” does NOT stand for “assault rifle” or “automatic rifle.” AR-15-style rifles are NOT “assault weapons” or “assault rifles.” An assault rifle is fully automatic, a machine gun.

Why is it called M16?

The Army tried the resulting rifle, the AR-15, out in 1958 and liked what the saw, pointing to a need for a lightweight infantry rifle. It was the Air Force, though, that was the first service to buy the rifle, calling it the M16, which serves American troops today.

Why is it called a M4?

Trivia. The M4 name is essentially a sequential continuation of the designations of military carbines which started with the M1 carbine. Colloquially, M4 has come to mean "shortened AR-15", with many non-Colt manufactured M4 rifles (Such as the Bushmaster M4) becoming known as "M4-geries".

What rifle did Carlos Hathcock use in Vietnam?

He was honored by having a rifle named after him: a variant of the M21 dubbed the Springfield Armory M25 White Feather, for the nickname "White Feather" given to Hathcock by the North Vietnamese People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN).

What is the life expectancy of a machine gunner in Vietnam?

What he was trying to tell me is the average life span of the machine gunner in Vietnam was seven seconds from the moment you pulled the trigger. There were three individuals that the Viet Cong would shoot for. Of course the officer, the radio man, and the M60 machine gunner.

What happened to all the M16 from Vietnam?

The harsh jungle climate corroded the rifle's chamber, exacerbated by the manufacturer's decision against chrome-plating the chamber. The ammunition that accompanied the rifles sent to Vietnam was incompatible with the M16 and was the principal cause of the failure to extract malfunctions.

What was the life expectancy of a M60 machine gunner in Vietnam?

We were told in training that the life expectancy of a machine gunner was about seven seconds from the moment the first round was fired.

What was the life expectancy of a helicopter pilot in Vietnam?

“They were short of gunners on helicopters, because the life expectancy was somewhere between 13 and 30 days,” he said. “I had no experience behind a . 60 caliber machine gun.”

What was the life expectancy of a corpsman in Vietnam?

When he was given a choice of jobs, he chose the duties of a corpsman and was sent to a Marine platoon in the 3rd Battalion, 1st Regiment, 1st Marine Division in 1970-1971. Corpsmen were needed in Vietnam: “Their life expectancy was about 50 percent,” he said.

What does AR stand for?

The AR in "AR-15" rifle stands for ArmaLite rifle, after the company that developed it in. the 1950s. "AR" does NOT stand for "assault rifle" or "automatic rifle." • AR-15-style rifles are NOT "assault weapons" or "assault rifles." An assault rifle is fully.

Can you own a 50 cal machine gun?

50 BMG (fifty caliber) rifles are illegal in California. They are prohibited by Penal Code 30610 PC and Penal Code 30600 PC, California's law on assault weapons. In fact, “BMG” stands for Browning Machine Gun. It was originally developed by John Browning (in a .

Can you legally own an M16?

You can own an M16 as a civilian depending on your state laws, however, since there are only so many of them available (none available for civilians after 1986), the price is high.