Posted on 02/06/2021 6:52:57 AM PST by Onthebrink
The United States military is currently seeking to replace its M4 Carbine and M249 squad assault weapon (SAW), while the M240 could also soon be replaced by a more modern platform. And while the M240’s replacement could even fill the role employed by the M2 .50 caliber, it isn’t likely the “Ma Deuce” will be retired anytime soon. Despite its nearly 90 years of service, it just does the job.
It is just one of a few weapons that remained in the American arsenal for decades. Here are what I would argue are just a sample of some of the longest-serving guns in U.S. military history:
(Excerpt) Read more at 19fortyfive.com ...
The M-60 is gas operated, not recoil operated like the MG42 and definitely didn't change barrels the way the MG42 did. The M-60 was "loose" and not particularly accurate and expect that a number of VC owe their lives to the sloppy fit and slow rate of fire of that beast.
It is true that the German gun was made of forgings and stamped parts but the German version is more substantial and rugged.
The FN-MAG (M240) is better made too, not just a newer design and very accurate, better rate of fire, and more controllable. Quality counts!
Now why didn't you get another barrel instead of keeping the burned-out chamber?
“Why didn’t you get another barrel instead of keeping the [one with] the burned out chamber?”
As I said, both the Machine Gunner and I were new to the unit, transfers from a Battalion which was rotating home. The Plt Sgt asked if any of us new guys had any experience with the M-60, and Limbeck, the gunner who had earned the Bronze Star for his actions as a M-60 gunner, volunteered. I was a buddy of his, so I ‘volunteered’ as his Assistant Gunner. Neither of us had even seen the gun or the Spare Barrel Bag before we were issued them and went out...on a night patrol.
When we got back to base camp after that ... incident ..., Limbeck walked into the Arms Room, threw the gun on the counter, and told the Supply Sgt, or the Armorer, or the Supply Clerk, whoever it had been who had handed out the gun, “Don’t you EVER issue me a defective weapon again!” He was soon transferred out of that Company to a Battalion attached to another division, located miles away; I was also transferred, all the way back to Hawaii.
I was pissed off at the clowns in the rear the whole time I was in Vietnam - old gear, ancient C-Rations, nonexistent resupply for worn-out utilities, got my first set of Jungle Boots from a pile taken off dead Marines. The M60 was mediocre but it made noise (usually) when you needed it but the M-16 was an atrocity - jamming hellaciously when you least needed it to happen - and they blamed us for "not cleaning them properly".
I wrote to my congressman, complaining about the crappy M16s and told him that "I don't give a damn if you have to gold-plate the interior of the things and use sapphire bearings, our lives depend on them and we're worth the money".
Needless to say, he never answered my letter
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.