FN MAG
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The FN MAG is a machine gun manufactured by Fabrique Nationale (FN), Belgium. It was developed in the 1950s, in production since 1958, and has become a widely adopted 7.62 mm NATO-firing machine gun, used by more than 20 countries. MAG stands for Mitrailleuse d'Appui General, translated as 'general purpose machine gun' (GPMG).
Design
Chambered for the 7.62 x 51 mm NATO cartridge, it shares a locking system similar to the Browning Automatic Rifle and has made use of some other work by John Browning (who had worked on other, earlier designs in Belgium). The downward locking bolt drives the belt feed system, which was style adopted from the MG42 (which had taken it from an even earlier design); it also influenced the trigger mechanism. The belt feed is a similar type, but it is not exactly the same, as the MAG works with the standard NATO belt type, which was a capability not added until a 1968 redesign of the MG3; a descendent of the MG42.The FN MAG has proven to be extremely reliable under all conditions. In U.S. Army testing it could fire, on average, 26,000 rounds until a failure (such as a part breaking). Mean rounds to a stoppage, such as jam, was lower.
One popular feature of this weapon is that the barrels can be switched very quickly; indeed during sustained usage, a well trained crew can swap to a fresh barrel within about three seconds, and are technically supposed to do so after every 100 round belt during sustained fire in order to prevent overheating. In practise, this is often skipped, and the weapon can take it. During the Falklands War for example British Paratroopers participating in the assault on Goose Green were forced to fire over eight thousand rounds through individual barrels without significant pause or opportunity to change them. The result was muzzles glowing white hot, but the weapons still proving effective.
Operators
It has been adopted by more than 80 countries worldwide, and is license-produced in the US, UK, Argentina, Egypt, India, and Singapore.
- Argentina
- *The FN MAG is still in use in the Argentinean Army,MAG 7.62 being used in military training exercises in Misiones, Argentina: http://www.infobae.com/adjuntos/imagenes/99/0079971B.jpg after being purchased more than two decades ago, the MAG gained notoriety in the Argentine Armed Forces during the Falklands War.
- Australia
- * The FN MAG is officially designated as the MAG 58 in the Australian Defence Force, in particular, the Australian Army.
- Belgium
- * At use in every basic infantry and paracommando squad of the Belgian Army.
- Canada
- * As the C6 GPMG. Typically, two C6 machine guns are assigned to each Rifle platoon.
- Indonesia
- *Pindad SPM2-V2 GPMG
- Ireland
- *Known as the GPMG. Is the primary LMG used in the regular army and recently introduced to the army reserve replacing the Bren gun. Also mounted on some naval service vessels.
- Israel
- *It is being superseded by the newer, Israeli made Negev Light machine gun.
- The Netherlands
- * Mostly replaced in the infantry role by the FN Minimi, now only used on tanks, APC's and jeeps.
- Singapore
- *Deployed widely in infantry platoons, and always referred to simply as the GPMG. Infantry sergeants have been known to introduce the weapon to new recruits by stating the "General Purpose" monicker not in terms of its combat role but because doctrinally "you can shoot at anything with it", from UAVs to trucks, although presumably ineffective against AFVs.
- Slovenia
- *
- Republic of South Africa
- *Deployed in infantry platoons. Commonly referred to as the LMG.
- Sweden
- *Adopted in 1958 as Ksp 58, and manufactured by Carl Gustav. It was chambered in 6.5x55 mm Swedish.
- *It was slightly modified in 1970 circa, to the current Ksp 58B standard, with the major improvement being a new gas-regulator. At the same time most weapons were converted to 7.62 x 51 mm NATO, simply by replacing the barrels. However, the old barrels were still kept to be able to use the large stock of ammunition in 6.5 mm.
- *A short barreled variant, also fitted with a retracting stock akin to that on the FN Minimi Para has also been developed under the designation Ksp 58DF, but the resulting Ksp 58D has not yet been adopted.
- *The Ksp 58 Strv is a version used in tanks.
- Taiwan
- *Made under license as the CSF (Combined Service Forces), formerly Hsing-Hua Arsenal, Type 74.
- United Kingdom
- *Officially designated by the British Army as the L7A2 GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun), but affectionately nicknamed "Gimpy" by British soldiers.
- US
- *As M240. The Army mainly uses the M240B, and the Marine Corps the M240G, though there are other types used by them and other branches, such as for use in AFVs. The Army first adopted the M240 in 1977 for use in tanks, the Marine Corps adopted it in the 1980s for general use on vehicles. The Marines adopted it for additional use in 1991 (after the 1991 Gulf War), and the Army adopted it for infantry in the 1990s after it beat out the M60E4 in trials. It has also been adopted in many roles by other branches, and is gradually replacing the M60 family.
- *The M240B model also has an internal recoil buffer and some other changes over the MAG, other versions also vary. A new lightweight version will make use of titanium for some components. The M240 and remaining M60, as well as some M249 are planned to be replaced by under a program for a new lightweight machinegun in the early 21st century.
- Venezuela
- *The FN MAG is used as a standard machine-gun in Venezuelan Army infantry units.
External links
Notes
See also
- Mk 48 Mod 0 LWMG - FN Minimi in 7.62 mm calibre for US SOCOM
- Sumitomo Heavy Industries T-62 (Type 62) an outwardly similar Japanese weapon
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