Light machine gun

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Light machine gun (commonly abbreviated LMG) is a category comprising machine guns that are generally lighter than other machine guns of the same period, and usually designed to be carried by an individual soldier, but sometimes with an assistant. Modern light machine guns are often chambered for smaller calibers than medium machine guns, and are mostly considerably lighter and more compact.

Usually, a light machine gun is intended to act as a support weapon, in that it can generate a greater volume of continuous automatic fire than the usual firearms carried by infantry soldiers, at the cost of greater weight and higher ammunition consumption.

It is possible to fire a light machine gun from the hip or on the move, but usually they are fired from a prone position, especially when using a bipod. Early light machine guns (especially those derived from automatic rifles, such as the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle) were sometimes magazine-fed. Some LMG's, such as the Russian RPK, are modifications of existing assault rifle designs. Adaptations generally include a larger magazine, heavier barrel to resist overheating, more robust action to support sustained fire, and often a bipod. Modern light machine guns are designed to fire more rounds of a smaller caliber ammunition and as such tend to use a belt of ammunition; this allows them to fire for longer periods of time without the need to reload. Other modern light machine guns, such as the FN Minimi, are capable of firing from both an ammunition belt or a detachable box-type magazine.

Light machine guns are often used as squad automatic weapons.

Selected examples

These were either exclusively light machine guns, had a light machine gun variant or were employed in the light machine gun role with certain adaptations:

1900s–1920s

Madsen machine gun (Multi-caliber)
M1909 Benet-Mercie (.30-06 Springfield)
Hotchkiss Mk I (.303 British)
Lewis machine gun (.303 British)
Fusil-Mitrailleur Mle 1915 'CSRG', 'Chauchat' light machine gun (8x50mmR Lebel)
Degtyaryov light machine gun (7.62x54mm R)

1950s–1970s

RPK (7.62x39mm)
FN MAG (7.62x51mm NATO)
M60 (7.62x51mm NATO)
Rheinmetall MG3 (7.62x51mm NATO)

1970s-present

FN Minimi (5.56x45mm NATO)
RPK (5.45x39mm)
IMI Negev (5.56x45mm NATO)
CETME Ameli (5.56x45mm NATO)
Heckler & Koch MG4 (5.56x45mmNATO)
Ultimax 100 (5.56x45mm NATO)
Valmet M78 (7.62x39mm)
Mk 48 Mod 0 (7.62x51mm NATO)
L86 LSW (5.56x45mm NATO)

Light machine gun

Selected examples

1900s–1920s

1950s–1970s

1970s-present

See also