I was justw ondering is the M-60 machine gun still in use by the US Armed Forces, if so what is it considered a light machine gun or a heavy machine gun. Or is the the M-60 being phased out by the SAW. Whats is the M# given to the SAW.


Six

Yeah they are trying to slowly weed them out and put the saw in as a replacement. Can't remember the number, but the saw is cool. I just like the idea that it can use M16 mags and it can be belt fed.

The SAW is the M249.

The M240B has replaced the M60 in most combat line units.  In meantime though, many HQ, CS, and CSS units will still have the M60 in their TOE, but will eventually go away.

Both the M240B and M249 SAW are products of FN:
http://www.fnmfg.com/products/ind-pr.htm

The M-60 is being (has been) replaced in the Army by the M240B. Units that were deemed not requiring .30 caliber capability were allotted more M249s where they once had M60s.

To this day, door gunners still use M60Ds. I am not sure if these are to be replaced with a M240 variant - I haven't heard of anything.


Adam

edit: Bushhampster (sp?) posted while I was posting - I hope maybe I have added something else useful with the M60D comment, however.

The M60 is getting replaced by the M240B in Combat Arms units. I read about a year ago in an Army news thing that the M-60 wil still be used in Non Combat units. But that could of changed. Of course the SEALs use the E4 model. This is for ground guns only, I don't know about helos. There are some pics of the M60 on my web site. The M240B shoots allot better then the 60 I think. It does not vibrate quite as much.

[url]m4carbine.homestead.com[/url]

I just checked our fieldong schedule - no plans that I can see to replace the M60Ds for Aircraft Door Gunners in the next 5 years.

Incidentally, The Navy and Marine Corps also have a model known as the M60E3 - they just bought them in the 80s and I get the feeling they will be around for a while.

As for the SEALs and the M60E4 - Special Ops are a worl unto themselves - high budgets and small numbers make fielding and replacing things so quick and easy it is hard to keep track - may or may not reflect where the conventional services may head.

The Marine Corps was the first service to replace the M60, in our case the E3, with the M240G.  We official adopted the M240G in 1994 as the medium machine for all Marine units.  Today in the Marine Corps there are a very few M60 left, but they are few and far between.  The M249 is a light Machine-gun/Automatic rifle, it is not used in the same manor as the M240G.

Read last months Marine Gazette, you might rethink that statement.  You sacrifice accuracy and precious time with the saw when mag fed ARs can do the same job.  Mags used in the saw?  Not with any reliability according to the report.

The Ruskies have the right idea with the RPK- belt-fed ammo could get mighty annoying in a firefight with ammo low.

The M-60 is considered a General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG).  In WWII/Korea we had light (M191A6), medium (M1919A4) and heavy (M1917A1, and M2) MGs.  The GPMG replaced the light and medium.  It also did double duty as a section support gun, since there really wasn't anything else out there until the SAW came along.  The concept of the GPMG stems from the German MG42 of WWII.  We thought it was a good way to go, so we copied a couple different German designs, added some US designs and came out with the M60.  The rest of the world settled on the FN/MAG-58 GPMG.  Thirty uears later, we finally also settled on the FN/MAG-58 as the M-240.  Gee, looks like we could have saved some time there.

When the Army fields new systems, they really don't dick around too much.  Usually they go by whole units in a priority order that makes sense for the system.  There won't be a mix of M60 and M240B in a unit or even a major command.  They do the switch all at once to prevent parts and support headaches.  Figure that with the number of M60s produced, the'll be around for a while.

Ross

Here are some pics:


M60s

[img]m4carbine.homestead.com/files/m60s.jpg[/img]

M240B

[img]m4carbine.homestead.com/files/M240B.jpg[/img]

My unit (overseas Special Forces battalion) did not replace the M60s in the line companys until about 3 months ago. Before that there were M240Bs, but only one per company.

[url]http://m4carbine.homestead.com/machine_guns.html[/url]

The finest light machine gun made to date is the FN MAG...On more than one occasion it was the M60 that got us out of ambushes that had we been dependent upon the 556 I dont think we would have made out...the M60 made things happen..
the ability of the round to penetrate cover....is what counts no squad should be without one...it everyone in the squad humps his load plus 250 for the hog..you  are in good shape..belts survive mud, water, and rough handling..been there and seen it. Its a Pig to hump but if you keep in mind what it can do when needed cant do without it...my .02

Have you guys seen the surplus FN-MAG 58's that DSA has for sale? About $3200.00. Semi-auto??? I got a flyer with a recent FAL parts purchase. If they were legal here in Kali, I would have bought them sight unseen. Belt fed...Yummy!