M240b Weapon Reviews
M240 Weapon Information
The M240, officially Machine Gun, 7.62mm, M240, is the United States Military designation for the FN MAG (Mitrailleuse d`Appui Général, "General Purpose Machine Gun"), a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns firing the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge.
The M240 Machine Gun, has been used by the United States Armed Forces since 1980s. It is used extensively by infantry, as well as ground vehicles, watercraft, and aircraft. Even though the M240b is not a light machine gun by any means, the M240 is highly regarded for reliability, and its standardization among NATO members is also seen as a major advantage.
History of M240b Machine Guns
The adoption of the M240 machine gun has its origins during the 1960s and 1970s was a project to procure a new coaxially mounted 7.62 mm machine gun for tanks to replace the M73 and M219 machine guns then being used. It would go on to be deployed in this role during the 80's, but was additionally adopted for infantry and other uses. It was deployed in these new roles in the late 20th and early 21st Century..
As mentioned, during the '70s the Army was looking for new 7.62 mm machine guns for vehicle/AFV mounts. The 1950s-era M73 had been rather troubled, and the derivative M73E1/M219 was not much of an improvement. A number of designs of the period from various countries were considered; the final two candidates were the M60E2 and the FN MAG. They underwent comprehensive testing alongside the older M219 for comparison.
Using the M240b Machine Gun
Loading the weapon is performed by pulling the charging handle which locks the bolt to the rear. The weapon is placed on safe and the charging handle is pushed forward (this is spring loaded on the tank mounted version). The feed tray cover is then lifted and rounds are laid inside the feed tray. The feed tray cover is then closed and the weapon is ready for operation.
The weapon fires from the open bolt position meaning the bolt is held to the rear and only moves forward as it is firing a round. The firing pin is static and the bolt moves around the firing pin circumventing any need for a hammer. A sear is used to time the internal mechanisms of the weapon to provide a consistent rate of fire ensuring proper function and accuracy. However, firing from an open bolt also provides the possibility of accidental discharge due to a bolt override. This happens when there is enough force for the bolt to jump over the sear and fire without the trigger being pulled. The safety on the weapon cannot stop this from happening, which is not a good thing.
Clearing the weapon is performed by ensuring the bolt is locked to the rear and the weapon is on safe. The feed tray cover is then lifted, the remaining belt (if any) is swept out of the feed tray, the feed tray is lifted to visually inspect the rear of the barrel and the face of the bolt. Any links or brass casings are removed. The weapon is now clear. In the unlikely event that a live round is on the bolt face, it is knocked loose with a cleaning rod or another rigid object. If there is a live round lodged in the barrel, the operator must immediately decide if the barrel is hot enough that there is a chance of it cooking off. If there is, he will immediately move his face away from the opening of the weapon. He should then wait for the barrel to cool off before attempting to remove it. In many cases, attempting to remove the barrel will cause the round to detonate as soon as the barrel is unlocked from the receiver. He can also attempt to extract the round by taking the weapon off of safe, pulling the trigger and pulling back on the charging handle. This has a fair chance of causing the weapon to fire, so care should be made in ensuring that the weapon is pointed in a safe direction first.
Storage of M240b Machine Guns
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