Random Military Fact of The Day....




Posted by specopssv44

A round fired from the Browning .50 Calibur Machine gun leaves the barrel traveling at 3,050 Feet Per Second. The Maximum Distance that round can travel is 7,400 Meters....(roughly 4 miles)...The round is so powerfull, that you dont even have to hit a person to kill him if hes within 400 meters of the weapon, the velocity of a round traveling 1 to 2 feet away from the person is enough to rip a limb off. The weapon is belt fed, and fires at a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute....(If you held the trigger down and had enough ammo to last 3 minutes the barrell would melt).....It is also the oldest weapon in our arsenal....The basic design has not changed seince WWII...




Posted by The Judge

I was unaware of this random military fact.




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

That's actually pretty interesting.

Keep it up.




Posted by specopssv44

There are 12 different types of rounds that can be fired from the Browning .50 Cal Machine gun. Each one has a specific use and is designed for a specific target...The rounds are, Ball:Standard full metal casing, used to engage everything from vehicles to people, this is the most commonly used round....Tracer:The standard Tracer is a ball round that leaves a red trail behind it, so you can see where your rounds are impacting more easily, typically every 5th round in the belt is a tracer....Armor Peircing:Used against lightly armored Vehicles, houses, or people if you wanna see a splat....Armor Peircing Tracer:Same as the basic AP round but with the tracer added.....Blank Rounds: Make a sound and a muzzle flash, but no projectiles, used for training.....Dummy Rounds:Rounds that dont actually fire at all, used to practice loading the weapon, or for intimidation....SLAP: This one is hard to explain, ummm its basically firing a 7.62 round out of a .50 cal, which means the round is smaller and moves a whole helluva lot faster, will kill anything, will go through about anything, if you hit a person there will be nothing left to pick up, if you hit a vehicle you can stuff the broken parts into a vons bag. SLAP-T: SLAP round with a tracer burn....PLastic ball rounds: Rounds that fire a plastic ball, used for training in countries (usually small ones like japan) where live fire with a .50 cal is not permitted...i think i got em all...




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

Whoa, whoa, whoa. I enjoy these random facts, but you can't give TWO in a day. It defeats the whole purpose.




Posted by specopssv44

its actually a continuation of the first fact, part of the first fact if you willl....tommorow I will give you another completley random fact, but todays topic is the .50 cal....feel free to ask questions, I have answers.




Posted by Lord of Spam

Weight, barrel length, number of rounds in a belt, cooling method, and an explaination how you get a 7.62mm round to travel in a straight line being fired out of a .50cal barrel, pls.




Posted by specopssv44

The total system weight (with M3 Tripod) is 128Lbs. The reciver is 60lbs...the barrel is 45inches and weighs approx 24 lbs....The tripod is 44lbs....
The .50 cal is a crew served, belt fed, air cooled, closed bolt, recoil operated, fully automatic, heavy Machine gun, that can be mounted on a vehicle or tripod.
The SABOTED ROUND, or "SLAP" rounds as we call them, are basically a .50 cal casing, with a 7.62 round rapped in a plastic like material that keeps the round in place in the casing, as the round travels down the barrel, the plastic "shell" allows it to travel down the barrell just as a normal round would, after the round leaves the barrel, the plastic rapidly peels away. The end result, is an EXTREEMLY high velocity round that will kill anything, or anyone in its way....And yes I have operated the .50. My MOS (Mission Occupational Specialty) is 0331. Infantry Machine Gunner. I am considered an expert at handling all machineguns, and am expexted to maintain a working knowledge of all machineguns in our arsenal.....The .50 is probably the funnest to fire, its so incredibly powerfull and loud....its a serious rush watching targets dissapear into oblivion as your rounds impact.....
BTW the rounds usually come in 110 round desintegrating linked belts, but we typically connect multiple belts so we have at least 400 rounds.




Posted by Philsdad

Interesting stuff. You should be a guest host on that show Mail Call with Lee Ermey. :cool:




Posted by WILLETH FOR MONTHS


Quoting specopssv44: the velocity of a round traveling 1 to 2 feet away from the person is enough to rip a limb off.

Impressive.

But yeah, surely a pellet encased in peelable plastic would not have a straight trajectory at all?



Posted by specopssv44

Correct, the 7.62 round is shaped just like a normal bullet, its shape (commonly referred to as a boattail) allows it to travel a linear trahectory.




Posted by WILLETH FOR MONTHS

Yes - but you explained that the casing peels off in flight. Surely that would throw off the path?




Posted by Lord of Spam

I would assume that it would be liquified enough by the heat that it would offer no great resistance.




Posted by Speedfreak

It would have to peel off perfectly evenly in order to not give one side of the bullet greater resistance and thus make it stray from a straight line.




Posted by Ant

I think it would be going fast enough to where it wouldn't really matter...




Posted by Lord of Spam

Also, its a machine gun. I dont think that accuracy is its number one goal...




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

True. If it can not even hit you and still rip of a limb, who cares about accuracy?




Posted by specopssv44


Quoted post: Yes - but you explained that the casing peels off in flight. Surely that would throw off the path?

The casing is made of a weird material thats somewhere between plastic and wax, the material rapidly peels straight back and away from the round within seconds after it leaves the barrell. Because it peels off straight back it does not affect the trajectory of the round. If anything SLAP rounds are more accurate because of the high velocity.


Quoted post: Also, its a machine gun. I dont think that accuracy is its number one goal...


Machine guns are actually extreemly accurate If fired in short bursts. But, that defeats the purpose of a machine gun. MGs are designed to lay down lead quick over a given area, the vibrations from the weapon firing creates soem innacurracy, but this is desired and accounted for, the result is what we call "a cone of fire" and an "effective beaten zone", the effective beaten zone is where 82% of your rounds will land. The beaten zone varies depending on range.(for example, on a M240GOLD 7.62, the beaten zone is 2 meters wide, and 55 meters long at 1200meters) The beaten zone can be described as oval in shape, with the long axis of the oval corresponding to the long axis of the weapon. Basically, anything within the effective beaten zone will experience impacts from your weapon. So anything near what your aiming at is gonna have a lotta lead coming at them, and a wide area is covered. We use the variations in accuracy to our advantage. A machine gunners "wet dream" is called enfilade fire. Enfilade fire is when the long axis of the target, corresponds with, or nearly corresponds with the long axis of the beaten zone...So say 10 enemy troops are walking twords me in 2 colums of 5, I can kill them all with one long burst without having to manipulate the weapon.



Posted by Zeta

I find this all very interesting.
*Strokes non-existant beard*




Posted by specopssv44

****THE M16****
The M-16A4 service rifle is the standard issue weapon for troops currently. It weighs 8.79 LBS, witha loaded 30 round magazine, and is a 5.56 milimeter,gas operated, magazine fed, air cooled, semi automatic, closed bolt shoulder fired weapon. ITs Maximum Effective range is The overall length of the weapon is 39.6 inches. The Maximum effective range for an area target is 800meters (1/2 mile approx.) The Maximum effective range for a point target is 550 meters. The muzzle velocity is 3525 FPS. The 5.56 mm ammunition is high velocity, extremly accurate and highly cost affective. While the size of the round is significantly smaller than most standard issue rifles of the worlds military, it remains very deadly because basically the round will ricochet off bones one it enters a targets body. For instance, targets have been shot in the leg, and the exit wound was found in the back of his neck. The newest version of the M16, is the M16A4. it has 4 rail mounts on the handgaurd, which allows the weapon to be tailored for missions. Some M16s have an M203 grenade launcher mounted on the bottom of the barrell. The M203 fires 40MM High Explosive Grenades and has a max range of 400meters (1/4 mile).




Posted by Porcupine

You forgot to give us a fact yesterday. Mission failed.

I actually am finding some of this a bit more interesting than I was expecting to, though.




Posted by GameMiestro

Why not just use the most powerful ammo you can with the gun, outside of training?




Posted by specopssv44

Different kinds of ammo are designed for different types of targets. Armor Piercing rounds are designed to take out armored vehicles, so its kinda a waste to use on enemy troops. Its equivilant to killing a fly with a sledgehammer. Also cost must be factored in as well. Incindiary rounds for example cost more to manufacture.

.......Im glad that many of you are finding this interesting, If you have any questions at all about the military throw 'em out there and Ill do my best to answer.




Posted by specopssv44

****Todays Random Military Fact******
(This fact is something I learned about a month ago.....)....Although jumping out of a helicopter, into the ocean, 500meters out and swiming ahore at 3 in the morning and assulting the beach with automatic weapons sounds really cool and "metal-gear-solidly"...It in fact is rather terrifying, and cold, and gennerally sucks.




Posted by GameMiestro

Yes, 500 meters is a very long swim... with all that gear, it probably takes 10 minutes at the least.




Posted by Lord of Spam

@sepc; well, duh.

@gamemiestro: I bet you couldnt even manage it. Thats a huge swim cvonsidering the gear involved.




Posted by Slade

I SUPPORT THIS THREAD.


Keep it up. What gun is the most fun to shoot?




Posted by GameMiestro

[quote=Lord of Spam]@gamemiestro: I bet you couldnt even manage it. Thats a huge swim cvonsidering the gear involved.

I probably could. I do a lot of swimming...




Posted by Lord of Spam

And he probably has several hundred pounds of gear on him. I dont know what his fully equiped weight is (clear that up for us, pls spec), but I know that airborn troops usually have as much or more than they weigh hanging off their bodies when they jump from freakin' airplanes, so I imagine that the military wouldnt see any problem with loading marines down with at least that much.

And thats a LOT of weight to be swimming with, in night time, most likely rough seas.




Posted by specopssv44


Quoted post: I probably could. I do a lot of swimming...

So do I (and the other Marines in the Boat Raid Company), On an average day we swim about 2000 meters in a training tank in the morning. Then we go out into the field (Which requires walking miles upon miles with about 200 LBS of gear, weapons and ammo.) When we come back to the barracks (if we are not staying out in the field overnite) We will usually go on a run (anywhere from 3 to 12 miles long)....Swimming with the gear is not really too bad, as long as you rember to remain calm, and use the appropriate technique. (its kinda a weird backstroke). Once we get closer to the beach we approach more tactically (Its called a frontal assult swim) Which enables you to engage enemy targets from the water if nessisary.

As for the amount of gear carried we try to travel light when going on a raid. Sometimes we dont even wear body armor or helmets. The Average Marine has about 75 additional LBS of gear (Rifle and ammunition mostly) But I generally carry somewhere between 100-120 because I usually get stuck carrying the Machine gun.

If we are engaged in a standard land based operation Marines carry up to 280 Lbs of gear on them (If they are carrying MOLLE packs <-----"Really big *** backpack".......) But in a combat situation we will drop our MOLLE packs to enable us to move more quickly. The Body armour worn is a flack vest that has 2 ceramic plates inserted into it (one over the chest, and one in the back) the Ceramic plates are called sappy plates and they can withstand an 8 round burst from a 7.62 mm weapon at point blank range. The rest of the vest is made of kevlar and will stop a 9mm round and shrapnel. The helmet is made of "hard kevlar" and will deflect most rounds.


Quoted post: Keep it up. What gun is the most fun to shoot?

Theyre all pretty fun, it kinda depends on your mood.....But if i had to choose id have to say the .50 Cal is a serious rush.



Posted by GameMiestro

Why not just land off of ships?




Posted by Slade

Miestro: K, what's sneakier?




Posted by higbvuyb

Where/how/when do you access the internet?
Doesn't your neck break when hit in the head so the helmet isn't very useful against bullets?
what happens if the gun gets filled with water?
Can it shoot underwater?




Posted by Demonblade


Quoting specopssv44: The Body armour worn is a flack vest that has 2 ceramic plates inserted into it (one over the chest, and one in the back) the Ceramic plates are called sappy plates and they can withstand an 8 round burst from a 7.62 mm weapon at point blank range. The rest of the vest is made of kevlar and will stop a 9mm round and shrapnel.


I have one of those...very very expensive. A guy i work with recenty deployed, now he is a retired Master Sergeant, so he gave me his DBU Flak jacket. Don't really have much use for it at the moment, but i did consider using it for paintball...although not really the proper camouflage for forest/jungle. Its also a bit restrictive for paintball needs, a tad heavy even without the ceramic plates, and a size or two too small. So, this 1k-1300 dollar vest has been sitting in my closet for about half a year now.



Posted by Lord of Spam

Actually, that would be terrible for paintball. You need lots of soft layers, so that there is a higher chance of the ball bouncing off without breaking, rather than one really hard layer that is promised to break it.

Aside from that, a gun normally cant be fired underwater, and getting water into the mechanisms I would assume would lead to the possiblity of it not firing/rusting. I'm like 90% sure that they use waterproof bags for that sorta thing.




Posted by higbvuyb


Quoting Lord of Spam: Aside from that, a gun normally cant be fired underwater, and getting water into the mechanisms I would assume would lead to the possiblity of it not firing/rusting. I'm like 90% sure that they use waterproof bags for that sorta thing.

Modern ammunition contains an oxidant, so they can even be fired in space. Rust is not a short term concern.



Posted by specopssv44


Quoted post: Why not just land off of ships?

The boat raider company consists of 145 Specially trained Marines. We are not a sustained attack force. We get in, destroy key objectives (Anti aircraft guns, artillery, ammo dumps etc.) and kill as many enemy personell as we can, then we slip back into the ocean for the pickup. We are a highly manuverable, and sneaky force. and although we are not a sustained for, with the element of surprised we can inflict tremendous blows to then enemy and his morale.


Quoted post: Where/how/when do you access the internet?

If were not out in the field training overnight, we usually get nights off, and there is a free computer cafe near my barracks.


Quoted post: Doesn't your neck break when hit in the head so the helmet isn't very useful against bullets

Negative. A Marine in my team got hit in the forhead with a 7.62mm round and was fine. The helmet is designed to deflect rounds....dont get me wrong, its gonna hurt like a *****, and youll have one helluva headache, but youll be alive.


Quoted post: what happens if the gun gets filled with water?
Can it shoot underwater?

If a gun gets filled with water its gonna be a nightmare to clean after the operation. The weapons can be fired underwater but its not suggested as the M-16A4 is not designed for it. Ive seen weapons turn orange with rust in a matter of a couple days, so weapons maitenence is key in our operations.

....There are some weapons that can operate without problems underwater, There is an MP5 model, and bennelli makes a special shotgun that works underwater.

We keep our weapons in waterproof bags that can easily be torn open if we need to engage enemys from the water.



Posted by The Judge

You. I assumed the :cool: was because he said that you shouldn't use it in water, but they do anyways just in case.




Posted by Lord of Spam

No, the :cool: was about the fact that the other guy was like LOL WATERPROOF but they still sue the bags. Of course they fire from water; that was stated early on. I was just saying that they were kept in bags, which they are, apparently.




Posted by Vampiro V. Empire

k, so what do you think about this softening of boot camps? Supposedly they're getting rid of everything that makes it a boot camp in hopes of increasing recruitment numbers. Does it annoy you that (I assume) you went through tough training, and now new kids are coming in and getting it easy? And do you dis/agree with the reasoning behind it?




Posted by Bj Blaskowitz

isn't the m16 being replaced by the m4?




Posted by Demonblade

Well, in my particular branch, they arent softening out bootcamp. they are making it a week longer, with more in depth field training...and much less "attention to detail" activities...although that particular mode of thought will still be paramount in basic training. I wish i would have been able to play with the M-16 more, but hey...thats what i get for joining the air force...cept the newbie bastards that come along here in about 2 or 3 months will have a far more extensive combat understanding than myself.




Posted by Lord of Spam

Softening boot camps is retarded. Its bad enough that women already get easier requirements then guys, but to soften it across the board is retarded.




Posted by specopssv44


Quoted post: k, so what do you think about this softening of boot camps? Supposedly they're getting rid of everything that makes it a boot camp in hopes of increasing recruitment numbers. Does it annoy you that (I assume) you went through tough training, and now new kids are coming in and getting it easy? And do you dis/agree with the reasoning behind it?

The beautiful thing about the Marine Corps is they dont give a **** about numbers when compared to the other services. The Corps has never been about numbers. Yes I went through Marine Corps Boot Camp.....The most miserable 3 months of my life. It depends on your drill instructors, but for me the experience was worse than full metal jacket made it look (just to give you something to reference it to). Marine Corps boot camp has gotten a little easier because the drill instructors are not technically allowed to straight up beat the recruits. Most of them do it anyway and thats fine with me. USMC boot camp is so tough in fact, that when my contract is up with the Corps, I could choose to enter any other branch of service, and I would not be required to go through their boot camps. If anything the training in boot camp should be tougher, because I dont want anyone to get into the Corps unless they are willing to sacrafice everything for it.....Again, the beautiful thing about the Corps is that we are proud of being the smallest branch. We are not about numbers, we are about discpline. We are about dedication. Not college money or job training incentives (at least in the Infantry). We are Americas true warrior class. Why should they make the training easy on us? The enemy will not be easy on us, and the torturous training allows to be hard on our enemies.


Quoted post: isn't the m16 being replaced by the m4?

Pretty much everyone in the Army gets an M4, but the Corps always gets screwed out of the budget (why I dont know, The USMC infantry is 10% of our nations military, yet accounts for almost 90% of the combat around the world) but anyways no unless youre an officer or a staff NCO, youre odds of being issued an M4 are not too good. We do however have the newest M16s, They are called the M16A4 and are vastly superior to the M16A2s because the handgaurd has 4 built in rails, making the weapon highly adaptable. The only real advantages the M4 has are its Full auto fire (M16s dont have full auto, they have burst), and its small size makes it much easier to get in and out of vehicles and clear buildings.


Quoted post: Well, in my particular branch, they arent softening out bootcamp. they are making it a week longer, with more in depth field training...and much less "attention to detail" activities...although that particular mode of thought will still be paramount in basic training. I wish i would have been able to play with the M-16 more, but hey...thats what i get for joining the air force...cept the newbie bastards that come along here in about 2 or 3 months will have a far more extensive combat understanding than myself.

I dont know much about airforce training, but in USMC boot camp (3 months long) The first month was spend breaking us down mentally, and instilling basic Corps values. We drilled alot (Drilling = marching around with rifles), the second month was spent almost entirely in the field. And the third month was pretty much nonstop hazing while we learned how to properly wear our uniforms and such.......I have to disagree with you about the "attention to detail" stuff. Attention to detail is what saves lives in combat. Attention to detail allows the gunner in a hummv to spot an IED and save lives. Attention to detail starts in garrison, with things that seem uninportant like cleaning and shining shoes, but that attention to detail, once instilled, carrys over into combat.


Quoted post: Softening boot camps is retarded. Its bad enough that women already get easier requirements then guys, but to soften it across the board is retarded.

Yup. The more you sweat in training, the less you bleed in combat.