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machine gun |
Also found in: Wikipedia, Hutchinson | 0.02 sec. |
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machine gun: see small arms small arms, firearms designed primarily to be carried and fired by one person and, generally, held in the hands, as distinguished from heavy arms, or artillery .
Early Small ArmsThe first small arms came into general use at the end of the 14th cent. ..... Click the link for more information. . machine gunAutomatic weapon capable of rapid, sustained fire, usually 500–1,000 rounds per minute. Developed in the late 19th century by such inventors as Hiram Maxim, it profoundly altered modern warfare. The World War I battlefield was dominated by the belt-fed machine gun, which remained little changed into World War II. Modern machine guns are classified into three groups: the squad automatic weapon, chambered for small-calibre assault-rifle ammunition and operated by one soldier; the general-purpose machine gun, firing full-power rifle ammunition and operated by two; and the heavy machine gun, firing rounds of 12.7 mm (.5 in) or higher and often mounted on an armoured vehicle. See also submachine gun. machine gun [mə′shēn ‚gən] (ordnance) A weapon that automatically fires small-arms ammunition, caliber .60 or 15.24 millimeters or under, and is capable of sustained rapid fire. To riddle a target with machine gun fire. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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| The majority of their weapons will be small arms such as rifles, machineguns, light anti-armour weapons, mortars and shoulder-launched surface to air missiles. The main requirement for engineer preparation of the defense line was the use of a system of fighting and communication trenches provided with weapon positions of machineguns, antitank rifles and mortars, as well as with shelters for the personnel and materiel. To keep the enemy from ducking back into their caves, we used mortars and machineguns to kill them outright, when we could, or suppress them. |
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