This is for you youngsters who’ve only heard about “The Pig” in bedtime stories.
h/t Matt H!
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I jumped one into Panama in 1989… loved being a 60 gunner.
Holy crap! So did I! (C-3/75) I was just a few klicks down the runway from you!
I know the 240 is a better weapon overall, but I have super respect for the pig. As a Hog Humper, starting off my military career as an ammo bearer, to assistant gunner, and a PFC gunner/gun team ldr, that’s how my teeth were cut! Laying down suppressive fire just in front of squads as they move across the OBJ! Man we really broke safety rules! The Achilles heel of that system was that freakin’ extractor! It just needed to be titanium or something. (That and that stupid BFA!)
I have issues with the M240 in the light Infantry role. (I don’t think there is really a better medium machine gun for vehicles.)
First it’s about 30% heavier and secondly its rate of fire is higher which increases the speed at which ammo is expended.
We haven’t really suffered the ramifications of these issues because the enemy rarely engages in set piece battles, we can often bring overwhelming firepower to bear from other sources and we haven’t fought with restricted or limited resupply.
The Australian Army is looking to replace / supplement the Minimi with the 7.62×51 Minimi.
Personally, I’m not sure the weapon design is capable of handling a much more powerful round reliably for the long term (although as a sidenote yes I’m aware the Minimi was originally designed with 7.62 chambering in mind but it has years of service, refinements and improvements based on 5.56).
The Lima has solved alot of the weight issues for the 240 in the light world. As for ammo consumption, that’s on the AG’s controlling their gunner and the WSL doing good machine gun math. There really is no perfect machine gun I have come to learn.
ETA: My pig’s name was The Walzing Matilda ?
Your rate of descent must have been pretty fast with that thing. Im surprised you didn’t shatter your legs! Mucho respect.
I had approx 1200rds on me and had wicked twists in my raisers, I rode my M60 and Ruck in
Even in training scenarios it seemed that most 60 guys rode them in, sometimes to painful consequences, wonder why. Especially since a decently loaded average male soldier in the 90s was already over the max weight of the T-10?
The bedtime stories I heard about it was how the receiver would stretch.
To this day just thinking about the M60E3 puts a smile on my face. I loved that gun. Jungle, desert, urban, amphib: the Hog never let me down. I wish I was in the Danish Army just so I could run the M60E6.
The correct answer should be: It doesn’t work.
You made me laugh
I can tell you from first hand experience the M60E6 runs like a champ. US Ordnance put a lot of effort in getting the gun sorted out and it shows as the E6 is far and away the best M60 variant to date
Just watched your video on it. Considering literally everything was changed about it, yeah, it’s the best variant to date!
Larry, what do you think about the M60E6 vs FN MK48?
Humped my pig through a few shitholes. Get a few of them talking back and forth and boy howdy!
Ah, the memories…