Reply With QuoteIm not aware that there were any 3 man .50 cal teams, but if there were, my guess would be A2s. Or in the early 80s they'd I'd assume A1's
USMC M2 .50 Cal Team
What personal weapons did the members of a 3 man USMC .50 cal HMG team typically carry in the late '80s? All M16A2s? carbines? handguns?? Needing to know for a modelling/wargaming project. Thanks.
Im not aware that there were any 3 man .50 cal teams, but if there were, my guess would be A2s. Or in the early 80s they'd I'd assume A1's
I was under the impression that a .50 team comprised of the gunner, assistant gunner and ammo man. The gunner carrying the actual weapon, the AG with the tripod and extra ammo who also feeds the ammo and picks targets. The ammo man carries yet more ammo and is responsible for fetching more ammo during the fight??
I've seen pics of Army .50 teams with M4s but I guess the USMC doesn't issue M4s at all? even to specialists?
Sounds like an M60 or 240G team description. The combined weight of machine gun spare barrel and tripod easily weighs 150 lbs. not including the ammo. The negatives would far outweigh the positives.
A buddy of mine was vehicle mounted artillary during the 80s. Him and his Battle were sent up front as pickets with the M2
Ok, I assumed a .50 team would operate the same way. I have seen Marines bring a .50 cal to a fight on foot (namely an opposed bridge crossing in Iraq documented in a National Geographic documentary that I forget the name of.). I guess those Marines would be from the weapons/support platoon? Would they operate as a 2 man team?Originally Posted by click
Ok, so 2 man team? And he was part of an armor unit, not infantry?
Whoa, for one thing the M2HB is quite a Heavy load, the system weighs 120lbs and each 100rd can weights 14 pounds
Reciever, 2X Barrels, M3 Tripod with T&E Mech, cleaning kit and 6 cans divided by 3 men with their individual load? think about it. If the M2 is ground mounted it is dismounted from a Vehicle which is the normal means of transporting it. A Crew wouldnt be expected to move it very far by hand, certainly not on patrol. The crew would have M16A2's as their IW.
Bugger spreding that over 3 dudes, Our HMG dets do train to conduct dismounted support to Coys but will only do full dismounted advances or withdrawls a couple times a year. That being said they're 4 man gun teams with 2 teams to a section with a Section commander and 2IC
n.o.1 reciever, T/E mech, 1x100 rd tin,
n.o.2 barrels, 1x100 rd tin, extra sights
n.o.3 tripod, 1x100rd tin, pintal mount
n.o.4 soft mount, 1x100rd tin.
section commander and 2IC carry 1x100rd tin each as well
All pers carry a rifle with possible 2 being M-203's. the balance of the sections 0.50 ammo being carried by the unit they're supporting
yes, but this was the rear of the lines in the case ofbattle. Mobile artillary roll up to the firing area, the guards dismount andset up positions in a screening formation incase any enemy forces were lurkingnearby. They were only a few hundred yards at most from transport.
Great replies, thanks.
coming from a trade 31-
Gunner- M2 w/ 1 barrel, t&e on gun (what I do), personal.
Team Leader- Tripod, spare barrel, ammo (if needed), personal
Ammo b****- Ammo, Ammo, Personal.
If you cant get the job done with 300 or so rounds of .50, we recruited 11's to carry some for us
as above but we used to carry 2 belts per man, 3 man det without the softmount 4 man det with softmount, the most we had to walk was a 17km withdraw on the command course, doable but hard work lol
What LD said. All HMG were mounted on hammers or M151s. They did some dismounts.
okay thanks
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