M73 (machine gun)
| M73 | |
|---|---|
|
|
| general information | |
| Civil name: | Machine gun, 7.62mm, M219 |
| Military designation: | M219 machine gun |
| Country of operation: | United States , South Vietnam , NATO |
| Development year: | 1950 |
| Manufacturer country: | United States |
| Production time: | 1950s to 1970s |
| Model variants: | M73, M73C, M73A1 (M219) |
| Weapon Category: | Machine gun |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 1219 mm |
| Barrel length : | 609 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : | 7.62 × 51 mm NATO (US) |
| Ammunition supply : | belted, indentation left or right |
| Cadence : | 500-625 rounds / min |
| Fire types: | Continuous fire |
| Charging principle: | Recoil loader with gas pressure assistance |
| Lists on the subject | |
The M73 and M219 are machine guns in NATO caliber 7.62 mm, which were designed for arming tanks . Basically, they were stripped down M1919 Browning machine guns to save space in the tight armored vehicles. The machine gun was used in the M48 Patton main battle tank , in the MBT series of the M60 Patton (including the M728 Combat Engineer Vehicle ) and in the M551 Sheridan light tank .
development
Developed by Rock Island Arsenal as a coaxial machine gun and produced by General Electric , the M73 was intended to replace the Browning M1919 of the M1919A4E1 , M1919A5 and M37 series , which were still used in the post-war period.
The 7.62mm, M73 machine gun was officially introduced in 1959. It is an air-cooled recoil but uses the cartridge gases to increase the recoil. Due to the strong design based on the M1919, the weight of the weapon could be kept at a comparable level. The weapon is equipped with a quick-change mechanism for the barrel and an ammunition belt pulling device and can be supplied with ammunition from both sides (although the left side was preferred).
In an effort to make the M73 usable as an infantry weapon, the weapon was equipped with a sight and a manual trigger and called a machine gun, 7.62 mm, M73C . However, the gun was unpopular and few were produced. Accordingly, it was hardly used in the Vietnam War .
The M73 suffered from a large number of malfunctions and jams. A further developed version of the M73 was finally released in 1970 as the 7.62 mm machine gun, M73A1 with an improved ejection mechanism . In 1977 it was decided that this weapon was sufficiently different from its predecessor and so renamed the machine gun, 7.62 mm, M219 . These weapons were eventually replaced by the M60 and M240 machine guns . Vehicles that were still equipped with the M73 were equipped with the new weapons.
variants
M73
- introduced in 1959
M73C
- Flexible infantry variant with visor and pistol trigger.
- used a special tripod, the XM132
M73A1 / M219
- Developed in 1970 as a further developed variant with an improved ejection mechanism to eliminate the load jams that often occur
- 1977 renamed to M219
literature
- Ed Ezell: Small Arms Today, 2nd Edition. Stackpole Books, Harrisburg, PA 1988, ISBN 0-8117-2280-5 .
- Tom Gervasi: Arsenal of Democracy III. America's War Machine, the Pursuit of Global Dominance. Grove Press, New York 1984, ISBN 0-394-54102-2 .