A general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is a belt-fed weapon used in a variety of roles, from bipod- or tripod-mounted infantry support to deployment as a helicopter door gun or a vehicle-mounted support weapon. It can provide fire support for vehicles or infantry from a variety of mounts.
In modern practice, it is an air-cooled medium machine gun, firing rifle cartridges such as the 7.62×51mm NATO, 7.62×54mmR Warsaw pact, or 7.92x57mm Mauser. It is generally operated from a stationary position from either a bipod or tripod, or otherwise mounted on a vehicle, as it is usually too powerful and heavy to be fired effectively on foot from an unsupported standing position or on the move.
Read more about General-purpose Machine Gun: Notable Examples, Gallery
Famous quotes containing the words machine and/or gun:
“All day long the machine waits: rooms,
stairs, carpets, furniture, people
those people who stand at the open windows like objects
waiting to topple.”
—Anne Sexton (1928–1974)
“I grew up in a tough neighborhood and we used to say ‘you can get further with a kind word and a gun than just a kind word.’”
—David Mamet, U.S. screenwriter, and Brian DePalma. Al Capone (Robert DeNiro)