David
Fri March 28, 2003 2:06pm
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Sgt. Simon Woolridge, a g
Sgt. Simon Woolridge, a ground engineer deployed from the Royal Air Force 10/101 Squadron, England, prepares a replacement engine to be put into a VC-10 aircraft during a sand storm on March 26, 2003. Aircraft move around the clock to support Operation Iraqi Freedom at a forward deployed location in Southwest Asia.
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David
Fri March 28, 2003 4:07pm
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Killed in action
A dead U.S. Marine is transported by helicopter from central Iraq to Camp Viper, Kuwait, on Thursday. The orange covering signifies that the Marine is dead. The helicopter pilot talks with medical personnel on the ground.
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Marissa
Sun March 30, 2003 5:23pm
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UNDISCLOSED LOCATION
UNDISCLOSED LOCATION, Operation Iraqi Freedom; As much as accurate bombs, jet-propelled missiles and well-trained crews mean the difference in a war, none of it gets off the ground without good weather.
As aircrews and others at this forward-deployed location will tell you, weather is paramount for the success of Operation IraqiFreedom. No one knows that better than Staff. Sgt. Mike Wimmer, mission execution forecaster for the 457th Air Expeditionary Group and its compliment of more than a dozen B-52 bombers.
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David
Mon March 31, 2003 9:00am
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No pause here
Despite reports that ground forces had taken an "operational pause" March 29 in advancing to battle Iraqi troops, airstrikes against Baghdad and other cities continued. Here, crew members on the flight deck of the USS Harry S. Truman supervise launches of aircraft for missions over Iraq.
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David
Wed April 2, 2003 7:54am
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40 centuries under the su
U.S. Army Civil Affairs personnel on April 1 tour the ziggurat in southern Iraq that is at what is traditionally recognized as the birthplace of the biblical patriarch Abraham. It was built 4,000 years ago as a temple to the moon. U.S. troops are stationed there to protect the site and because it commands high ground near a coalition air base.
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David
Thu April 17, 2003 1:23pm
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Heavy bombardment
Wednesday, April 2, 2003, A view of strikes by U.S. warplanes in the Domis area between Dohuk and Mosul in northern Iraq on Wednesday. Some 50 to 60 aircraft struck targets in support of ground troops in the region in missions that began Tuesday afternoon and ended Wednesday morning.
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David
Thu April 17, 2003 1:23pm
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Reinforcements
Wednesday, April 2, 2003, Jesse Salaiz of Killeen, Texas, cleans his gun after arrival in Kuwait City on Wednesday. The first 5,000 troops of the U.S. Army's 30,000-strong 4th Infantry Division have arrived in Kuwait and could be on the ground in Iraq "in a matter of weeks," according to the division's assistant commander, Brig. Gen. Stephen Speakes.
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David
Sat December 20, 2003 2:29pm
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Deposed Iraqi President S
Deposed Iraqi President Saddam Hussein entered and left his underground hiding place near his home town of Tikrit through this small hole in the ground, seen Dec. 15, 2003.
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David
Sat December 20, 2003 2:29pm
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A plastic sandal, fruit a
A plastic sandal, fruit and dustbins lie on the ground at the farm where Saddam Hussein was living before he was captured, Dec. 15, 2003.
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David
Sat December 20, 2003 2:29pm
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A plastic sandal and frui
A plastic sandal and fruit lie on the ground, as a U.S. soldier stands in the courtyard of the farm where Saddam Hussein lived before he was captured, Dec. 15, 2003.
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 8:19pm
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M-240B Machine Gun
Function: Deter, and if necessary, compel adversaries by enabling individuals and small units to engage targets with accurate, lethal, direct automatic fire.
Description: The M240B is a general-purpose machine gun. It can be mounted on a bipod, tripod, aircraft, or vehicle. The M240B is a belt-fed, air-cooled, gas-operated, fully automatic machine gun that fires from the open bolt position. This reliable 7.62mm machine gun delivers more energy to the target than the smaller caliber M-249 SAW. It is being issued to infantry, armor, combat engineer, special force/rangers, and selected field artillery units that require medium support fires and will replace the ground-mounted M-60 series machine guns currently in use.
Ammunition is fed into the weapon from a 100-round bandoleer containing a disintegrating metallic split-link belt. The gas from firing one round provides the energy for firing the next round. Thus, the gun functions automatically as long as it is supplied with ammunition and the trigger is held to the rear. As the gun is fired, the belt links separate and are ejected from the side. Empty cases are ejected from the bottom of the gun. A spare barrel is issued with each M240B, and barrels can be changed quickly as the weapon has a fixed head space. However, barrels from different weapons should not be interchanged. The bore of the barrel is chromium plated, reducing barrel wear to a minimum.
Entered Army Service: 1997
General Characteristics, M-240B Machine Gun
Manufacturer:
FN Manufacturing (Columbia, SC)
Length:
49 inches
Weight:
27.6 pounds
Weight of tripod-mount M122A1 tripod with/flex-mount, complete:
20 pounds
Maximum Range:
3,725 meters
Maximum Effective Range:
1,100 meters with tripod and T&E
Height of M240B on the tripod mount M122A1:
17.5 inches
Ammunition:
7.62 mm ball, tracer, armor-piercing, blank, dummy. Armor-piercing round is not authorized for training.
Tracer burnout :
900 meters
Rates of fire:
- Sustained: 100 rounds per minute fired in 6-to-9 round bursts and 4-to-5 seconds between bursts (barrel change every 10 minutes).
- Rapid: 200 rounds per minute fired in 10-to-13 round bursts and 2-to-3 seconds between bursts (barrel change every 2 minutes).
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 8:19pm
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M240G Machine Gun
Description: The M240G Machine Gun is the ground version of the original M240/M240E1, 7.62mm medium class weapon designed as a coaxial/pintle mounted machine gun for tanks and light armored vehicles. The rate of fire may be controlled by three different regulator settings. The M240G is modified for ground use by the installation of an "infantry modification kit," comprised of a flash suppressor, front sight, carrying handle for the barrel, a buttstock, infantry length pistol grip, bipod, and rear sight assembly. While possessing many of the same basic characteristics as the M60 series medium class machine guns, the durability of the M240 system results in superior reliability and maintainability when compared to the M60.
Background: The Marine Corps is replacing the M60E3 with the M240G. The ground version of the M240 allows for a common medium machine gun throughout the Marine Corps.
General Characteristics, M240G Medium Machine Gun
Manufacturer:
Fabrique Nationale Manufacturing, Inc.
Length:
47.5 inches (120.65 centimeters)
Weight:
24.2 pounds (10.99 kilograms)
Bore Diameter:
7.62mm (.308 inches)
Maximum Effective Range:
1.1 miles (1.8 kilometers) on tripod mount
Maximum Range:
2.31 miles (3.725 kilometers)
Rate of Fire:
Cyclic: 650-950 rounds per minute Rapid: 200 rounds per minute Sustained: 100 rounds per minute
Unit Replacement Cost:
$6,600
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 8:24pm
Rating: 6
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M2 .50 Cal Machine Gun
Description: The Browning M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun, Heavy barrel is an automatic, recoil operated, air-cooled machine gun with adjustable headspace and is crew transportable with limited amounts of ammunition over short distances. By repositioning some of the component parts, ammunition may be fed from either the left or right side. A disintegrating metallic link-belt is used to feed the ammunition into the weapon. This gun is has a back plate with spade grips, trigger, and bolt latch release. This gun may be mounted on ground mounts and most vehicles as an anti-personnel and anti-aircraft weapon. The gun is equipped with leaf-type rear sight, flash suppressor and a spare barrel assembly. Associated components are the M63 antiaircraft mount and the M3 tripod mount.
History: Numerous manufacturers originally produced the M2 Heavy Machine Gun.
General Characteristics, M2 .50 Caliber Machine Gun
Builder:
Saco Defense
Length:
61.42 inches (156 centimeters)
Weight:
Gun: 84 pounds (38 kilograms)
M3 Tripod (Complete): 44 pounds (19.98 kilograms)
Total: 128 pounds (58 kilograms)
Bore Diameter:
.50 inches (12.7mm)
Maximum Effective Range:
2000 meters with tripod mount
Maximum Range:
4.22 miles (6.8 kilometers)
Cyclic Rate of Fire:
550 rounds per minute
Unit Replacement Cost:
$14,002
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 8:43pm
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AN/GAU-17 7.62mm Machine
Description: With the introduction of helicopters to the modern battlefield, the M61 system was redesigned and scaled down for use as a helicopter weapon system. Designated the M134, this new weapon was similar to the M61A1 but it fired the much smaller 7.62mm percussion primed rifle cartridge. Capable of firing 6,000 rounds per minute, the M134 was used on a number of helicopters, such as the UH-1 Iroquois, OH-6 Cayuse, and AH-1 Cobra, as well as the AC-47 gunship, during the Vietnam War. In these cases the M134 was part of an armament system and fired by either the pilot or co-pilot. The M134 also saw service in the Vietnam War in a number of under wing pods, allowing aircraft such as the AD-1 Sky Raider to deliver tremendous amounts of firepower in CAS missions.
The crew served version of the M134 is the GAU-17. Fired from a pintle mount on the helicopter fuselage, the GAU-17 is very similar to the M134 except that it is equipped with a "high" (4,000 rpm) and "low" (2,000 rpm) selector switch. The GAU-17 is currently in service on the UH-1N, H-3, and H-60 helicopters, as well as a number of American Special Operations aircraft and helicopters.
Background: Soon after the end of the Second World War the newly formed United States Air Force identified a need for an improved gun system for its aircraft. While adequate as an air combat / ground attack weapon during World War Two, the Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun had been rendered obsolete by jet aircraft and needed to be replaced by a weapon with increased range, rate of fire, and projectile lethality. Realizing that singled barreled automatic weapons had essentially reached their design limits, the U.S. Army Ordnance Research and Development Service hit on the idea of re-introducing the multi-barreled rotary weapon invented by Richard J. Gatling in the 1880s. Initial tests proved promising as a vintage Gatling gun, now powered by an electric motor in place of the usual hand crank, was able to achieve rates of fire in excess of 4,000 rounds per minute.
In 1946 the General Electric company received the contract for this new program, code named "Project Vulcan," and was tasked with producing functional prototypes in a number of calibers for further testing. In 1952 GE produced three different guns; .60 caliber, 20mm, and 27mm. After extensive testing, the 20mm version was selected for further testing to determine its suitability as an aircraft mounted weapon. In 1956 the gun was standardized as the M61 20mm cannon and entered service with both the United States Army and Air Force.
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David
Sat January 3, 2004 8:43pm
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AN/GAU-8 30mm Cannon
Description: The AN/GAU-8 Avenger 30mm gun system was specifically built to serve as a Close Air Support "Tank Buster." Similar to the earlier M61 20mm Vulcan design, the Avenger uses seven barrels to achieve a rate of fire of 3,900 rounds per minute. The Avenger fires a mix of 30mm electrically primed PGU-13/B High Explosive Incendiary (HEI) rounds and PGU-14/B Armor Piercing Incendiary (API) rounds. While the HEI rounds provide the Avenger the ability to destroy light skinned vehicles, the weapon's real punch is delivered by the API rounds, each of which incorporates over half a pound of super-dense Depleted Uranium (DU.) At 1,200 meters (4,000 feet) a 2 second burst from the AN/GAU-8 will deliver 100 rounds containing 65 pounds of DU and place 80 percent of these projectiles within 20 feet of the target.
The AN/GAU-8 is used exclusively by the United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II, a dedicated Close Air Support aircraft which was essentially designed around the Avenger gun system.
Background: Soon after the end of the Second World War the newly formed United States Air Force identified a need for an improved gun system for its aircraft. While adequate as an air combat / ground attack weapon during World War Two, the Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun had been rendered obsolete by jet aircraft and needed to be replaced by a weapon with increased range, rate of fire, and projectile lethality. Realizing that singled barreled automatic weapons had essentially reached their design limits, the U.S. Army Ordnance Research and Development Service hit on the idea of re-introducing the multi-barreled rotary weapon invented by Richard J. Gatling in the 1880s. Initial tests proved promising as a vintage Gatling gun, now powered by an electric motor in place of the usual hand crank, was able to achieve rates of fire in excess of 4,000 rounds per minute.
In 1946 the General Electric company received the contract for this new program, code named "Project Vulcan," and was tasked with producing functional prototypes in a number of calibers for further testing. In 1952 GE produced three different guns; .60 caliber, 20mm, and 27mm. After extensive testing, the 20mm version was selected for further testing to determine its suitability as an aircraft mounted weapon. In 1956 the gun was standardized as the M61 20mm cannon and entered service with both the United States Army and Air Force.
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