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A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the same combat unit are often referred to as squad automatic weapons.
While early light machine guns fired full-powered rifle cartridges, modern light machine guns often fire smaller-caliber rifle cartridges than medium machine guns – generally the same intermediate cartridge fired by a service's standard assault rifle – and are usually lighter and more compact. Some LMGs, such as the Russian RPK, are modifications of existing designs and designed to share the same ammunition. Adaptations to the original rifle generally include a larger magazine, a heavier barrel to resist overheating, a more robust mechanism to support sustained fire and a bipod.
A light machine gun is also defined by its usage as well as its specifications: some machine guns – notably general-purpose machine guns – may be deployed either as a light machine gun or a medium machine gun. Deployed on a tripod and used for sustained fire, it is a medium machine gun; if deployed with a bipod with the operator in a prone position and firing short bursts, it is a light machine gun.
Light machine guns are also designed to be fired from the hip or on the move as a form of suppressive fire intended to pin down the enemy. Marching fire is a specific tactic that relies on this capability.
Lighter modern LMGs have enabled them to be issued down at the fireteam level, with two or three at the section/squad level.
Many light machine guns (such as the Bren gun or the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle) were magazine-fed. Others, such as the Hotchkiss M1922, could be fed either from a belt/strip or from a box magazine. Modern light machine guns are designed to fire smaller caliber rounds and, as such, tend to be belt-fed (from a container attached to the gun) or from a detachable high-capacity drum magazine, but some, such as the FN Minimi, will also accept standard rifle magazine feeding as an auxiliary measure when belted ammunition has been exhausted.
In 1903, French military theorists noticed that the heavy machine guns of the day were of little use in infantry assaults. They determined that "the machine gun must learn to walk". [1] They researched the possibility of a light machine gun which could be carried by troops. A marching fire tactic was theorised, using incidental suppressive fire, with the advancing troops considered a deadlier threat than the un-aimed bullets, causing the enemy to fall back. The prototype guns were not approved for production, and none were in service when World War I began. [1] The French quickly brought the prototypes to mass production to boost the firepower of advancing infantry.
By the end of World War II, light machine guns were usually being issued on a scale of one per fire team or squad, and the modern infantry squad had emerged with tactics that were built around the use of the LMG to provide suppressive fire.[ citation needed ]
The following were either exclusively light machine guns, had a light machine gun variant or were employed in the light machine gun role with certain adaptations.
| Model | Country of origin | Design date | Caliber(s) | Weight (base model) | Feed system | Rate of fire (rounds/min) | Model variants |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Madsen machine gun |  Denmark | 1883 | Various | 9.07 kg (20.0 lb) | Box magazine | 450 | |
| Chauchat (Fusil-Mitrailleur Mle 1915 'CSRG') |  France | 1907 | 8mm Lebel | 9.07 kg (20.0 lb) | Magazine | 240/360 | |
| Hotchkiss M1909 Benét–Mercié |  United States  United Kingdom | 1909 | 8mm Lebel .303 British .30-06 Springfield | 12 kg (26.5 lb) | Feed/belt | 400–600 | |
| Bergmann MG15 nA Gun |  Germany | 1910 | 7.92×57mm Mauser | 12.9 kg (28.4 lb) | Belt | 500–600 | |
| Vickers-Berthier | France United Kingdom | 1910 | .303 British | 11.07 kg (24.4 lb) | Box | 450–600 | |
| Lewis Gun | United States United Kingdom | 1911 | .303 British .30-06 Springfield 7.92×57mm Mauser | 13 kg (28.7 lb) | Drum magazine | 600 (cyclic) | |
| Huot automatic rifle |  Canada | 1916 | .303 British | 5.9 kg (13.0 lb) | Drum magazine | 155/475 | |
| M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle | United States | 1917 | .30-06 Springfield 6.5×55mm 7.92×57mm Mauser | 8.8 kg (19.4 lb) | Box magazine | 650 (cyclic) | Wz. 1928 (Poland) |
| Hotchkiss M1922 | France | 1922 | Various | 8.5 kg (18.7 lb) | Feed/magazine | 450 | |
| Type 11 light machine gun |  Japan | 1922 | 6.5×50mm Arisaka | 10.2 kg (22.5 lb) | Hopper magazine, 30 rounds | 500 (cyclic) | |
| ZB vz. 26 |  Czechoslovakia | 1923 | 7.92×57mm Mauser | 10.5 kg (23.1 lb) | Box magazine | 500 | |
| FM-24/29 | France | 1924 | 7.5×54mm French | 9.1 kg (20.1 lb) | Box magazine | 450 (cyclic) | |
| Maxim-Tokarev |  Soviet Union | 1924 | 7.62×54mmR | 12.9 kg (28.4 lb) | Belt | ||
| Lmg 25 |  Switzerland | 1925 | 7.5×55mm Swiss | 8.65 kg (19.1 lb) | Box magazine | ≈500 | |
| Lahti-Saloranta M/26 |  Finland | 1925 | 7.62×53mmR | 9.3 kg (20.5 lb) | Magazine | 450–550 | |
| Degtyaryov machine gun | Soviet Union | 1927 | 7.62×54mmR | 9.12 kg (20.1 lb) | Various | 550 | |
| Mendoza RM2 |  Mexico | 1928 | 7×57mm Mauser .30-06 Springfield | 6.3 kg (13.9 lb) | Box magazine | 450–650 | |
| Breda 30 |  Italy | 1930 | 6.5×52mm Mannlicher–Carcano | 10.6 kg (23.4 lb) | Stripper clip fed, internal magazine | 500 (cyclic) | |
| ZB vz. 30 | Czechoslovakia | 1930 | 7.92×57mm | 9.1 kg (20.1 lb) | Box magazine | 550–650 | |
| Bren | United Kingdom | 1935 | .303 British | 10.35 kg (22.8 lb) | Various | 500–520 | |
| Type 96 light machine gun | Japan | 1936 | 6.5×50mm Arisaka | 9 kg (19.8 lb) | Box magazine | 450 (cyclic) | |
| Type 99 light machine gun | Japan | 1939 | 7.7×58mm Arisaka | 10.4 kg (22.9 lb) | Box magazine | 800 | |
| RPK | Soviet Union | 1960 | 7.62×39mm | 4.8 kg (10.6 lb) | Drum or box magazine | 600 | RPK-74 RPK-16 |
| Stoner 63 | United States | 1960s | 5.56×45mm NATO | 5.3 kg (11.7 lb) | Drum or box magazine | 1000 (cyclic) | |
| Colt Automatic Rifle | United States | 1970s | 5.56×45mm NATO | 5.78 kg (12.7 lb) | Drum or box magazine | 750 (cyclic) | Diemaco LSW (CAN) |
| L86 LSW | United Kingdom | 1970s | 5.56×45mm NATO | 6.58 kg (14.5 lb) | Box magazine | 775 (cyclic) | |
| FN Minimi |  Belgium | 1974 | 5.56×45mm NATO (standard) *7.62×51mm NATO | 6.85 kg (15.1 lb) | Belt fed or box magazine | 1150 (cyclic) | M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (USA) MK 46 machine gun (USA) |
| CETME Ameli |  Spain | 1974 | 5.56×45mm NATO | 5.3 kg (11.7 lb) | Belt fed | 1200 (cyclic) | MG82 (Spain) |
| Ultimax 100 |  Singapore | 1977 | 5.56×45mm NATO | 4.75 kg (10.5 lb) | Drum or box magazine | 600 (cyclic) | |
| Steyr AUG H-BAR |  Austria | 1977 | 5.56×45mm NATO | 3.9 kg (8.6 lb) | Box magazine | 750 (cyclic) | |
| Negev |  Israel | 1985 | 5.56×45mm NATO (standard) 7.62×51mm NATO | 7.4 kg (16.3 lb) | Belt fed or magazine | 1150 (cyclic) | |
| Heckler & Koch MG4 | Germany | 1990s | 5.56×45mm NATO | 8.55 kg (18.8 lb) | Belt fed | 885 (cyclic) | |
| Heckler & Koch MG36 | Germany | 1990s | 5.56×45mm NATO | 3.83 kg (8.4 lb) | Drum or box magazine | 750 (cyclic) | |
| INSAS LMG |  India | 1990s | 5.56×45mm NATO | 6.7 kg (14.8 lb) | Box magazine | 650 (cyclic) | |
| SAR-21 LMG | Singapore | 1996 | 5.56×45mm NATO | 3.82 kg (8.4 lb) | Box magazine | 650 (cyclic) | |
| Ares Shrike 5.56 | United States | 2000s | 5.56×45mm NATO | 3.4 kg (7.5 lb) | Belt fed or magazine | 800 (cyclic) | |
| Type-81 LMG |  China | 2008 | 7.62×39mm | 5.15 kg (11.4 lb) | 100-round drum or 30-round STANAG | 750 (cyclic) | BD-08 LMG (Bangladesh) |
| M27 IAR | Germany | 2008 | 5.56×45mm NATO | 3.6 kg (7.9 lb) | Drum or box magazine | 640 (cyclic) | |
| QJB-95 | China | 1997 | 5.8x42mm | 3.25 kg (7.2 lb) | 60 | 900 (cyclic) |
A machine gun (MG) is a fully automatic, rifled auto-loading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifles) are typically designed more for firing short bursts rather than continuous firepower and are not considered true machine guns. Submachine guns fire handgun cartridges rather than rifle cartridges, therefore they are not considered machine guns, while automatic firearms of 20 mm (0.79 in) caliber or more are classified as autocannons rather than machine guns.
A squad automatic weapon (SAW), also known as a section automatic weapon or light support weapon (LSW), is a man-portable automatic firearm attached to infantry squads or sections as a source of rapid direct firepower. Weapons fulfilling this role can be light machine guns, or modified selective-fire rifles fitted with a heavier barrel, bipod and a belt/drum-fed design.
The Bren gun was a series of light machine guns (LMG) made by Britain in the 1930s and used in various roles until 1992. While best known for its role as the British and Commonwealth forces' primary infantry LMG in World War II, it was also used in the Korean War and saw service throughout the latter half of the 20th century, including the 1982 Falklands War. Although fitted with a bipod, it could also be mounted on a tripod or be vehicle-mounted.
The Chauchat was the standard light machine gun or "machine rifle" of the French Army during World War I (1914–18). Its official designation was "Fusil Mitrailleur Modele 1915 CSRG". Beginning in June 1916, it was placed into regular service with French infantry, where the troops called it the FM Chauchat, after Colonel Louis Chauchat, the main contributor to its design. The Chauchat in 8mm Lebel was also extensively used in 1917–18 by the American Expeditionary Forces (A.E.F.), where it was officially designated as the "Automatic Rifle, Model 1915 (Chauchat)". A total of 262,000 Chauchats were manufactured between December 1915 and November 1918, including 244,000 chambered for the 8mm Lebel service cartridge, making it the most widely manufactured automatic weapon of World War I. The armies of eight other nations—Belgium, Finland, Greece, Italy, Poland, Romania, Russia, and Serbia—also used the Chauchat machine rifle in fairly large numbers during and after World War I.
The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) is a family of American automatic rifles and machine guns used by the United States and numerous other countries during the 20th century. The primary variant of the BAR series was the M1918, chambered for the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge and designed by John Browning in 1917 for the American Expeditionary Forces in Europe as a replacement for the French-made Chauchat and M1909 Benét–Mercié machine guns that US forces had previously been issued.
An automatic rifle is a type of autoloading rifle that is capable of fully automatic fire. Automatic rifles are generally select-fire weapons capable of firing in semi-automatic and automatic firing modes. Automatic rifles are distinguished from semi-automatic rifles in their ability to fire more than one shot in succession once the trigger is pulled. Most automatic rifles are further subcategorized as battle rifles or assault rifles.
The M60, officially the Machine Gun, Caliber 7.62 mm, M60, is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links. There are several types of ammunition approved for use in the M60, including ball, tracer, and armor-piercing rounds.
An automatic firearm or fully automatic firearm is an autoloading firearm that continuously chambers and fires rounds when the trigger mechanism is actuated. The action of an automatic firearm is capable of harvesting the excess energy released from a previous discharge to feed a new ammunition round into the chamber, and then igniting the propellant and discharging the projectile by delivering a hammer or striker impact on the primer.
The Stoner 63 is a 5.56×45mm NATO modular weapon system. Using a variety of modular components, it can be configured as an assault rifle, carbine, top-fed light machine gun, belt-fed squad automatic weapon, or as a vehicle mounted weapon. Also known as the M63, XM22, XM23, XM207 or the Mk 23 Mod 0 machine gun, it was designed by Eugene Stoner in the early 1960s. Cadillac Gage was the primary manufacturer of the Stoner 63 during its history. The Stoner 63 saw very limited combat use by United States forces during the Vietnam War. A few were also sold to law enforcement agencies.
A heavy machine gun (HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns. HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or tactically mobile, have more formidable firepower, and generally require a team of personnel for operation and maintenance.
A medium machine gun (MMG), in modern terms, usually refers to a belt-fed machine gun firing a full-powered rifle cartridge, and is considered "medium" in weight. Medium machine guns are light enough to be infantry-portable, but still cumbersome enough to require a crew for optimal operational efficiency.
The Colt Automatic Rifle or Colt Light Machine Gun is a 5.56 mm NATO, open-bolt, full-automatic-only firearm developed by Colt Defense. It is based on the M16A2/A4, and has a distinctive squared-off handguard, vertical grip, carrying handle and integrated bipod.
The Colt Machine Gun or CMG was an open bolt belt-fed machine gun that fires 5.56×45mm cartridges designed by Colt Manufacturing Company in 1965. Colt hastily developed the CMG-1 to complement the CAR-15, a Colt branding of the M16 rifle, so that Colt might offer both of them as an alternative to the Stoner 63 weapons system. It failed to achieve any sales, and was replaced by the Colt CMG-2, which also failed to achieve any sales. The CMG-3 was a 7.62×51mm NATO version that failed as well.
The Mendoza RM2 was a light machine gun similar to the M1918 BAR manufactured in Mexico by Productos Mendoza, S.A. Rafael Mendoza have been producing machine guns for the Mexican Army since 1933 and all have been noted for their lightness, simplicity, ease of maintenance, and economic construction without sacrificing reliability.
The Leichtes Maschinengewehr Modell 1925 is a Swiss recoil operated light machine gun designed by Colonel Adolf Furrer of Waffenfabrik Bern in the 1920s and produced from 1925 to the 1960s. It was the first machine gun in the Swiss Army that could be carried by a man. It takes the 7.5 mm Swiss Service cartridge from a 30-round box magazine and has a cyclic rate of fire of about 500 rounds-per-minute. In 1957, the LMG 25 was replaced by the Stgw 57-Assault rifle.
The M27 Infantry Automatic Rifle (IAR) is a 5.56mm, select-fire assault rifle, based on the HK416 by Heckler & Koch. It is used by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and is intended to be issued to all infantry riflemen as well as automatic riflemen. The USMC initially planned to purchase 6,500 M27s to replace a portion of the M249 light machine guns employed by automatic riflemen within Infantry and Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalions. Approximately 8,000–10,000 M249s will remain in service with the Marine Corps to be used at the discretion of company commanders. In December 2017, the Marine Corps announced that it would equip every member of an infantry squad with the M27, supplanting the M4 carbine which would be retained at the platoon leadership positions and above.
The M249 SAW, formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the US military’s adaptation of the Belgian FN Minimi, a light machine gun manufactured by FN Herstal (FN).
The Type 73 is a light machine gun designed and manufactured by North Korea's First Machine Industry Bureau. It is used primarily by the Korean People's Army, and via Iran, has been exported throughout the Middle East. It has a passing resemblance to the Bren light machine gun.
Marching fire, also known as walking fire, is a military tactic—a form of suppressive fire used during an infantry assault or combined arms assault. Advancing units fire their weapons without stopping to aim, in an attempt to pin down enemy defenders. Marching fire usually ends with an infantry charge to engage the enemy in close combat. The tactic requires ample ammunition and rapid-fire weapons. It differs from fire and movement in that the attacking force advances in unison rather than leapfrogging forward in alternating groups.
The RPL-20 is a prototype light machine gun developed by Kalashnikov Concern for the Russian Military. Though designed in response to feedback following the purchase and testing of the company's magazine-fed RPK-16 light machine gun, the RPL-20 is an entirely new design, utilizing an open-bolt, belt-fed action in lieu of the closed-bolt, magazine fed operation typical to Kalashnikov-pattern weapons. It is anticipated to serve as a squad automatic weapon in Russian military use, supplementing the heavier-caliber PK machine guns currently used for suppressive fire while still providing a higher practical rate of fire than is possible with RPK-based weapons. The RPL-20 was unveiled at the Army-2020 event in late August, 2020.
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