FN MAG

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FN MAG
Type	General Purpose Machine Gun
Place of origin	Belgium
Service history
Used by	See Operators
Wars	South African Border War, Falklands War, Gulf War, 2003 Iraq conflict
Production history
Designed	1950s
Manufacturer	Fabrique Nationale (FN)
Produced	1955—
Variants	British L7 and L8, M240 (US)
Specifications
Weight	10.15 kg
Length	1250 mm
Barrel length	546 mm

Cartridge	7.62 × 51 mm NATO
Caliber	7.62 mm (.308 in)
Action	gas-operated long piston
Rate of fire	850 rounds/min
Effective range	1,000 m, 1,500 m (with bipod)
Feed system	Belt fed

The FN MAG (or MAG-58) is a machine gun manufactured by Fabrique Nationale (FN), Belgium. It was developed in the 1950s, in production since 1958, and has become a widely adopted 7.62 mm NATO-firing machine gun, used by more than 20 countries. MAG stands for Mitrailleuse d'Appui General, translated as 'general purpose machine gun' (GPMG).

1 Design
2 Operation
- 2.1 Gas setting
- 2.2 Changing barrels
3 Operators
4 External links
5 Notes
6 See also

[edit] Design

A Bermuda Regiment WO2, with FN MAG.

Chambered for the 7.62 x 51 mm NATO cartridge, the MAG uses a locking system similar to that of the Browning Automatic Rifle and has made use of some other work by John Browning who had worked on other, earlier designs in Belgium. The downward locking bolt drives the belt feed system, which is a similar type to that of the MG42, itself borrowing it from an earlier design. They are, however, not identical: the MAG works with the standard NATO belt type, which was a capability not added until a 1968 redesign of the MG3, a descendant of the MG42. The MG42 also influenced the MAG's trigger mechanism

The FN MAG has proven to be extremely reliable under all conditions. In U.S. Army testing it could fire, on average, 26,000 rounds until a failure (such as a part breaking). Mean rounds to a stoppage, such as jam, was lower.

One popular feature of this weapon is that the barrels can be switched very quickly; indeed during sustained usage, a well trained crew can swap to a fresh barrel within about three seconds, and are technically supposed to do so after every 200 round belt during sustained fire in order to prevent overheating. In practise, this is often skipped, and the weapon can take it. During the Falklands War for example British Paratroopers participating in the assault on Goose Green were forced to fire over eight thousand rounds through individual barrels without significant pause or opportunity to change them. The result was muzzles glowing white hot, but the weapons still proving effective.

[edit] Operation

The weapon is cleared by pulling the charging handle to lock the bolt to the rear, pushing the safety button to safe, opening the feed cover, sweeping away any rounds or links, and lifting the feed tray to inspect the bolt. If a live round is on the bolt face, it is knocked loose. If there is a round in the chamber, and the weapon is hot (from firing), the soldier must move his face away from the weapon to prevent injury in event of the round cooking-off. If a cook-off is likely, the best course of action is to slam the feed cover shut, put the weapon to fire, and squeeze the trigger to fire off the round. Some militaries prescribe this course of action as an automatic drill. The weapon may also be allowed to cool, before attempting to remove the round.

Loading the weapon is performed by pulling the charging handle to the rear, locking the bolt to the rear, placing the weapon on safe and then pushing the charging handle forwards. The feed tray cover is then lifted and rounds are laid inside the feed tray. The feed tray cover is then closed and the weapon is ready for operation. In some armies however, such as the Canadian Forces, the feed tray cover is lifted first, then the weapon loaded, then the charging handle is cocked to the rear and the weapon put on safe.

[edit] Gas setting

The rate of fire may be controlled by three different settings. The first setting allows the weapon to cycle at 750 round/min. The two remaining settings increase the rate of fire by 100 round/min per setting — second setting being 850 round/min and third setting, 950 round/min). These settings are changed by turning the gas regulator using the C-tool provided. It is generally performed before missions, as changing the setting is distracting at best under field or combat conditions. In event of sluggish operation due to fouling, the gas regulator is usually turned two positions up in situ to provide more gas for reliable operation. This operation is usually done by the assistant gunner, on instruction by the gunner.

[edit] Changing barrels

The barrels can be exchanged rapidly, thanks to a barrel release button located on the left side of the weapon. The weapon is cleared first and then the button is held down, while the barrel's carrying handle is moved from the right side of the weapon to the center, unlocking it from the receiver. At this point, the button is released and the barrel is then pulled free of the receiver and placed to the side. The new barrel is inserted into the receiver and then the carrying handle is shifted to the right, locking it into place.

During prolonged firing, care must be taken to not allow exposed skin to come in contact with the weapon. The barrels can become hot enough to inflict second degree burns instantly without becoming visibly different. However, such barrels glow brightly to anyone using any sort of night-vision device. In winter use, care must also be taken not to let the removed barrel lay on bare snow, as it will melt its way through that in a very short time, causing some embarrassment, or worse, when the replacement barrel is lost in the snow.

[edit] Operators

M240 machine gun is fired from a SH-60F Sea Hawk assigned to the "Eightballers" of Helicopter Anti-Submarine Squadron Eight (HS-8) during a training exercise. 2003

It has been adopted by more than 80 countries worldwide, and is license-produced in the US, UK, Argentina, Taiwan, India, and Singapore and Egypt.

Argentina
- The FN MAG is still in use in the Argentinian Army,^[1] after being purchased more than two decades ago, the MAG gained notoriety in the Argentine Armed Forces during the Falklands War.

Australia
- The FN MAG is officially designated as the MAG 58 in the Australian Defence Force, in particular, the Australian Army.

Austria
- The MAG58 is established in the Austrian Army as 7,62mm MG FNMAG/Pz and is used in the Schützenpanzer Ulan and the Kampfpanzer Leopard 2A4. In version FNMAG/M it is also used as armament for the new S-70A-42 Black Hawk Helicopters.

Belgium
- At use in every basic infantry and paracommando squad of the Belgian Army.

Brazil

Canada
- As the C6 GPMG. Two C6 machine guns are assigned to each Rifle platoon.

Colombia

Estonia
- The Swedish-made version known as the Ksp 58 has been adopted as the standard MG.

Indonesia
- Pindad SPM2-V2 GPMG

India
- The various services of the Indian Armed Forces use the locally produced version of the MAG 58 known as the MG 2A1.

Ireland
- Known as the GPMG or MAG. It is used in a fire support role at section level in the infantry. Other units (including Navy and Aer Corp) use the GPMG in variety roles such as mounted, sustained fire and heavy roles. It has been recently introduced to the army reserve replacing the Bren gun.

Israel
- It is being superseded by the newer, Israeli made Negev Light machine gun. Still widely used on tanks, APC's and other vehicles.

Japan
- The Japanese army uses the FN MAG manufactured by Sumitomo Heavy Industries but with totally different features such as vented barrel, stock, carrying handle, bipod etc. This variation is known as the T-62/Type 62. See NTK-62 machine gun.

Lithuania

Malaysia

The Netherlands
- Mostly replaced in the infantry role by the FN Minimi, now only used on tanks, APCs, Jeeps and non-combat units.

New Zealand
- Possibly designated MAG 58/L7A2?.

Nigeria

Singapore
- One FN MAG is issued to each rifle platoon. It is always referred to as GPMG or simply, MG. The weapon is operated by the machine gun team, comprising the MG Commander, the MG-gunner, and assistant gunner who carries extra ammunition, helps link belts and change barrels, and provides security.

Slovenia

South Africa
- Deployed in infantry platoons. Commonly referred to as the LMG.

Sweden
- Adopted in 1958 as Ksp 58, and manufactured by Carl Gustav. It was chambered in 6.5x55 mm Swedish.
- It was slightly modified in 1970 circa, to the current Ksp 58B standard, with the major improvement being a new gas-regulator. At the same time most weapons were converted to 7.62 x 51 mm NATO, simply by replacing the barrels. However, the old barrels were still kept to be able to use the large stock of ammunition in 6.5 mm.
- A short barreled variant, also fitted with a retracting stock akin to that on the FN Minimi Para has also been developed under the designation Ksp 58DF, but the resulting Ksp 58D has not yet been adopted.
- The Ksp 58 Strv is a version used in tanks.

Taiwan
- Made under license as the CSF (Combined Service Forces), formerly Hsing-Hua Arsenal, Type 74.

An NCO of the Bermuda Regiment armed with an FN MAG.

United Kingdom
- The MAG was adopted by the British forces as a replacement for the Vickers machine gun, Taden gun and the Bren, following trials in 1957. Built under licence by Enfield. It serves in the British Army, the Royal Marines and other services as the L7 GPMG (General Purpose Machine Gun), but affectionately nicknamed "Gimpy" by British soldiers. Two main variants, the L7A1 and L7A2, have been developed for infantry use, with the L7A2 having superseded the earlier variant. Several more modified variants have been developed, notably the L8 (A1 and A2) variant for mounting in armoured vehicles (the L37 was developed for mounting on armoured vehicles). Although intended to replace the Bren entirely, that light machine gun (re-titled the L4) continued in use in jungle terrain (especially in the Far East), where there was no requirement for the medium machine gun role, and with secondary units, until the adoption of the L86 Section Automatic Weapon. This was intended to replace both the L7 and the L4 in the light machinegun role, but dissatisfaction with the L86's firepower and reliability have resulted in combat units continuing to utilise the L7 whenever possible (although neither it, nor its 7.62mm NATO ammunition is supposed to be issued to infantry platoons any longer).

United States
- As M240. The Army mainly uses the M240B, and the Marine Corps the M240G, though there are other types used by them and other branches, such as for use in AFVs.
- This inroads to the American military opened the way (and the logistics channel) for Army adoption of the "produced by an American company" MAG -- designated the M240 -- for use on the M1 Abrams tank in 1977. The Marine Corps adopted it in the 1980s for general use on vehicles, eventually arranging to swap all of their M60s to the Army in exchange for the M240. The Marines' use of the M240 in the GMPG role led Army to reconsider the MAG, and it was finally adopted for infantry in the 1990s after it beat out the latest version of the M60 (the M60E4) in trials. It has also been adopted in many roles by other branches, and is gradually replacing the M60 family.
- The M240B model also has an internal recoil buffer and some other changes over the MAG, other versions also vary. A new lightweight version will make use of titanium for some components. The M240 and remaining M60, as well as some M249 are planned to be replaced by under a program for a new lightweight machinegun in the early 21st century.