M60 Machine Gun

The M60 fired 7.62mm rounds linked together into belts with metal clips, that were fed into the gun from the left side. It was considered a "crew served" weapon with one guy shooting and one guy feeding it. The belts could be snapped together to give it a continuous source of ammo. If it was fired for a long time the barrel could get hot enough to glow red, so it could be replaced by flipping a lever and sliding it out.

The gun was the heaviest load to carry so the gunner was picked by size. It was normally carried balanced on a shoulder while hanging onto one of the bi-pod legs. Most gunners found some way of padding it so it wouldn't hurt their shoulder. Some guys wired a C-ration can on the side to act as a guide for the ingoing ammo.

The M60 was referred to as a gun. All the other light infantry arms were referred to as weapons. I learned a short little poem about that in basic training when I mistakenly called my M14 a gun....

This is my rifle, this is my gun. This is for fighting, this is for fun!

         You figure it out.

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