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RM use both if I remember correctly, but maybe in slightly different roles??

harry hackedoff wrote:Both weapons have one thing in common. D`ya know what it is?
It`s the toggle joint invented by one Hiram Maxim and first used on his Maxim Gun.

I was in the Junior Ranks club the other day and saw the plaque-mounted Maxim that a CO of about 7 years ago (a former Queen's Own Highlander) had presented to the JRs upon the end of his tenure. It is a 7.92mm version, "...captured from the Central Powers" during the First World War.

It's a big, heavy-looking bu@@er, even without the mount seen below. Makes the gimpy look decidedly skinny!

A little off topic.

But there was a lad in are unit, who turned up thinking he was going to do a Sustained Firing weekend.

Would love to have seen his face when he realised it was SBS selection

Well it did say SF on the training card!

Last i heard (a few years ago when it happened), he was just short of getting badged

Good effort Royal!

cambridgebloke wrote:Is the Minimi as effective as the GPMG for a small squad as opposed to the SA80 LSW?

And heres one that should prove interesting what 3 weapons would the experienced guys here take with them into a warzone i.e. the balkans.

Cheers Si

The L86A1 (LSW) is a piece of dung.

That says it all.

The Delta's and Rangers in Somalia complained that the 5.56mm bullets made it difficult to determine a kill. People would walk on for a while after being hit and dissappear around a corner. Depends on the circumstances I guess (urban). Here in Holland all infantry units are keeping the GPMG as well as the minimi, as far as I know.

The idea behind the 5.56 round is that it causes a nasty wound, which means more men are tied up dealing with the wounded than carrying out the attack. Once hit from a 5.56 round it normally means that you wont be taking part in any thing for quite a while, so it achieves it's objective.
Going back to Minimi gun, i was reading this week that a lad was killed by one of these weapons while trying to clear a blockage, which it said happens quite often. The lad had been told to place his foot on the cocking lever and force it back, guess what his foot slipped and the gun blew his head off.

Tab wrote:The lad had been told to place his foot on the cocking lever and force it back, guess what his foot slipped and the gun blew his head off.

:

Oooops.

Imagine having an accident with a firearm whereby you are injured or killed !!!!!

Terrible.

Tab wrote:The lad had been told to place his foot on the cocking lever and force it back, guess what his foot slipped and the gun blew his head off.

In the words of w@#k (or whatever the hell his name is): "Who's the fool, the fool or the fool who follows him?"

Tab wrote:The idea behind the 5.56 round is that it causes a nasty wound, which means more men are tied up dealing with the wounded than carrying out the attack. Once hit from a 5.56 round it normally means that you wont be taking part in any thing for quite a while, so it achieves it's objective.

Tabs spot on, idea being also to lower morale as your oppo whos been hit is screaming his head off. As with any wound the smaller it is the more pain you tend to "feel" and yelp about. The bigger and more serious the wound then you are usually quiet as the shock has kicked in.
So with matey screaming, all the medics having to put the coffee and ciggies out and doing some work, morale isnt going to go through the roof,the RAP is full,and the MO´s having a panic attack!

Also the exit wound is somewhat smaller from a 5.56 than a 7.62 and as its the vacum from the rear of the round travelling through your bodily tissues thats doing the damage, it can be hard to find where the hits been taken. Yes theres claret, but when you´ve been shot there tends to be so much claret deciding where its pouring from can be a mare.

5.56 also tends to stay in the body causing infection if not removed. 7.62 was a cleaner round as it hit then left the body, only drawback being you tended to die from its affects.