Machine Gun Flashcards
Automatic riflemen use assault fire in close combat, which is firing without the aid of sights using hip, shoulder, and underarm positions. What is a consideration for automatic riflemen using assault fire?
Aim low and walk fire upwards.
Fire distributed in width and depth by successive changes in direction and elevation is known as ____.
Searching and traversing
Distributed fire is delivered in width and depth such as at an enemy formation. Concentrated fire is delivered at a point target such as an automatic weapon or an enemy fighting position. What determines how machine gun fire is applied at these targets?
Target type or activity
_____ occurs when the long axis of the beaten zone is at an angle other than a right angle to the front of the target.
Oblique fire
What are the rates of fire for the M249 squad automatic weapon?
Sustained: 50RPM in 6-9 round bursts
Rapid: 100RPM in 6-9 round bursts
Cyclic: 850RPM
Gunners can use this technique of fire when there is sufficient low ground between the machine gun and target area of the maneuver friendly force.
Overhead
What are the six fires in respect to the machine gun?
Fixed Traversing Searching Traversing and searching Swinging traversing Free gun
Fire commands are given to deliver fire on a target quickly and without confusion. What are the six elements of fire commands for the machine gun?
Alert Direction Description Range Method of fire Command to fire
When several rounds are fired in a burst from a machine gun, each round takes a slightly different trajectory. The pattern these rounds form on the way to the target is called the _____.
Cone of fire
Gunners can conserve ammunition and reduce barrel changes by using the _____ rate of fire once the enemy has been suppressed.
Sustained
What are the four classifications of fires with respect to the target?
Frontal
Flanking
Oblique
Enfilade
______ fire is employed against targets requiring major changes in direction but little to no change in elevation.
Swinging traversing
What type of fire is employed against a deep target or a target having depth and minimal width, requiring only changes in elevation of the gun?
Searching fire
_____ fire occurs when the long axis of the beaten zone is at a right angle to the front of the target.
Frontal
What is fixed fire?
Fixed fire is delivered against a stationary point target when the depth and width of the beaten zone covers the target with little or no manipulation needed.
What is a field expedient technique used to define sector limits and may provide the lay of the FPL or predetermined targets along a sector?
Aiming stakes/base stakes
_____ occurs when there is little or no danger space from the muzzle of the weapon to the beaten zone. It occurs when weapons fire at long range, when firing from high ground to low ground, when firing into abruptly rising ground, or when firing across uneven terrain, resulting in a loss of grazing fire at points along the trajectory.
Plunging fire
_____ fire is delivered against moving targets, rapidly engaging with fast changes in both direction and elevation.
Free gun
What is the highest point the trajectory reaches between the muzzle of the weapon and the base of the target?
Maximum ordinate
