M240 machine gun

Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240
Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240
	M240B
Type	General-purpose machine gun
Place of origin	Belgium; United States (manufacture);
Service history
In service	1977–present
Used by	United States Armed Forces
Wars	Gulf War; Iraq conflict; Afghanistan conflict;
Production history
Designer	Ernest Vervier
Designed	1950s
Manufacturer	FN Manufacturing, LLC
Produced	1977–present
Variants	See Variants
Specifications
Mass	M240B: 27.1 pounds (12.3 kg) ; M240G: 25.6 pounds (11.6 kg) ; M240L: 22.3 pounds (10.1 kg)
Length	49.7 in (1,263 mm)
Barrel length	24.8 in (630 mm)
Width	4.7 in (118.7 mm)
Height	10.4 in (263 mm)
Cartridge	7.62×51mm NATO
Action	Gas-operated, open bolt
Rate of fire	750–950 rounds/min
Muzzle velocity	2,800 ft/s (853 m/s)
Effective firing range	Bipod: 800 m (880 yd); Tripod: 1,800 m (1,980 yd);
Maximum firing range	4,074 yd (3,725 m)
Feed system	Non-disintegrating DM1 or disintegrating M13 linked belt
Sights	Folding leaf sight with aperture and notch, front blade

The M240 machine gun is a type of machine gun. It fires the 7.62mm NATO cartridge. It is gas-operated and the bullets are fed into the chamber by a belt. The M240 has been used by the United States Armed Forces since the late-1970s. It is used a lot by infantry. The M240 is also mounted onto ground vehicles, boats, and helicopters.

M240 Machine Gun Media

M240 coaxial machine gun aboard an M1 Abrams tank
A US Marine inserts an ammunition belt into the feed tray of the M240G
A Marine performs maintenance on a mounted M240 pintle-mounted machine gun on a LAV
An M1 Abrams tank with the tank commander's .50-caliber M2 Browning machine gun on the right side of the tank, and the ammunition loader's M240 on the left side of the tank. A second M240 is mounted coaxially next to the main gun
M240E1 variant on a LAV-25
Marines with a tripod-mounted M240G
An M240B in use by a U.S. Army soldier
A Seabee fires an M240B mounted atop a Humvee
Weight reduced short-barreled M240L, the newest variant in service
U.S. infantryman patrolling with the M240L

Sources

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 "FN Machine Guns: M240 Series". FNH USA. 2011. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2011.
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 "FNH USA". Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2013-11-18.

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[fnhusa01-1] 1.0 ^1.1 ^1.2 "FN Machine Guns: M240 Series". FNH USA. 2011. Archived from the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved January 16, 2011.

[fnhusa-2] 2.0 ^2.1 "FNH USA". Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2013-11-18.

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