The rate of fire of a weapon in a certain period of time largely depends on the ammunition. The tape system for supplying cartridges makes it possible to increase the practical rate of fire of small arms, allowing continuous fire for a long time. Such a system is mainly used for combat power of machine guns, less often for grenade launchers and automatic guns. From here the belt equipped with cartridges got its name - machine-gun belt.
Cartridge feed system
In addition to the undeniable advantages of the belt feed of cartridges, this system also has drawbacks, namely: to a certain extent, a deterioration in maneuverability due to an increase in the mass and dimensions of the weapon is noted. In this regard, the most effective applications of the tape feed were determined: machine gun, heavy infantry, tank, anti-aircraft and aviation machine gun, automatic grenade launcher, small-caliber guns. In modern light machine guns, this system is used in combination with a magazine.
The main elements of the system are: cartridge belt (machine gun) - a tape with slots for cartridges, and the mechanism for feeding it to the delivery line, which consists of a movement mechanism and a movement drive. The essence of the tape system is to automatically move the tape equipped with cartridges for each shot by the movement mechanism one step, which is equal to the gap between adjacent cartridges. The smaller the travel step, the less energy is required to feed the machine gun belt. This increases the reliability of the feed mechanism, allows you to make the tape more compact, which reduces the "dead" weight and increases the overall maneuverability of the weapon. At the same time, this reduces the flexibility of the tape, which may affect the dimensions of the cartridge box.
Machine gun belt designation
Machine-gun belt is used to place cartridges on it with a certain gap from each other. The feed for moving the cartridge into the chamber is carried out by a mechanism that is driven by the energy of the moving parts of the weapon, while the next cartridge is in a strictly set position (step) for the next feeding stage.
The cartridge belt has a smaller “dead” mass than the gun magazine, that is, the mass of the empty cartridge is less than the mass of empty magazines in the calculation for an equal number of cartridges. At present, with increasingly growing requirements for the intensity and duration of firing, as well as an increase in the maneuverability of weapons, belt feeding systems are increasingly being used in large-caliber, easel and light machine guns. Due to the presence of a number of shortcomings that create some inconvenience during operation, work is constantly being done to improve machine gun belts, requiring design complexity.
A bit of history
One of the first unit feeding belt systems was used in a Bailey hand-operated machine gun. This system with a fixed shutter and a rotating block of trunks was patented in 1876. The machine-gun belt used in the Bailey system was a canvas strip with sewn L-shaped metal squares. The holders of the tube type were attached to the squares. After the shot, the sleeve remained in the tape.
So remaining experimental, the Bailey system did not receive widespread use. The first truly massive model was the Maxim machine gun. The tape for this weapon was as simple as possible in design and was an elongated version of the bandoleer belt. Two canvas strips were sewn together, forming through, with equal pitch pockets for cartridges.
Kinds
In practice, there are two main types of machine gun belts: flexible and rigid. The first, in turn, are divided into soft, semi-rigid and combined. Machine gun belt can be made of canvas or cotton fabric, spring steel, plastic. The most common material for modern cartridge tapes is steel, as it is least affected by atmospheric conditions.
By the method of connecting the links, two types of metal tapes are distinguished: with detachable links and a fixed length. In a detachable tape, the individual links combine the cartridges themselves with its equipment. During firing, when the fused connecting sleeve is ejected, the links scatter. Such tapes are not limited in length, have a small step and are easy to handle, for example, in cramped conditions of infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers.
Field systems use fixed length tapes. Their integral links are combined with each other, excluding separation during operation, allowing their use for re-equipment. These are reusable tapes. 7.62 mm machine gun belt of a fixed length is used in Goryunov's machine guns and Kalashnikov's single machine guns. The capacity of such tapes is from 50 to 250 rounds.
A rigid cartridge strip is a metal strip stamped with cartridge slots in it. Rigid tape has no advantages except for the simplicity of the device. Their capacity is extremely small. It is used in easel machine guns, for example, the Hotchkiss system.
Basic requirements for machine gun belts
When operating automatic weapons, machine gun belt is subjected to jerks and considerable effort. Therefore, one of the main requirements for the tape is its strength. It is due to large service loads during the operation of the weapon and its transportation.
When operating automation, the cartridge supplied to the receiver must be in a strictly designated position. This will eliminate distortions and, as a result, delays in shooting. The fixing of the cartridge in the tape must be reliable in a certain position and not be disturbed by shaking during shooting or transportation. At the same time, the force required to remove the cartridge from the latch should not be excessively large for the normal operation of the weapon automation.
Link device
Any machine-gun belt always has a device for fixing the cartridge and its alignment. In metal tapes, the fixing and alignment of the cartridge is carried out by one part of the link at the same time. For this purpose, the limb of the link, in which the sleeve rests against the bottom, or the protrusions (tails) of the link that fall into the groove of the sleeve are used. Fixation can also be provided by focusing the slope of the sleeve into the inner surface of the slope of the link. In canvas tapes, the alignment of cartridges was carried out using every tenth metal separation plate, which was made longer and protruded beyond the canvas strip. Fixation, as well as alignment was achieved due to the canvas folds on the sleeve of the sleeve.
Famous machine guns of the Second World War
Back in the early twentieth century, machine guns were considered as a special type of weapon with a narrow range of combat missions. By the middle of the century, this type of weaponry was considered one of the most important means of warfare at short and medium distances. A revision of the significance of these weapons occurred in World War II, it was during this period that some machine gun models became legendary and prototypes for future developments. The most famous machine guns of the Second World War, which used a tape system for supplying cartridges, are listed below:
- The single machine gun MG 42. The German machine gun MG 42 7.92 mm Mauser (short for Maschinengewehr, which means "mechanical rifle"), was adopted by the Wehrmacht in 1942. According to most weapons experts, it is considered the best machine gun of its time. It was distinguished by simplicity, convenience, durability, reliability, and most importantly, incomparable rate of fire.
- The legendary machine gun 7.62 mm "Maxim" model 1941 with an enlarged neck of the cooling casing. In the field, even snow was used to cool the barrel.
- 7.62 mm machine gun machine gun Goryunova SG-43. It was developed and adopted in 1943 as a replacement for the Maxim and the Degtyarev DS-39 machine gun.
Machine gun belt loading
Tape equipment can be carried out manually, even there is a certain standard for this. But with a large amount of ammunition, a special machine is used to charge machine-gun belts. A device is known for loading cartridge strips of a Rakov design. This machine, designed for 7.62 mm cartridges, consists of several key parts: a hopper, a movable bottom, a belt clip, a sorter with a clamp, a feeder, a crank handle, a panel, a clamp, a rammer, and a belt stop. The bunker is filled with cartridges so that they are located across it. The receiver cover opens, the tape is inserted links down. The first cartridge is inserted into the link manually, the tape is inserted into the cartridge against the rammer. For loading, the handle rotates evenly clockwise, while adding cartridges to the hopper and making sure that the belt does not twist when equipped.
When manually loading the tape, it is placed on the palm of the left hand with the tip toward you and is held by the thumb. The cartridges are inserted with the right hand and the links are inserted so that the bounding protrusion enters the annular groove of the cartridge. It is strictly forbidden to equip the tape through one link, which can lead to breakage of the links, as well as the use of damaged cartridges.
Cartridge Boxes
For ease of operation and transportation, the equipped tapes are stacked in special boxes under the machine-gun belt:
- Cylindrical (RPD machine guns) in which the tape is rolled up. When the tape moves, during shooting, the entire roll rotates, which consumes significant energy of the weapon.
- Rectangular (machine guns PK / PKM, KPV, NSV "Utes"). The tape is stacked across the box in rows. The feed mechanism moves only the top row in the box and the hanging part of the tape.
Rectangular cartridge boxes are most used in modern models of automatic weapons. Their sizes depend on the type and number of cartridges in the tape. Cartridge boxes for machine guns using cartridges of the same type (for example, PC, SGM, PKT - rifle 7.62 mm) are interchangeable. The capacity of standard cartridge boxes is 100, 200 or 250 rounds, for tank machine guns boxes of increased capacity are provided.