Most Valuable Weapons at the Squad/Squad+ Level

[JBS]

1.240
2.249
3.203

 

[The91Bravo]

M249 for amounts of ammo carried and rate of fire. You can sustain the fight a little longer with lighter ammo than the 240... For devastation in a MG The 240 cannot be overlooked. Then if they made a lightweight Mk-19, I'd be all over that... either that or have three privates carry it until you need it... lo.l

 

[RetPara]

I voted for the 240... but my actual choice would be a M60E4. Not sure about the shorter barrel... but it will stand up to more rounds than the original.... If your man enough you can fire it from the shoulder VERY accurately.

Because I'm old school my second choice would be the venerable M-79..... much easier to sight in than a 203. Capable of a lot more precision targeting when you really want to reach out and touch someone.... and their friends. The wood stock will survive giving a lateral butt stroke if that kind of attitude fine tuning is needed.

 

[Centermass]

Preference for me would go towards the NSLMG. Been fortunate enough to have had extensive experience with the 60 along with hands on time with the 240. A good AG is a definite combat multiplier.

As for a secondary choice (METT-T IE)

40mm always provided lots of choices / flexibility for launch (As pics show in RetPara's thread) depending on how far down your ass is/was in the sling and what you needed in response.

Seems that no matter how much any of it weighs, the bitchin goes away once the SHTF. I'm from the school of "Better to have it and not need it than......." but then again, that's just me.

 

[moobob]

240 or MK-48 if it's available to you.

 

[Viper1]

M249 for amounts of ammo carried and rate of fire. You can sustain the fight a little longer with lighter ammo than the 240... For devastation in a MG The 240 cannot be overlooked. Then if they made a lightweight Mk-19, I'd be all over that... either that or have three privates carry it until you need it... lo.l

In fact they do make one. :). Still requires two dudes but the gun and tripod are much lighter.

 

[goon175]

1) You only need 2 soldiers, not 3, for the goose. Gunner carries it plus 2 rounds, AG carries 4-6 rounds. You need some healthy legs on this team, especially in afghanistan.
2) Here is what the goose can do that none of those other systems can do: knock down a house/structure when you don't have CAS. With the same accuracy. A well placed ASM round will knock just about anything flat.

 

[Crusader74]

1) You only need 2 soldiers, not 3, for the goose. Gunner carries it plus 2 rounds, AG carries 4-6 rounds. You need some healthy legs on this team, especially in afghanistan.
2) Here is what the goose can do that none of those other systems can do: knock down a house/structure when you don't have CAS. With the same accuracy. A well placed ASM round will knock just about anything flat.

While rucking during a platoon in attack, heading to the start line, I had the goose put on the top on my pack, the bi-pod put in my cargo pocket of my BDU's and carrying a two rd sliver and my primary , My no 2 had 2 slivers, or 4 rds......I don't miss that lol

 

[TLDR20]

I voted for the 60 mortar, as mortars can devastate the wnemy. However I think that the 240B would be most important.

 

[reed11b]

I am suprised to see the number of 203 votes. I always thought they were nearly useless, since in the '90's Army and the NG, you never get to practice with them eneogh to be proficient.
Reed

 

[Crusader74]

Any one used the MAG SF( sustained fire role) ? Now that is the bomb! I have about 20 mins of me firing it on a VHS from a shoot in the 90's .. must get it put onto DVD.
Brit Army Vid.

 

[pardus]

240 all the way for me. Range, weight of fire, damage inflicted, portability of gun and ammo, it has it all.

Also If you use the hydraulic tripod its effective range is approx. 3800m IIRC.

Any one used the MAG SF( sustained fire role) ? Now that is the bomb! I have about 20 mins of me firing it on a VHS from a shoot in the 90's .. must get it put onto DVD.
Brit Army Vid.

Yes indeed! Thats the tripod I mentioned. Fucking thing ROCKS!

 

[Marauder06]

I was always a big fan of the SAW, especially the paratrooper version. I liked the rate of fire, the weight, the portability, and the fact that it fired the same ammo that the rest of the platoon did (TOW platoon, no 7.62 weapons). Although I respect the capabilities of the 7.62 weapons, and recognize the effectiveness of a machine gun on a tripod w/T&E (and a gunner who knows how to use it), I was never particularly enamored of the M60 (but that's most likely because I was always the one stuck carrying it in ROTC and IOBC ;) )

My first platoon had a lot of extra weapons (because we were short on troops... and about everything else... Clinton era) so I carried an M203. I got to be pretty good with it, but that was when all the shooting was taking place on one-way ranges, not the two-way ones. I also went to the mortar leaders course and got to fire the 60mm, 81mm, and what was it, 102?mm mortars. Again, with a gunner who really knows what he's doing, mortars are extraordinary force multipliers.
Of the two, though, for squad-level urban combat (which is kind of how I framed the question) I'd go with a 203. It has a flatter trajectory of fire than a mortar, it's easier to get good at shooting (IMO), and it's affixed to Joe's primary weapon, so there 's no need to tote around and addition weapon or weapon system.

 

[x SF med]

I use a piece of luminescent tape down the center of the tube. I agree, it's pretty accurate out to 300m, but the Carl G is pretty accurate out to 1,000m.

the 60 needs the bipod and bubble sight to be accurate at 1km... that's the issue with area weapons that have the big projectiles...

 

[max velocity]

I vote for the 240. My favorite. A little background on that: the 240 is the same as the British GPMG, as per Irish's video, above. The 240 is a bit more high speed then the GPMG because, as with all things, the US bought it and stuck a rail on it and some awesome high speed gear etc. The GPMG ("Gimpy" - pronounced with a J) has been around "forever". It was used in the Falklands in 1982. Back then, the deal was that in a Para Battalion, there was a machine-gun platoon which specialized in SF (Sustained Fire) use of the GPMG, using the tripod). At section (squad) level the GPMG (or "Gun") was carried in the dismounted role by a gun group of a N0. 1 and his No 2. Back then, the rest of the section was armed with the British SLR, which is the FN FAL. The gun was deployed to a flank while the riflemen carried out the assault.
With the advent of the SAW (Minimi) at British section level, there is less need for a 240. Each fireteam has a SAW. However, what I used to find useful is to either attach a two man gun group to an eight man section to beef up available firepower, or alternatively to have a gun group, possibly two, at platoon level. These gun groups can then be deployed to influence the battle. Nothing better than the beat of the "gimpy" going in as fire support.
Brit Paras were always sticklers for how the gun was carried. No sling over the neck, the sling could only be over one shoulder so the wepaon could be brought into action rapidly. The Gimpy was carried extensively dismounted on patrol.

 

[RetPara]

.....and what was it, 102?mm mortars. Again, with a gunner who really knows what he's doing, mortars are extraordinary force multipliers.

It's a 4.2 in or 120 mm mortar.... same size warhead as a 155 round. Called the Bn Cdr's dedicated artillery....

Of the two, though, for squad-level urban combat (which is kind of how I framed the question) I'd go with a 203. It has a flatter trajectory of fire than a mortar, it's easier to get good at shooting (IMO), and it's affixed to Joe's primary weapon, so there 's no need to tote around and addition weapon or weapon system.

I don't want Joe putting fire down with what he thinks is his primary weapon. The 40mm grenade launcher should BE HIS PRIMARY weapon. If you shot at it with a 5.56 round, you can damn well bring a 40mm round on it.

 

[dknob]

Most practical and useful for the squad is the 249. You can implement it in many situations, CQB/rural and longer distance, great for ambush, great for cover fire, great for mass casualty. Lighter then the 240 which means its more mobile and can be utilized in any part of an operation in a moments notice.

- 240 too bulky and not always as practical for many types of operations (Urban/CQB)
- Carl G - very limited to where and when you can use it
- Sniper Rifle - a sniper in today's battlefield is a sharpshooter supporting a platoon operation. If you want snipers go watch Tom Berenger in action. Again it's great to have a sniper on your squad but a squared away shooter with an ACOG can do just as much damage in support of a line squad and not a traditional sniper operation.
- 40mm 203 - again not always practical and very situational dependent. Nobody likes a noob tuber.
- 60 mm mortar - probably the least most important item to a squad on this list. Yeah sure you can reach out and touch somebody.. but you can get the job done with many of the above tools.

 

[HOLLiS]

For me, it would be the one in my hands.

 

[Etype]

1) You only need 2 soldiers, not 3, for the goose. Gunner carries it plus 2 rounds, AG carries 4-6 rounds. You need some healthy legs on this team, especially in afghanistan.
2) Here is what the goose can do that none of those other systems can do: knock down a house/structure when you don't have CAS. With the same accuracy. A well placed ASM round will knock just about anything flat.

We liked to call him PVT Gustav. He could destroy lots of things- vehicles, buildings, people- and he reached just as far as a 60mm or 240B.

And another big plus- Taliban doesn't like a big boom.

 

[Rapid]

249/240 depending on the environment. Though I would have to say that sniper rifles can have some pretty devastating psychological effects too. They might not have the 'shock and awe' of sustained fire and/or explosions, but they can be morale-killers. They create that fear that someone out there, in an unknown position, has the power to reach out and hit you with extreme precision at any second. That fear is further amplified once someone starts seeing their friends getting picked off from a spot which they thought was safe. The longer a fight draws on, the more psychological damage they can do (limiting these effects to prolonged engagements). You might not want to bet on these psychological effects as much as you can on suppressive fire, but they're always a plus to a weapon system which is already extremely deadly in the right hands and the right situation.