Heavy machine gun facts for kids

A heavy machine gun is a type of powerful automatic weapon. It is too big and heavy for just one soldier to carry and shoot easily. These guns fire many bullets very quickly.

In the early 1900s, most heavy machine guns used bullets about 7.62 millimeters (or .30 caliber) wide. Today, they usually fire much larger bullets. The most common size is .50 caliber, which is 12.7 millimeters wide. Some of the biggest heavy machine guns, like those from Russia, use bullets that are 14.5 millimeters wide. Even bigger guns are usually called autocannons.

What Makes Them Heavy?

Heavy machine guns are designed to be very strong and stable. This helps them handle the powerful recoil from firing large bullets. They often need a special stand, like a tripod, or they are mounted on vehicles. This makes them much heavier than a regular Machine gun. For example, the M2 Browning machine gun, a well-known heavy machine gun, weighs about 58 kilograms (128 pounds) with its tripod.

How Heavy Machine Guns Are Used

These powerful weapons are used for many important tasks. They can provide strong support fire for soldiers on the ground. They are also effective against light armored vehicles, like some trucks or smaller tanks. Heavy machine guns can even be used to shoot down low-flying aircraft. Their large bullets can cause a lot of damage.

Different Sizes of Bullets

The size of a bullet is called its caliber. It measures the diameter (width) of the bullet.

• Smaller heavy machine guns: These often use bullets around 7.62mm or .30 caliber.
• Common heavy machine guns: Many modern heavy machine guns use .50 caliber (12.7mm) bullets. This size is very common in many armies around the world.
• Larger heavy machine guns: Some countries, like Russia, use even bigger bullets, such as 14.5mm. These offer even more power.

Related pages

• Machine gun

Images for kids

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  The M2 Browning machine gun with a tripod weighs 58 kg (128 lb).

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  A DShK heavy machine gun in use.

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  A DShK heavy machine gun mounted on wheels.

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  An MG 08 system (7.92 mm) and its crew around 1931.

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  Different US .50 caliber heavy machine gun designs, including the Browning M2 and the XM806.

See also

In Spanish: Ametralladora pesada para niños