M240B Medium Machine Gun Overview and Operation Guide

UNCLASSIFIED M240B Medium Machine Gun "Hogs of War" Presented by SGT Hale UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED References References FM 3-22.68 Crew-Served Machine Guns 5.56mm and 7.62mm TM 9-1005-313-10 Operator s Manual for Machine Gun, 7.62mm, M240 UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED Action: In a field environment, gain a basic understanding of the M240B and how to safely operate it. Condition: Soldiers given this field environment and this PowerPoint. Standard: Given an M240B and broken down into teams, Soldiers will need to score 75% or higher on four tasks which include properly clearing, disassemble, reassemble and proper functions check which will be verified by their NCOIC or myself. UNCLASSIFIED 3

UNCLASSIFIED SAFETY Always assume and handle weapons as if they were loaded. Clear the weapon as the first action when you receive it, and always know the condition of your weapon. Do not point the weapon at anything you are not willing to shoot or destroy. Keep your finger off the trigger until the weapon is pointed in the target area and you are ready to fire. Be sure of your target and the area behind it. Always wear hearing protection and appropriate safety equipment on firing ranges. UNCLASSIFIED 4

UNCLASSIFIED Description Description The M240B machine gun supports the rifleman in both offensive and defensive operations. The M240B provides the heavy volume of close and continuous fire needed to accomplish the mission. The M240B is used to engage targets beyond the range of individual weapons, with controlled and accurate fire. The long-range, close defensive, and final protective fires delivered by the M240B form an integral part of a unit s defensive fires. UNCLASSIFIED 5

UNCLASSIFIED Characteristics Characteristics The M240B is a gas-operated, air-cooled, belt-fed, fully automatic weapon that fires from the open-bolt position. It has a maximum rate of fire of 950 rounds per minute. Primarily, ammunition is fed into the weapon from a 100-round bandoleer with a disintegrating links. Each M240B is issued with a spare barrel. Gunners should NEVER switch barrels between weapons, this could be fatal. UNCLASSIFIED 6

UNCLASSIFIED Characteristics Characteristics Length 49 inches Weight ... 27.6 pounds Maximum Range .3,725 meters Maximum Effective Range (Tripod): Area Target ..1,100 meters Point Target .. ..800 meters Maximum Effective Range (Bipod): Area Target .800 meters Point Target .. ..600 meters Suppressive Fire .. 1,800 meters Grazing Fire 600 meters Rates of Fire: Sustained . 100 rounds per minute; change barrel every 10 minutes Rapid ... ..200 rounds per minute; change barrel every 2 minutes Cyclic ..650 to 950 rounds per minute; change barrel every minute Basic Load 900 to 1,200 rounds Tracer Burnout . ..900 meters UNCLASSIFIED 7

UNCLASSIFIED Ammunition Ammunition Armor Piercing Improved Blank Dummy Ball Ammo Tracer 8 UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED M240B Accessories M240B Accessories UNCLASSIFIED 9

UNCLASSIFIED Condition Status Condition Status GREEN: Weapon on FIRE, BOLT FORWARD, NO AMMUNITION AMBER: Weapon on FIRE, BOLT FORWARD, AMMO ATTACHED TO WEAPON RED: Weapon on SAFE, BOLT TO THE REAR, AMMO LOADED ON TRAY BLACK: Weapon on FIRE, BOLT TO THE REAR, AMMO LOADED ON TRAY UNCLASSIFIED 10

UNCLASSIFIED Clearing Clearing Place the safety on FIRE. Pull the cocking handle to the rear with the right hand, palm up, locking the bolt to the rear and pushing cocking handle back to forward position. Place the weapon on SAFE. Open the cover assembly and perform the FOUR POINT SAFETY CHECK for brass, links and ammunition. 1. Check the feed pawls in the feed tray cover for operation and verify there are no links. 2. Check the feed tray assembly. 3. Lift the feed tray and inspect the chamber. 4. Check the area between the bolt and chamber to include the space under the bolt and operating rod assembly for ammunition or links. Close the feed tray cover, place the safety to FIRE, pull the cocking handle to the rear, press and hold the trigger and manually ride the bolt forward with the cocking handle. UNCLASSIFIED 11

UNCLASSIFIED Components Components UNCLASSIFIED 12

UNCLASSIFIED Disassembly Disassembly Buttstock and Buffer assembly Drive-spring Rod assembly Bolt and Operating Rod assembly Trigger Housing assembly Cover assembly Barrel assembly UNCLASSIFIED 13

UNCLASSIFIED Assembly Assembly Assemble in reverse order Barrel assembly Cover assembly Trigger housing assembly Bolt and Operating Rod assembly Drive-spring rod assembly Buttstock and buffer assembly UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED Functions Check Functions Check Pull and hold cocking handle with right hand palm up to rear, ensuring bolt locks completely to rear. While holding handle to rear with right hand palm up, with no tension on bolt, place on SAFE and depress trigger. Weapon should not fire. While holding the cocking handle to the rear with right hand palm up, with no tension on the bolt, place the safety to FIRE, and depress the trigger. Ease the bolt forward to close and lock. Release the trigger. Attempt to place on SAFE; safety must not be able to be moved to SAFE. Close ejection port cover. UNCLASSIFIED 15

UNCLASSIFIED Loading belt fed ammunition Loading belt fed ammunition UNCLASSIFIED 16

UNCLASSIFIED T&E Operations T&E Operations The tripod T&E is equipped with traverse and elevation scales The housing (3) if the T&E has a secondary scale for fine adjustment reading The larges scales (traversing (2) and elevation (4)) are in 10-mil increments and the secondary scale is in increments of one mil A reading is taken by first looking at the position of the large scale and the point where the secondary scale line intersects the large scale then adding the two readings together 3 UNCLASSIFIED 17

UNCLASSIFIED Malfunctions Malfunctions STOPPAGE: a failure of an automatic or semi-automatic firearm to complete the cycle of operation. MISFIRE: the failure of a chambered round to fire. COOK OFF: the detonation of a round due to the heat of a hot barrel and not to the firing mechanism. Cook offs can be avoided by applying immediate action within 10 seconds of a failure to fire. UNCLASSIFIED 18

UNCLASSIFIED Immediate Action Immediate Action Quickly applying corrective action to reduce a stoppage without looking for the actual cause. IMMEDIATE ACTION IS TYPICALLY ONLY PERFORMED ONCE. Pull the cocking handle to the rear Observe that a round ejects, link ejects and a round is fed from the belt. Push the cocking handle forward and lock. Press the trigger and fire the weapon. If the weapon still fails to fire, perform remedial action. UNCLASSIFIED 19

UNCLASSIFIED Remedial Action (Cold Gun) Remedial Action (Cold Gun) Cold Gun = less than 200 rounds in 2 minutes Pull the cocking handle to the rear, locking the bolt to the rear. Place the weapon on SAFE. Push the cocking handle forward and lock. Place the weapon on the ground / Move the weapon away from your face and open the feed tray cover. Clear the weapon. Reload and attempt to fire. If the weapon still does not fire, clear the weapon, inspect the weapon and ammunition. UNCLASSIFIED 20

UNCLASSIFIED Remedial Action (Hot Gun) Remedial Action (Hot Gun) Hot Gun =more than 200 rounds in 2 minutes Place the weapon on SAFE. Allow the weapon to cool for 5 seconds in combat or 15 minutes in training. Continue as you would for a cold weapon. UNCLASSIFIED 21

UNCLASSIFIED Runaway Gun Runaway Gun Three ways of dealing with runaway guns: Keep the weapon on target and expend the ammunition. Twist or break the belt. Grab the cocking handle (palm up) pull all the way back and hold. Push the safety to the right; raise cover, remove source of ammunition. UNCLASSIFIED 22

UNCLASSIFIED "Hogs of War" Questions? Questions? UNCLASSIFIED