History Sandbox / CoolGunsMachineGuns

* The villainous drug dealer Kanryuu Takeda from ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'' bought the Cranked version of the Gatling gun from the black market and puts it in deadly effect after the duel between Kenshin and Aoshi had just ended [[spoiler: as Aoshi's fellow Oniwabanshu (Beshimi, Hyotoko, Shikiho and Hannya) [[HeroicSacrifice gave their lves to protect Aoshi from the deadly weapon]] and bought Kenshin some time to approach Kanryuu.]] The conclusion comes with slight differences: In the anime, one of Beshimi's tourniquette darts plugs into the ammo belt thus jamming the weapon while in the manga Kanryuu just ran out of bullets. [[KickTheSonOfABitch Kenshin then gives him his just desserts without killing him.]]

The M134 is an offshoot of the rotating-barrel cannons the U.S Air Force had for its fighter aircraft. During UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar, transport helicopters encountered stiff resistance from North Vietnamese Army soldiers firing machine guns and RPGs from the dense jungles. Helicopter crew-serviced weapons, which at the time consisted of single-barreled weapons such as the M60, could not put down the volume of fire required to suppress enemy positions without overheating or jamming and leaving their vehicles even more vulnerable. General Electric designers then took the rotating barrel cannon designs and scaled them down to serve as crew-serviced weapons. The resultant weapon was called the M134 and the men who used them quickly took to calling it a [[FanNickname minigun]], since it was a miniature version of those rotating cannons. Since then, the M134 has been a staple of U.S Military service, deployed on transport helicopters, attack helicopters, [[GunshipRescue fixed-wing gunships]] and brown-water navy boats. The U.S Air Force uses their own versions of the M134, the '''GAU-2/A''' and the '''GAU-17/A''', distinguishable by a barrel shroud on the front of the barrels. A similar weapon was developed by the Soviet Union, [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GShG-7.62_machine_gun the GShG-7.62]] for the Mi-24 helicopter gunship and sees use today in helicopter hard point-mounted gunpods.\\

* ''Film/AmericanSniper'', features both the M249 SAW, and the Mk 48 Mod 0 variant. The former is used exclusively by Marines, and the latter is used by Chris Kyle's fellow Navy SEALs "Biggles", and Marc Lee.

Back to CoolGuns.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bonnieandclyde.jpeg Designed by John Moses Browning, the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, or BAR, was originally designed as a "walking fire" gun, a UsefulNotes/WorldWarI concept for an automatic weapon that could be fired from the hip by a soldier crossing no man's land to support his comrades. It saw its first battlefield use six weeks before the war ended,[[note]]It wasn't issued earlier because the earliest subcontracted production batch from Winchester was found to have been made with very poor attention to manufacturing tolerances, meaning that the first 1,800 BARs did not have interchangeable parts. Production had to be halted and the original batch was scrapped. General Pershing also held back adoption for two reasons: mainly, his 1919 plan for the war involved mass issuing of the M1918 alongside converting the M1903 Springfield rifle into an assault carbine via the Pedersen Device, which would have been undone if the M1918 were extensively issued before retraining and outfitting could be completed (or if the war ended before 1919, as what ended up happening); supposedly, it was also delayed to keep it a secret until several could be deployed at once because, being an American-designed weapon, the AEF believed it to be [[PatrioticFervor a far better weapon than it actually was]] and worried that [[https://www.forgottenweapons.com/m1918-bar-americas-walking-fire-assault-rifle/#comment-2949837 the Germans who already had several years of experience fighting against similar weapons]] would suddenly be tripping over themselves to capture and reverse-engineer this one.[[/note]] in the hands of US Army 1st Lieutenant Val Browning (one of John Moses’s sons). Although the war ended before many BARs could be issued, the military continued to develop the weapon, eventually adopting an improved version, the M1918A2, in 1938.\\

* It's also popular as a BFG in crime stories set in the first half of the twentieth century: TruthInTelevision, as a number of gangs famously used the weapon, most notoriously Clyde Barrow of Bonnie and Clyde, who had stolen a couple of M1918s from a National Guard armory and modified them by cutting down the stock and sawing off the barrel just forward of the gas regulator. These sawed-off BARs were somewhat concealable and, while only barely controllable, were absolutely devastating when he used them to ambush police officers and bank security guards at close range. He was killed using a variant of the same weapon, the Colt Monitor.

The basic HK21 is chambered in 7.62x51mm NATO and designed to feed via belted ammo, though swapping out the barrel, bolt, and ammo feed allows it to feed from box magazines and be chambered in other calibers, including 5.56x45mm and, supposedly, 7.62x39mm Soviet. Later updates include the A1 version (which shifted the bipod to the front of the barrel shroud, added a carrying handle, and replaced the standard G3 stock with a slightly larger hooked stock) and then the Export version later in the '80s (which lengthened the barrel shroud, added a burst-fire mode, and fitted a new bipod with three-position height adjustment). It also became the basis for an entire family of G3-derived machine guns, such as the HK11 (which is designed primarily for use with detachable magazines rather than belt feeding; the Bundeswehr uses a version with the ability to take scopes, designated the G8, with different barrels provided for the roles of both automatic rifle and designated marksman's rifle), and with the development of the Export models, the HK13 and HK23, versions of respectively the 11 and 21 in 5.56x45mm NATO. The HK13 and 23 also served as the basis for respectively the GR6 automatic rifle and GR9 light machine gun, "sanitized" (i.e. having no serial numbers or identifying marks) weapons meant for special forces use, which came with integrated optics rather than ironsights and pre-applied woodland (GR6C and GR9C) or desert (GR6S and GR9S) camouflage finishes. A .50 BMG version, the HK25, was also considered but never went into production. A gunsmithing operation in Illinois also created the incredibly rare "HK51B", essentially an HK21 cut down to the size of the MP5 submachine gun.\\

* Anything set during World War 1 for most nations. The Maxim should also appear in Russian WW2 works, as it was their main medium machine gun before the SG-43 Goryunov was introduced in 1943.

The Vickers itself was much lighter compared to the Maxim, so soldiers had an easier time packing it up and carrying it. Its weight might have also been a decisive factor in the British and Commonwealth armies using it as a medium machine gun from WW2 into the South African border wars. And during an era where air-cooled machine guns were beginning to shine, the Vickers became terrifyingly destructive if several were massed together to provide massive amounts of suppressive fire, effectively being used like artillery rather than infantry support weapons. During the Italian campaign, British machine-gun battalions were scarily efficient, where up to 64 Vickers guns would drown weak sections of the German defense in a hailstorm of lead, letting attacking infantry isolate the more well-defended sections so the rest of the forces could demolish them later. Funnily enough, the Vickers was occasionally used by Commonwealth troops to [[MundaneMadeAwesome heat their brewing water for tea]], despite the tea usually tasting of machine oil and burnt cordite.\\

The magazine of the infantry version held 47 rounds of .303 British rifle ammunition (or .30-06 Springfield ammunition for the Americans), while those fitted to the planes of the Royal Flying Corps utilized larger 97-round pans. Refilling an empty magazine was a bit of a chore, as the magazine had to be disassembled and rounds placed by hand, but at least it didn't require fighting a spring to do it, as the mechanical feed system didn't use a follower. At 28 pounds, the gun was quite heavy, but still lighter than most other machine guns of the period — light enough to be carried by one man — and very reliable (unlike the few lighter LMGs available). The Lewis's rate of fire was around 500-600 rounds per minute, and although it was a bit hard to reload (due to the pan magazine), the British Army loved it enough for it not only to be used throughout the entire first World War, but by all three services in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII [[note]] The Lewis also proved to be a very useful anti-air weapon against low-flying planes [[/note]], serving alongside the Bren Gun in the Home Guard, and wouldn't be retired for good until after the Korean War. The UsefulNotes/SpanishCivilWar also saw heavy use of the Lewis Gun. 800 were delivered and used by the International Brigades, especially with the British battalions, as WW1 veterans serving in the Brigades were familiar with its use. The Lewis Gun is also particularly famous in Australia as the weapon used in [[UsefulNotes/TheEmuWar an infamously]] [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu_War disastrous attempt]] to curb the emu population in 1932.\\

->''The Madsen is one of the first true light machine guns, designed in Denmark in 1899. It is a magazine-fed, air-cooled weapon with a complex and unusual recoil-operated mechanism, making it expensive to produce for its time. Despite this the weapon was of high production quality and usually performed well. The Madsen first saw service in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904 to 1905 and was produced in great numbers and sold to over 34 countries before and after WW1. Production of the Madsen finally ended in the 1950s, but the weapon continued to see extensive action around the world, even being used by Brazilian Military Police into the 21st century.''

Like the Browning M1919A4, the Vickers was widely exported and saw service in a huge variety of calibers, such as 6.5x50mmSR Arisaka, 6.5x52mm Carcano, 6.5x53mmR Mannlicher, 7.5x55mm Swiss, 7.62x51mm NATO[[note]]For Indian and South African use[[/note]], 7.62x53mm Argentine, 7.62x54mmR, 7x57mm Mauser, 8x50mmR Lebel, .30-06 Springfield[[note]]Colt worked with Vickers to produce the Colt-Vickers M1915, which was among the machine guns used by the AEF in WW1, and first saw service during UsefulNotes/TheMexicanRevolution[[/note]].

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bonnieandclyde.jpeg Designed by John Moses Browning, the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, or BAR, was originally designed as a "walking fire" gun, a UsefulNotes/WorldWarI concept for an automatic weapon that could be fired from the hip by a soldier crossing no man's land to support his comrades. It saw its first battlefield use six weeks before the war ended,[[note]]It wasn't issued earlier because the earliest subcontracted production batch from Winchester was found to have been made with very poor attention to manufacturing tolerances, meaning that the first 1,800 BARs did not have interchangeable parts. Production had to be halted and the original batch was scrapped. General Pershing also held back adoption for two reasons: mainly, his 1919 plan for the war involved mass issuing of the M1918 alongside converting the M1903 Springfield rifle into an assault carbine via the Pedersen Device, which would have been undone if the M1918 were extensively issued before retraining and outfitting could be completed (or if the war ended before 1919, as what ended up happening); supposedly, it was also delayed to keep it a secret until several could be deployed at once because, being an American-designed weapon, the AEF believed it to be [[PatrioticFervor a far better weapon than it actually was]] and worried that [[https://www.forgottenweapons.com/m1918-bar-americas-walking-fire-assault-rifle/#comment-2949837 the Germans who already had several years of experience fighting against similar weapons]] would suddenly be tripping over themselves to capture and reverse-engineer this one.[[/note]] in the hands of US Army 1st Lieutenant Val Browning (one of John Moses’s sons). Although the war ended before many BARs could be issued, the military continued to develop the weapon, eventually adopting an improved version, the M1918A2, in 1938.\\

Despite its problems, the Chauchat remained in service throughout the war, and for some years after, owing to its sheer availability, if nothing else, also seeing service with various other armies throughout Europe. German flamethrower troops actually took some liking to captured Chauchats because they didn't have mobile supporting machine guns of their own (the primary German machine gun of the era was the very heavy water-cooled DWM MG08, not very portable at all despite attempts to make it a light machine gun in 1915 and 1918). Said troops rechambered the captured Chauchats to fire 8x57 IS and used improvised magazines to fit the original magazine wells and magazine release catches. The Belgian army kept their version (which was chambered for 7.65mm Belgian Mauser and given fully enclosed magazines, which didn't let dirt in at all) in service well into the 1930s. So did the Polish army, who first received 2000 surplus French Chauchats during the Polish-Soviet War, actually found them alright enough to order 9869 after the war ended and standardized the Chauchat as the Rkm wz.15. In the late 1920s, the Poles rechambered many of the guns to successfully fire 8x57 IS (the most popular rifle cartridge in Central Europe during the depression era, owing to German surplus and familiarity/popularity of the Mauser rifles), and kept them in service until the mid-1930s as the Rkm wz.15/27, where 2650 Polish Chauchats were sold to Mexico. Surprisingly, quite a few Chauchats served during and after the Fall of France in 1940, and several were encountered in Vietnamese hands during the Vietnam War, as well as Syrian hands in the Arab–Israeli Conflict.\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknown_66.jpeg A collaborative effort between legendary Soviet gun designers Vasily Degtyaryov (who designed the PTRD anti-tank rifle and DP-27 machine gun) and Georgy Shpagin (designer of the PPSh-41), the Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny ("Degtyaryov-Shpagin Large-Calibre") 1938 is the Soviet equivalent to the M2 Browning, firing a 12.7x108mm round that has a slightly larger case than the American .50 BMG. Introduced in 1938, the DShK was the heavy machine gun used by the Soviets in nearly identical roles to the M2 during World War II and onwards, such as an anti-aircraft weapon for tanks and trucks. It was also used in an iconic two-wheeled trolley equipped with a metal shield for heavy infantry support, such as the one pictured above. In the 1970s, it was largely replaced with the NSV and then later the Kord HMGs, both also chambered in 12.7mm. However, like many Soviet-era Russian weapons, it was imported by a number of client states, such as China, Cuba, Iraq, and Poland, and produced under license, still seeing use in many of them. It has also been extremely popular with insurgent forces, such as the Viet Cong, Provisional IRA and the Taliban. Russian troops nicknamed it "Dushka" (“Sweetie” or “Dearest”) due to the similarity in pronunciation.

* The go-to {{BFG}} in ''VideoGame/{{BLACK}}'', with great damage per bullet and a massive 150-round magazine. Sometimes you have to take out gun emplacements where the soldiers are using it – best to use explosives.

* The MG4 appears in ''VideoGame/DaysGone'' as the [[AKA47 MG45]], where it is used by Ripper heavy gunners and some friendly NPCs. It can be bought at the Lost Lake camp at trust level 3.

* The M60’s reliability issues are shown during the Vietnam segment of ''Film/ForrestGump'', when it jams during the ambush that costs Lieutenant Dan his legs. The gunner and A-gunner are trying to fix the malfunction (with Creator/GarySinise shouting ''[[AtomicFBomb “GET THAT PIG UNFUCKED!”]]'') when they are vaporized by a mortar round.
* Becomes available roughly halfway through ''VideoGame/{{Wasteland 2}}'', though it will be used sparingly for a while until the player comes into enough .308 ammo to keep it fed. Notable for having the single most concise in-game description: [[PreAssKickingOneLiner “Here comes the rooster!”]]

Top: German MG 08, Bottom: Russian PM M1910Literally the grandfather of them all, the Maxim was the first “true” machine gun that we would recognize, developed by Sir Hiram Stevens Maxim, an American-born British inventor.\\

Hiram Stevens Maxim was already a talented man, having designed gas lamps, curling irons, menthol inhalers for people with asthma (as he suffered from bronchitis himself), the proverbial better mousetrap, the very first automatic emergency fire sprinkler system, and even an incandescent lamp at the same time Thomas Edison created his own. Having found little financial success in the United States or in Canada, Maxim traveled to Europe on a consultation job. While in Vienna, one of Maxim's friends [[BeamMeUpScotty (allegedly)]] told him this: “Hang your chemistry and electricity! If you want to make a pile of money invent something which will enable these Europeans to cut each other's throats with greater facility!”\\

Major users of the Maxim outside the British Empire include Germany and Russia/the Soviet Union, who manufactured their own versions in their respective calibers, such as the 7.62x54mmR Russian PM M1910 pictured above. The Germans also produced a lighter, portable version of their 7.92x57mm MG 08, the MG 08/15. These versions would see service through the first World War, and well into the second one. And since neither the Soviet Union nor its successor states have ''ever'' thrown anything away, M1910 Maxims have been seen on both sides of the Donbass conflict in eastern Ukraine, often mated up with red dot optics and other modern accessories. They’re ''old'', but they still work.\\

->''The PKM is a light machine gun from Russia. Chances are you’ve seen photos of these being held by grim-faced rebels, insurgents, and bodybuilders in glossy magazines. This big gun is powerful, reliable and hard to miss.''

->''The U100 is a light machinegun from Singapore. People don't typically picture Singapore as a gun maker — they don't even let you carry durians on the subway there, fascists — but it turns out that the U-100 is actually an impressive piece of hardware. It's extremely light, accurate, and controllable.''

* WeaponOfChoice for CreepyTwins Hansel and Gretel in ''Manga/BlackLagoon'', though one must wonder how they're exactly able to fire it on full auto and stay on their feet.

* Appears in several ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor'' games. ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne'' in particular gives it several upgrades including a "jungle-style" magazine attachment and adjustable sights. In ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorPacificAssault'', it's the WeaponOfChoice for [[TheHero Conlin's]] friend and superior [[TheBigGuy Frank Minoso]]. He gives it to Conlin after getting wounded just before the Battle of Tarawa.

* Common in the ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' series starting with ''2'', where it's the primary weapon of the USMC's Support kit. ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany'' features the Para version as Sweetwater's primary weapon in the campaign and, as before, the starting machine gun for the Support kit in multiplayer, while the second game moves it to the Medic kit as their first unlockable alternative to the PKM. Another Para with the Mk 46's stock and rail system returns for ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'', once again as the first non-side-specific weapon unlocked for the Support kit, while ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 4}}'' moves on to the Product Improvement Package variation, where it's Irish's WeaponOfChoice in the campaign, with the player able to acquire one for themselves in the penultimate level and unlock it for multiplayer by [[spoiler:choosing to sacrifice Irish]] at the very end. It also makes sporadic appearances in ''[[VideoGame/BattlefieldHardline Hardline]]'', though this time only available as a mounted weapon owing to machine guns as a whole being switched into limited Battlefield Pickups rather than a weapon players can choose to spawn with.

* Bucky Barnes' WeaponOfChoice in the Franchise/MarvelCinematicUniverse after his stint as [[Film/CaptainAmericaTheWinterSoldier the Winter Soldier]] is a Para SAW with a hundred-round casket magazine and a HAMR dual optic; he uses it in the Siberian facility in ''Film/CaptainAmericaCivilWar'' and during the Battle of Wakanda in ''Film/AvengersInfinityWar''.

** ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany 2'' features it in both the vanilla game and its own ''Vietnam'' expansion as a Medic weapon. It's Sweetwater's new WeaponOfChoice in the singleplayer campaign; one notable instance has him beat a Russian soldier across the head with it and throw him [[RailingKill over a railing]] without breaking stride after dismounting from a helicopter. The player can also get their hands on one, either unmodified or with an ACOG, in the level "Sangre del Toro".

* Classic British World War I comic book ''Charley's War'' had one as Smith 70's WeaponOfChoice with Young Albert assisting him in loading it. He refuses to let anyone else go near it as he considers it "too technical" for them. When Charley thinks his comrades have been killed thanks to [[TheNeidermeyer Lieutenant Snell]]'s incompetence, he uses it to take his frustration out on German troops. Smith 70's assistant, Young Albert, finally gets to fire it when Smithy is wounded, much to Albert's delight. Smithy often uses it as [[MundaneUtility an impromptu kettle]] to boil water for [[BritsLoveTea tea]].

* One briefly appears during the Gun Gale Online segment at the beginning of Alicization arc of ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' anime adaptation, manned by ''[[TokenMiniMoe Silica]]'' of all people.

* In ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnlineAlternativeGunGaleOnline'' the support gunners of Russian-themed SHINC Team, Sophie and Roza, utilize the PKM as their main weapons. They notably use them to primarily suppress and distract their enemies so their Boss can sneak around and take the killing shots with her silenced VSS Vintorez.

The MG 42 was the basis of some of Germany's later 7.62x51mm NATO machine guns following the war; alongside the MG 3 below there were also purpose-built MG 1s for testing various upgrades, and the MG2 made by simply converting existing '42s to the new ammo. These three guns are so similar (and externally almost identical) to the MG 42 that they have many interchangeable parts. Along with the FG 42, it was also the basis of the American M60. The US also attempted to make a .30-06 version of the MG 42 for testing, the T24, but since the two prototypes were a mishmash of newly-manufactured parts attached to original German MG 42 parts - particularly the receivers, which could only be modified so much to fit the slightly longer round - [[ReliablyUnreliableGuns reliability was shoddy at best]]; while they weren't ''quite'' as bad as some rumors claim (that the designers completely failed to account for the differently-sized rounds and made a gun which physically could not cycle the longer .30-06), they were still pretty bad, with a 10,000-round torture test seeing the worse of the two prototypes suffer 51 stoppages in only 1,500 rounds.\\

* The MG4 appeared as a usable weapon in ''[[VideoGame/GhostReconOnline Ghost Recon: Phantoms]]''. ''[[VideoGame/GhostReconWildlands Wildlands]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/GhostReconBreakpoint Breakpoint]]'' upgrade to the MG5, named as the "MG121".

After the end of WWII, West Germany began looking to modernize the venerable MG 42, rechambering it in the NATO-standard 7.62x51mm caliber. This new variant, the MG1, featured recalibrated sights for the different round, a chrome-lined barrel, and modifications to the bolt depending on the exact model; the MG 2 was made simply by taking wartime MG 42s and rechambering them to 7.62mm. The MG 3 added an improved feeding mechanism with a belt retaining pawl, an anti-aircraft sight, and a new ammo box, alongside the use of heavier bolts to reduce the rate of fire for easier firing from the shoulder. It shares a number of parts in common with the older MG 42.\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brenbren.jpegThe standard light machine gun of the British Empire and Commonwealth nations in UsefulNotes/WorldWarII, and remained in limited use all the way into the early 1990s and was kept in reserve until 2006, considered one of the finest and most reliable light machine guns ever made.\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bonnieandclyde.jpegDesigned by John Moses Browning, the M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle, or BAR, was originally designed as a "walking fire" gun, a UsefulNotes/WorldWarI concept for an automatic weapon that could be fired from the hip by a soldier crossing no man's land to support his comrades. It saw its first battlefield use six weeks before the war ended,[[note]]It wasn't issued earlier because the earliest subcontracted production batch from Winchester was found to have been made with very poor attention to manufacturing tolerances, meaning that the first 1,800 BARs did not have interchangeable parts. Production had to be halted and the original batch was scrapped. General Pershing also held back adoption for two reasons: mainly, his 1919 plan for the war involved mass issuing of the M1918 alongside converting the M1903 Springfield rifle into an assault carbine via the Pedersen Device, which would have been undone if the M1918 were extensively issued before retraining and outfitting could be completed (or if the war ended before 1919, as what ended up happening); supposedly, it was also delayed to keep it a secret until several could be deployed at once because, being an American-designed weapon, the AEF believed it to be [[PatrioticFervor a far better weapon than it actually was]] and worried that [[https://www.forgottenweapons.com/m1918-bar-americas-walking-fire-assault-rifle/#comment-2949837 the Germans who already had several years of experience fighting against similar weapons]] would suddenly be tripping over themselves to capture and reverse-engineer this one.[[/note]] in the hands of US Army 1st Lieutenant Val Browning (one of John Moses’s sons). Although the war ended before many BARs could be issued, the military continued to develop the weapon, eventually adopting an improved version, the M1918A2, in 1938.\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknown_66.jpegA collaborative effort between legendary Soviet gun designers Vasily Degtyaryov (who designed the PTRD anti-tank rifle and DP-27 machine gun) and Georgy Shpagin (designer of the PPSh-41), the Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny ("Degtyaryov-Shpagin Large-Calibre") 1938 is the Soviet equivalent to the M2 Browning, firing a 12.7x108mm round that has a slightly larger case than the American .50 BMG. Introduced in 1938, the DShK was the heavy machine gun used by the Soviets in nearly identical roles to the M2 during World War II and onwards, such as an anti-aircraft weapon for tanks and trucks. It was also used in an iconic two-wheeled trolley equipped with a metal shield for heavy infantry support, such as the one pictured above. In the 1970s, it was largely replaced with the NSV and then later the Kord HMGs, both also chambered in 12.7mm. However, like many Soviet-era Russian weapons, it was imported by a number of client states, such as China, Cuba, Iraq, and Poland, and produced under license, still seeing use in many of them. It has also been extremely popular with insurgent forces, such as the Viet Cong, Provisional IRA and the Taliban. Russian troops nicknamed it "Dushka" (“Sweetie” or “Dearest”) due to the similarity in pronunciation.

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/feedthebirds.jpegThe 7.62x51mm Fabrique Nationale MAG (Mitrailleuse d'Appui Général; French for [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin General-Purpose Machine Gun]]) is a Belgian general purpose machine gun that is generally regarded as ''the'' general purpose machine gun. It can be used for infantry support (though it's very heavy for this role, being 3 pounds heavier than the already hefty M60) or mounted on tanks, APCs, aircraft, and ships. One unusual aspect of its design is that the safety can only be engaged when the weapon is cocked.\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknown_856.jpegA Belgian light machine gun that was developed for the U.S. Army as a Squad Assault Weapon to replace the M60. The M249 was developed from the FN Herstal Minimi (short for Mini Mitrailleuse; or [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Mini Machine Gun]]) light machine gun and fires the 5.56x45mm NATO round whose lighter weight allowed gunners to carry more ammo. [[MoreDakka A lot more ammo.]] The standard feed mechanism is a 200-round belt, with a plastic container for the belt clipped to the bottom of the gun (thus allowing the gunner to operate independently of a loader), and in a pinch it can also use standard NATO 30-round assault rifle magazines.[[note]]Only variants older than the SPW have the STANAG magazine well; that type of magazine's springs cannot adequately account for the Minimi's higher rate of fire, causing jams when not fired in very short bursts. The magwell was eventually deleted to save some weight.[[/note]]\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images_403.jpegOriginally designed by General Electric, and currently manufactured by General Dynamics, the GAU-19 is an electrically powered tri-barreled rotary gun, designed as a larger-caliber counterpart to the M134 Minigun. It can be easily identified by its triangular flash hider.\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknown_48.jpeg[[GatlingGood The weapon that inspired a trope in and of itself]], the M134 is a belt fed, electrically driven air-cooled six-barrel machine gun firing the 7.62x51mm NATO round at a staggering [[MoreDakka 2,000 to 8,000]] RPM. Despite what Hollywood might like to think, the M134 is exclusively a crew-serviced weapon, typically mounted on helicopters but can also be mounted on boats and other land vehicles. The action of the M134 is driven by an electrical motor and spins the six closed-bolt barrels in a circular housing. As the barrels rotate, one fires its round while two others are in stages of shell extraction and the rest are being loaded. This allows the gun to have its insane firing rate without running into the overheating problems a single barrel would encounter. Oddly enough, the high firing rate also makes the gun extremely accurate, which makes it especially good at suppressing a target or just [[LudicrousGibs tearing it to pieces]].\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknown_60.jpegThe HK21 is a German-made machine gun from Heckler & Koch, based on the G3 battle rifle much like most of the rest of H&K's Cold War-era long arms. Unlike the other G3 derivatives, it was designed as a private venture in the 1960s, when H&K decided it would be worthwhile to have a machine gun based on the G3 to export to other countries, particularly those that already used the G3. Although not heavily adopted by the German military (since they still had a derivative of the best machine gun of WWII), the machine gun was widely adopted by other countries, particularly being produced under license in Greece, Mexico and Portugal (although Portugal as of 2019 has adopted the Minimi to replace it). Updated versions of the weapon designed in the 80s continue to serve today.\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknown_1_99.jpegAt the beginning of the Second World War, the Germans were mostly equipped with the 7.92mm MG 34. While a truly excellent machine gun in its own right, the MG 34 was really ''too'' good; it was labour-intensive, expensive, and took a long time to manufacture. The MG 34 also proved to be less rugged than expected, due to the very tight design tolerances and extensive hand-finishing of the receiver, to say nothing of the complications of the rotating bolt's operation (according to Roger Ford, the MG 34's receiver operated more like a field artillery piece's breech mechanism in miniature). This resulted in a total redesign being ordered with mass production and parts interchangeability as the primary goal, and the end product is widely regarded as one of the best machine guns ever designed.\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images_161.jpegThe Pulemyot Kalashnikova (Kalashnikov's Machine Gun) or PK is a 7.62x54mmR general-purpose machine gun developed early in TheSixties by Mikhail Kalashnikov, more famous for the AK, after a switch in Soviet tactical doctrine saw the RP-46 mentioned elsewhere on this page declared obsolete.\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknown_93.jpegThe Ruchnoy Pulemyot Degtyaryova (Degtyaryov hand-held machine gun), or RPD is the world's first purposely-designed SAW, or Squad Automatic Weapon. It fires an intermediate caliber 7.62x39mm round, the same round fired by the SKS, AK-47, AKM and many other weapons. Developed near the end of World War II by Vasily Degtyaryov, the RPD was accepted into Soviet service in 1944 and saw limited use in the last days of WWII. The RPD was replaced by AK-pattern weapons in the 1960s, though it has gone on to serve with distinction throughout the world, prominently seeing action in Korea and Vietnam. Many still serve in remote areas without access to better machine guns, a testament to its service durability. Recognized by its wooden stock components, bipod, and belt-fed receiver (which also can support the cylindrical belt-box), the RPD seems to have no retirement date planned anytime soon (and in fact, there are semiautomatic civilian versions made by DS Arms, with shortened barrels, making them legal-to-own belt-fed carbines). A Red Army user's manual can be found [[https://arsenal-info.ru/b/book/3213146621/11 here.]]\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/images_54_4.jpegA light machine gun from Singapore, the Ultimax 100 is an example of how high-tech the [[UsefulNotes/SingaporeansWithStealthFrigates Singaporean Army]] is. Resembling a modern 5.56x45mm Tommy Gun, the gun features a constant-recoil system similar to that seen in the notorious automatic AA12 shotgun, which allows the bolt carrier group to travel a greater distance within the weapon without ever impacting the rear, instead stopping gradually amongst the axis of movement against the resistance of the return springs. This turns what would have been short, but very strong pulses of recoil into a weak and steady push, making the gun extremely accurate compared to similar machine guns despite being much lighter. This gives the Ultimax the rather unusual ability of doubling as an IAR in a pinch while still being an effective squad machine gun.\\

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/unknown_09.jpegIn 1896, the Maxim company, and the design of its famous machine gun, was purchased by Vickers. Vickers began working on an improved version of the Maxim gun, with a focus on reducing the weapon's weight. The result was the famous Vickers gun, first adopted by the British Army in 1912.\\