ForgottenWeapons
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History of SAW Use in the US Army (Ad-free)
🕑 Added 2024-07-26 12:00:03 +0000 UTCThe first squad automatic weapon used by the US Army was the French Mle 1915 Chauchat, which was the primary LMG or automatic rifle for troops in the American Expeditionary Force in World War One. At that time, the Chauchat was a company-level weapon assigned where the company commander thought best. In World War Two, the Chauchat had been replaced by the BAR, and one BAR gunner was in each 12-man rifle platoon. The BAR was treated like a heavy rifle though, and not like a support weapon as light machine guns were in most other armies.
After Korea the value of the BAR was given more consideration and two were put in each squad instead of one, but the M14 replaced the BAR before it could gain any greater doctrinal importance. The M14 was intended to basically go back to the World War Two notion of every man equipped with a very capable individual weapon, and the squad having excellent flexibility and mobility by not being burdened with a supporting machine gun. The M60 machine guns were once again treated as higher-level weapons, to be attached to rifle squads as needed.
After Vietnam, experiments with different unit organization - and with the Stoner 63 machine guns - led to the decision that a machine gun needed to be incorporated into the rifle squad. This led to the request for what became the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon, and its adoption in the 1980s. At last, the American rifle squad included an organic supporting machine gun.
Today, the USMC is once again going back to the earlier model with every rifleman carrying the same weapon, now an M27 Individual Automatic Rifle. The Army may also change its organizational structure with the new XM7 and XM250 rifle and machine gun, but only time will tell...
Comments
Thomas Batha
What about the Lewis gun in WW i? I believe the Marines brought them and were ordered to turn them in for the Chau Chat to everyone's disgust. Also, in WW II there was an Assistant Gunner for the BAR, primarily to supply ammo.
Steven Minniear
I believe WWII Army squads and platoons included dedicated roles for some soldiers to carry ammo for the BAR gunner, thereby being assistant BAR gunners.
Martin Morehouse
I can remember when the US Army squad had a designated auto rifleman, using an M16A1 with a clip-on bipod.
Dana Arbeit
Excellent dissertation Ian. The how and the why dictate the tech. By example, we can go back to the adoption of the Krag in 1892. While the whole world was adopting magazine repeaters like the Mauser, the US adopted a "magazine rifle" that was intended to be single loaded with the magazine in reserve. The rest of the world adopted stripper clips. Sometimes the planners get it wrong. A huge subject for long discussions.
Guido Schriewer
not as the gunner but the average rifle man... as with the garand and m14 thought like every man has this firepower (compared to 5rd boltguns before).. I wondered a lot in late cold war era like why the rpk at all. they went away from the rpd.. why not give every guy with an ak a 70rd drum and add a bipod? for that first 70 rounds... a hell of a lot of firepower. true support weapon has to be beltfed IMO. one could have look into the shrike uppers more. good idea in my book.
Mark Brian
This episode builds a good historical framework on the heels of 9 Hole's recent discussions on Army XM issues. Interesting. Potentially a 22, a 270 a 308 and a Fifty. The old saying "Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition" might need a clarifying codicil.
lanny w robertson
nice shirt
