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The Benet-Mercie gun was an American light machine-gun. A modified version of the French Hotchkiss M1909 light machine-gun, it was adopted by the US Army in 1909. They were used in the 1916 expedition to Mexico and by the first units of the American Expeditionary Force sent to Europe in 1917. They were withdrawn and replaced by Hotchkiss and Lewis guns, which were more resistant to trench conditions and did not require a supply of spares only obtainable from the USA. The Benet-Marcie design was relegated to use as a training gun and made obsolete as soon as the war ended.
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The Beretta 1938A was an Italian blowback operated, selective fire sub-machine-gun produced from 1938 until 1950 and used by the Italian, German, Romanian, and Argentine armies. It was chambered for the 9 mm M1938 cartridge which it took from a 10, 20, 30 or 40-round magazine and fired at a cyclic rate of 600 rounds per minute or single-shot selectable by the use of two triggers. The Beretta 1938A had a 315 m long barrel, blade foresight and a Tangent V rear sight and a muzzle velocity of 420 meters per second.
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The Beretta 38/42 was an Italian sub-machine-gun produced from 1943 to 1975 and used by the Italian, German and Romanian armies during the Second World War. It was chambered for the 9 mm Parabellum cartridge which it took from a 20 or 40 round magazine and fired at a cyclic rate of 550 rounds per minute or single-shot selectable by the use of two triggers, with a muzzle velocity of 381 meters-per-second. The Beretta 38/42 developed from the Beretta 1938A, having the barrel shortened and the barrel jacket removed.
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The Beretta 38/44 was an Italian sub-machine-gun produced from 1944 to 1955 as a simplified version of the Beretta Model 38/42. It was chambered for the 9 mm Parabellum cartridge which it took from a 20 or 40 round magazine and fired at a rate of 550 rounds per minute or single-shot selectable by the use of two triggers.
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The Beretta 38/49 was an Italian sub-machine-gun developed as a modification of the Beretta 38/44.
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The Beretta AS70/90 is an Italian gas-piston operated light machine-gun. The
Beretta AS70/90 is chambered for the 5.56 mm NATO cartridge which it takes from a 30-round box magazine and fires with a cyclic rate of 800 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 980 meters per second. The Beretta AS70/90 can also fire grenades.
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The Beretta M70-78 is an Italian gas operated selective fire light machine-gun produced from 1979 to 1983 and chambered for the 5.56 mm M198 cartridge. It takes a 30- or 40-round box magazine and has a cyclic rate of fire of 700 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 970 meters per second. The weapon has a 450 mm long barrel and is equipped with a gas actuated rotating bolt mechanism and a bipod which can be adjusted for height.
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The Beretta Model 12 was an Italian blowback operated, selective fire sub-machine-gun produced from 1959 to 1978. It was chambered for the 9 mm Parabellum cartridge which it took from a 20, 30 or 40 round magazine and fired at a cyclic rate of 550 rounds per minute with a muzzle velocity of 381 meters-per-second. The Beretta Model 12 was effective to a range of 200 meters and was adopted by the Italian armed forces in 1961 and various South American and African countries and was made under licence in Brazil and Indonesia.
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The Beretta Model 12S is an Italian sub-machine-gun produced from 1978 as an improved version of the Beretta Model 12. It is chambered for the 9 mm Parabellum cartridge which it takes from a 20, 32 or 40 round magazine and fires at a rate of 550 rounds per minute. The Model 12S superseded the Model 12 in service with the Italian army.
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The Bergmann MP18 was a German blowback operated sub-machine-gun designed by Schmeisser and developed during the course of the Great War and produced from 1916 to 1945. The Bergmann MP18 was the first practical sub-machine-gun. It takes a 9 mm Parabellum round from a 32-round snail drum magazine developed for the Luger pistol or a 20- or 32-round box magazine. It has a cyclic rate of 400 rounds-per-minute and a muzzle velocity of 365 meters-per-second and an effective range of 200 meters. The Bergmann MP18 had a 200 mm long barrel and was fitted with a blade foresight and a flip notch rear sight.
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The Bergmann MP28 was a German sub-machine-gun developed from the Bergmann MP18 and used during the Second World War. It takes a 9 mm Parabellum round from a 20, 32 or 50-round box magazine. Its cyclic rate is 500 rounds-per-minute and it has a muzzle velocity of 365 meters-per-second. Unlike the MP18, it can fire single shots or bursts.
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The Besa (VZ-37) was a Czech designed British machine-gun produced from 1939 to 1946 by the BSA factory under licence from Brno. It was chambered for the 7.92 mm Mauser cartridge and was belt fed, and could be adjusted to two rates of fire; 500 or 700 rounds per minute. It was adopted by Britain for use in armoured vehicles during the Second World War.
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The Breda Model 30 was an Italian machine-gun produced from 1930 to 1937. It was chambered for the 6.5 mm Carcano cartridge and was fed by a 20-round box magazine. The rate of fire was 475 rounds per minute.
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The Breda Model 35 was an Italian dual anti-aircraft and ground firing gun of the Second World War adopted by the Italian Army in 1935. The Breda Model 35 was a modified Breda machine-gun, with the calibre increased to 20 mm. The
Breda Model 35 had an effective ceiling of 2500 meters and a muzzle velocity of 840 meters-per-second.
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The Breda Model 37 was a reliable Italian machine-gun produced from 1936 to 1943, and the standard heavy machine-gun of the Italian army during the Second World War. It was chambered for the 8 mm Breda cartridge and was fed by a 20-round strip. The rate of fire was 450 rounds per minute.
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The Breda-Safat was an Italian gas operated machine-gun produced in 0.303 inch (7.7 mm) and 0.5 inch calibres and fitted to warplanes during the Second World War. It was belt-fed with ball ammunition and had a rate of fire between 450 and 500 rounds-per-minute.
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The Bren is a British gas operated selective fire light machine-gun adopted from the Czech VZ-26. The Bren version is different in that the old British .303 inch round was rimmed, whereas the VZ-26 was designed for the 7.92 mm Mauser rimless round, hence the curved magazine. The Bren is a reliable, accurate, slow-firing gun first produced in 1936 and still in use today in 7.62 mm NATO calibre. The Bren has a cyclic rate of fire of about 500 rounds per minute depending upon version and takes a 30 round box magazine. The Bren has a muzzle velocity of between 744 and 823 meters per second depending upon model and an effective range of 600 meters.
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The Brock was a British machine-gun bullet developed by commander Frederick Brock of the Royal Navy and first successfully demonstrated in 1915. The Brock bullet was designed to explode between the outer covering and gas cells of an airship, and was used by the British RFC until 1917 and the RNAS throughout the Great War.
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The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) was a .30 inch calibre gas operated automatic rifle, or light machine-gun, designed by John Browning in 1917 for the purpose of providing covering fire to troops crossing no-mans-land against machine gun fire, and manufactured by Winchester, Colt and other companies from 1918 onwards. The BAR took a 20-round box magazine and had a cyclic rate of 350 or 600 rounds per minute, a muzzle velocity of 855 meters per second and an effective range of 600 meters. It had either a 610 mm long barrel or in the M1922 model a 457 mm long barrel and was fitted with a blade foresight and a tangent leaf with aperture rearsight and a bipod.
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The Browning M1917 was Browning's original American recoil-operated military machine-gun, upon which all subsequent models, except the BAR, were based. It was a heavy, water-cooled gun mounted on a tripod produced from 1917 to 1945, and fired the 0.30 inch calibre US Service cartridge fed from a 250-round cloth belt system at a cyclic rate of fire of between 450 and 600 rounds-per-minute.
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The Browning M1919 A4 was an air-cooled version of the Browning M1917 developed during 1918, and produced from 1934, originally for tanks. It was provided with a short tripod so that it could be used outside the tank. Like the Browning M1917 it was a short-recoil operated automatic weapon that fired the 0.30 inch calibre US Service cartridge fed from a 250-round cloth belt system at a cyclic rate of fire of between 400 and 500 rounds-per-minute. The Browning M1919 A4 had a 610 mm long barrel and was fitted with a blade foresight and a leaf aperture rearsight. It had a muzzle velocity of 860 meters per second and an effective range of 1000 meters.
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The Browning M1919 A6 was an American air-cooled recoil-operated machine-gun developed during the Second World War, and was produced from 1943 to 1954 being adopted in 1943 as the squad light machine-gun replacing the BAR. The M1919 A6 was a modification of the Browning M1919 A4 with the addition of a removable metal shoulder stock. muzzle flash hider and a bipod in place of the tripod. The Browning M1919 A6 fired the .30 inch calibre US Service cartridge fed from a 250-round cloth belt system at a rate of fire of 500 rounds-per-minute with a muzzle velocity of 860 meters per second and an effective range of 1000 meters..
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The Browning M2AA (Browning M2) was an American air-cooled short recoil automatic heavy machine-gun originally developed for use in aircraft at the end of the Great War under the designation Model 21 (Browning M1921). The Browning M2AA was chambered for the .5 M2 Ball round which it took from a disintegrating link belt and fired with a cyclic rate of between 500 and 650 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 893 meters per second . The Browning M2AA had a 1143 mm long barrel and was fitted with a blade foresight and a leaf aperture rearsight.
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The Browning M2HB (Browning M2) is an American air-cooled short recoil selective fire heavy machine-gun developed from the Browning M2AA. The Browning M2HB is chambered for the .5 M2 Ball round which it takes from a disintegrating link belt and fires with a cyclic rate of between 450 and 550 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 893 meters per second . The Browning M2HB has a 1143 mm long barrel and is fitted with a blade foresight and a leaf aperture rearsight.
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The BSM M3 was a Brazilian blowback operated, selective fire sub-machine-gun developed during the late 1970's. The BSM M3 was chambered for the 9 mm Parabellum cartridge which it took from a 20- or 32-round box magazine. It had a cyclic rate of 600 rounds per minute and a muzzle velocity of 400 meters per second. The BSM M3 had a light wire stock that telescoped along the body of the weapon, a 228 mm long barrel and protected post foresight and an aperture rearsight fixed at 100 meters.
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Abbreviations
Warfare
