Rare Weapons- M1919A6 "Stinger" LMG .30-06

One interesting thing about weapons is that most development is evolutionary, rather than revolutionary. What I mean by that is that when a weapon is introduced it almost immediately begins to be modified and tweaked to meet current needs and overcome deficiencies. Over time, becomes a very different weapon. This is the main way the technology advances, rather than a new weapon with amazing, never before seen capabilities.

Here we have the final evolution of one of the greatest guns of its era, the Browning M1919 machine gun. The M1919A6 was developed for Airborne troops and it was used a "light" machine gun by the Marines in the Pacific theater of WWII. It has been extensively modified from the original to allow the gunner to operate what was a crew served weapon by himself. (At least mostly.) The M1919 was itself an air cooled descendant of the water cooled machine guns of the WWI era. A lighter barrel was mounted to take off some the extremely heavy weight of the original M1919. It has a light bipod versus the very heavy tripod that was usually used. To keep the belts of .30-06 rounds out of the dirt, it has been given a simple aluminum box to feed its ammo. It was finished off with a muzzle brake/flash hider and a buttstock to increase its accuracy. The end result was a more useful weapon although, the appellation of "light" machine gun was perhaps not the best one, as it clocked in at over 33 pounds, with no ammunition. In comparison, the current light machine gun, the Mk 48, Mod 0 is only about 17 pounds. The M1919 series is as tough as a coffin nail, and weapons of its type are still in service around the world. Wartime necessity and ingenuity improved it and brought it as far as it could go as an infantry weapon, as we see here.

US troops with a M1919A6 in Korea

Stinger Missile-Weapons that Changed History

First fielded in 1981, the Stinger missile system is now in service with the US Armed Forces and 29 other Nations and has been responsible for an unprecedented 270 confirmed kills of helicopters and fixed wing aircraft.

Manufactured by Raytheon Systems, it was designed to replace the older generation Redeye missiles. Stinger is classified as a Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS). It uses a passive infrared seeker head to home in on the engines of enemy aircraft. The missiles also identify the UV "shadow" of the target and use that identification to distinguish the target from other heat-producing objects. Various vehicles can carry and fire the Stinger, including the HMMWV-based M1016 Avenger and the Bradley IFV -based M6 Linebacker.

• Length - 5 feet (1.5 meters)
• Diameter - 2.75 inches (7 cm)
• Weight - 22 pounds (10 kg)
• Weight with launcher - 34.5 pounds (15.2 kg)
• Explosives - 2.2 pounds, impact fuze (explodes on contact with target)
• Speed - 1,500 mph (2,400 kph, Mach 2)
• Altitude Range - Approximately 11,000 feet (3 km)
• Distance Range - Approximately 5 miles (8 km)

stinger missiles




In 1980's, the CIA supplied Afghan Mujahideen with 500 Stingers ( some say up to 2000) for use against the helicopters of the invading Soviet Army. The Stingers proved devastating to the Soviet war effort, all the much more due to the fact that Soviet air power had been more or less invulnerable up to that point. Soviet air bases used the same mountain passes day in, day out, and once the Mujahideen had a weapon capable of hitting and destroying the hated gunships, the tables were largely turned. The Soviet Army had much more difficulty with Close Air Support and Supply Missions from then on out. Stinger teams were a constant danger to Soviet pilots, hampering their ability to respond to attacks quickly. Overall, the loss of so many helicopters led to exposing more troops in convoys and further alienating the population with an intensification of massive artillery strikes.