The M249 light machine gun is an American version of the FN Minimi, a
light machine gun manufactured by the Belgian company FN Herstal. The
M249 is manufactured in the United States and is widely used by the
U.S. Armed Forces. The gun was introduced in 1984 after being judged
the most effective of a number of candidate weapons to address the lack
of automatic firepower in small units. The gun provides the heavy
volume of fire of a machine gun with accuracy and portability
approaching that of a rifle to infantry squads. The M249 is
gas-operated and air-cooled. It has a quick-change barrel, allowing the
gunner to rapidly replace an overheated or jammed barrel. A folding
bipod is attached near the front of the gun, though a M192 LGM tripod
is also available. It can be fed from both linked ammunition and STANAG
magazines, like those used in the M16 and M4. This allows the SAW
gunner to use rifleman's magazines as an emergency source of ammunition
in the event that he runs out of linked rounds. M249s have seen action
in every major conflict involving the United States since the 1991 Gulf
War. Soldiers are generally satisfied with the weapon's performance,
though there have been many reports of clogging with dirt and sand. Due
to the weight and age of the weapon, the U.S. Marine Corps is
considering designs for an infantry automatic rifle, which is planned
to complement and partially replace the M249 in their service.
Read the rest of this article:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M249_light_machine_gun>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
1475:
Moldavian–Ottoman Wars: Moldavian forces under Stephen the Great
defeated an Ottoman attack led by Hadân Suleiman Pasha, the Beylerbeyi
of Rumelia, near Vaslui in present-day Romania.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vaslui>
1776:
Common Sense by Thomas Paine, a document denouncing British rule in the
Thirteen Colonies, was published.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Sense_%28pamphlet%29>
1810:
Childless after 14 years of marriage, Napoleon divorced his first wife
Joséphine so he could remarry in the hope of having an heir.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jos%C3%A9phine_de_Beauharnais>
1863:
Service began on the Metropolitan Railway between Paddington and
Farringdon Street, today the oldest segment of the London Underground.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_and_Metropolitan_District_Railways>
1929:
The Adventures of Tintin, a series of comic books created by Belgian
artist Hergé that has been sold in over 50 languages and more than
200 million copies to date, first appeared in a children's supplement
to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventures_of_Tintin>
1946:
The first session of the United Nations General Assembly convened at
the Westminster Central Hall in London with representatives from 51
member states.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_General_Assembly>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
meidan (n):
An expanse of open space in or by a city or town
<http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/meidan>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
Truth is the only merit that gives dignity and worth to history.
--John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton
<http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Dalberg-Acton%2C_1st_Baron_Acton>
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