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MSWs

We have talked a few times in newsletters about MSWs (Medium Support Weapons) and their use, so I won’t belabor what they are (or more importantly what they are not) before we dive into this. Just keep in mind the MSW is not a replacement for a belt fed, but it can help fill the capability gaps when built and employed correctly.

Doctrine

We can borrow heavily from Army and USMC doctrine and experience to begin to understand the classifications of MG or MSW/LSW fire. Let’s take a look at several terms and graphics today that can assist. Most of these are pulled from the upcoming CM-6 manual that will be released next week and the current ATP 3-21.8

The cone of fire is the pattern formed by the different trajectories in each burst as they travel downrange. Vibration of the weapon and variations in ammunition and atmospheric conditions all contribute to the trajectories making up the cone of fire.

The beaten zone is the elliptical pattern formed when the rounds within the cone of fire strike the ground or target. The size and shape of the beaten zone change as a function of the range to and slope of the target but is normally oval or cigar shaped and density of rounds decreases toward the edges. MSW and LSW gunners should engage targets to take maximum effect of the beaten zone. The simplest way to do this is to aim at the center base of the target. Most rounds will not fall over the target, and falling short creates ricochets into the target.

Classifications of Automatic (and for our purposes rapid semi-auto MSW/LSW) Fire. Classes of Fire are categorized with respect to ground, target, and weapon.

With respect to Ground 

 Grazing fire occurs when the center of the cone of fire rises less than one meter above ground. Grazing fire is employed in the final protective line (FPL) defense. It is possible only when the terrain is level or uniformly sloping. Any dead space encountered along the FPL is covered by indirect fire or observation. When firing over level or uniformly sloping terrain, the 7.62x51 MSW and 5.56 LSW can attain a maximum of 600 meters of grazing fire.

 Plunging fire occurs when the danger space is within the beaten zone. It occurs when weapons fire at long range, from high to low ground, into abruptly rising ground, or across uneven terrain, resulting in a loss of grazing fire at any point along the trajectory.

With respect to the Target includes enfilade, frontal, flanking, and oblique fire.

Enfilade fire occurs when the long axis of the beaten zone coincides or nearly coincides with the long axis of the target. It can be frontal fire on an enemy column formation or flanking fire on an enemy line formation. This is the most desirable class of fire with respect to the target because it makes maximum use of the beaten zone. Leaders and gunners always should strive to position the guns to the extent possible engaging enemy targets with enfilade fire.

Frontal fire occurs when the long axis of the beaten zone is at a right angle to the front of the target. This type of fire is highly desirable when engaging a column formation. It then becomes enfilade fire as the beaten zone coincides with the long axis of the target. Frontal fire is not as desirable when engaging a line formation because the majority of the beaten zone normally falls below or after the enemy target.

Flanking fire is delivered directly against the flank of the target. Flanking fire is highly desirable when engaging an enemy line formation. It then becomes enfilade fire as the beaten zone will coincide with the long axis of the target. Flanking fire against an enemy column formation is least desirable because the majority of the beaten zone normally falls before or after the enemy target.

Oblique Fire is when the long axis of the beaten zone is at an angle other than a right angle to the front of the target.

Respect to Gun

And the final classification of fire is with respect to the gun which includes include fixed, traversing, searching, traversing and searching, swinging traverse, and free gun fires. Some of these are optimal with tripod use, but each can be successfully applied with only a bipod.

Fixed fire is delivered against a stationary point target when the depth and width of the beaten zone covers the target with little or no manipulation needed. After the initial burst, the gunners follow changes or movement of the target without command.

Traversing Fire disperses fires in width by successive changes in direction, but not elevation. It is delivered against a wide target with minimal depth. When engaging a wide target requiring traversing fire, the gunner selects successive aiming points throughout the target area. These aiming points should be close enough together to ensure adequate target coverage. However, they do not need to be so close wasting ammunition by concentrating a heavy volume of fire in a small area.

Searching Fire distributes fires in-depth by successive changes in elevation. It is employed against a deep target or a target having depth and minimal width, requiring changes in only the elevation of the gun. The amount of elevation change depends upon the range and slope of the ground.

Traversing and Searching Fire is a combination in which successive changes in direction and elevation result in the distribution of fires both in width and depth. It is employed against a target whose long axis is oblique to the direction of fire.

Swinging traverse fire is employed against targets requiring major changes in direction but little or no change in elevation. Targets may be dense, wide, in close formations moving slowly toward or away from the gun, or vehicles or mounted troops moving across the front. When firing swinging traverse, the weapon normally is fired at the cyclic rate of fire. Swinging traverse consumes a lot of ammunition and does not have a beaten zone because each round seeks its own area of impact.

Free gun fire is delivered against moving targets rapidly engaging with fast changes in both direction and elevation. Examples are aerial targets, vehicles, mounted troops, or Infantry in relatively close formations moving rapidly toward or away from the gun position. When firing free gun, the weapon normally is fired at the cyclic rate of fire. Free gun fire consumes a lot of ammunition and does not have a beaten zone because each round seeks its own area of impact.

The takeaway for this week is we need to understand doctrine from the source and adjust / adapt it to fit our needs. Most of us do not have belt feds lying about and it is pure fantasy to think they will become immediately available if there is a widespread crisis. Even when working alongside local LE or even US forces to address an foreign/external threat the likelihood of having ready access to MGs will probably be limited. Applying MG doctrine and techniques for MSW and LSW gunners will go a long way to building their proficiency. This is just scratching the surface; the employment and practical application is beyond what can be conveyed in an 1,100 word newsletter. Hopefully this will drive the desire to do some additional doctrinal research that will support training and SOP development in the community.

Classifieds

The new CM-6 Citizen Manual is launching soon! We will announce the full title and the launch date in a few days (it will be available sometime in February). We are more than excited to get this on the street, it has been a long process to get this one ready - but it turned out amazing.

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