Intermediate cartridges and Universal machine gun

Posted by Temporary_Winter4566@reddit | ForgottenWeapons | View on Reddit | 5 comments

Picture 1: Chinese QJY-88 machine gun, the only universal machine gun that firing small caliber rifle cartridge (DVP-88 machine gun cartridge). Chinese just made a few thousand of this because DVP-88 round lacks of destructive power for universal machine gun use.

Picture 2: Czech vz. 52 light machine gun, maybe the only universal machine gun that firing intermediate cartridge (7.62×45mm and 7.62×39mm) had been adopted as standard issue. If my comprehension is correct, Czech ZB-53 had phased out as infantry-use machine gun and just deployed in the fortresses of Czech border line since 1952. (quoted from Ian's video about the ZB-53 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC3wE--Rm6c)

Here's a question: Is the performance of the modern intermediate cartridges like 6.5mm Creedmoor and 6.5×47mm Lapua improved enough for universal machine gun use?

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Brown_Colibri_705@reddit

6.5 CM and 6.5x47 aren't intermediate cartridges

walt-and-co@reddit

For a similar concept, that was also pretty unsuccessful, see the British TADEN gun. It was a .280 GPMG, intended to complement the EM-2, and mechanically was essentially a Bren with a belt feed bodged onto it. It was also, by all accounts, pretty rubbish.

Temporary_Winter4566@reddit (OP)

I think the concept of Taden was quite untested. The 1st generation of Western assault rifles and intermediate cartridges was killed by the US 7.62 NATO full-power round, so the effectiveness of .280 GPMG is still an unknown.

Regardless of the cartridge, which lacked the range and performance to be an effective GPMG, the gun itself performed awfully in tests. It was heavy, awkward, unergonomic and unreliable.

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