Royal Australian Regiment M60

[Sarge1998]

Came across this photo of an M60 gunner with the Royal Australian Regiment in Vietnam.

Information

Warning: This is a relatively older thread This discussion is older than 360 days. Some information contained in it may no longer be current.

[CINDERS]

No sling so it wont get snagged in the brushes, small starter belt to keep their heads down whilst some one else peels the full belt off you and I reckon he would need all 3 water bottles + carrying that thing in the tropics they were not a light item I picked one up once and thought jeez very heavy. Nice mix of weapons an SLR in the background some M-16's

Perhaps something like this would have been better for them if it had been available.
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&r...S6-B0yC46tdBmQ

[mrclark303]

I think the M60 was selected based first on the need for a belt fed support MG and second, equipment standardisation with the Americans.

I have to say, the people I have spoken too who have used them in anger haven't been overly complimentary Cinders.

[CINDERS]

My B/inlaw went on an asian holiday care of our Govt and said the M-60 would be lucky to get through a 250 rnd belt without a few stoppages, they took his Owen off him gave him an F-1 it rusted really well in the first 24hrs he said it was a POS swapped out of it so finished his tour with a L2A1 bit heavier but he liked it.

I just noticed the guy behind him is also carrying another belt would he be the No.2 on the gun!

[Peter Laidler]

Would be interesting to see that date then you could(?) identify the Battalion. Those OG shirts were brilliant. Made from a light cotton that washed easily and dried super-fast. Just a bit lighter weight material than the strides. Looks like some '44 pattern webbing there too and a smoke grenade on belt - just below his Bulova(?) wristwatch.

[Paul S.]

No sling so it wont get snagged in the brushes, small starter belt to keep their heads down whilst some one else peels the full belt off you and I reckon he would need all 3 water bottles + carrying that thing in the tropics they were not a light item I picked one up once and thought jeez very heavy. Nice mix of weapons an SLR in the background some M-16's

Perhaps something like this would have been better for them if it had been available.
https://www.google.com.au/url?sa=t&r...S6-B0yC46tdBmQ

You missed the FFD taped to the barrel.

---------- Post added at 09:20 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:14 AM ----------

I think the M60 was selected based first on the need for a belt fed support MG and second, equipment standardisation with the Americans.

Somewhere in one of his books, Skennerton says that the M60 was selected over the FN-MAG because the Yanks successfully 'wined and dined' the Brigadier who was sent to assess both for the selection committee. As I recall, from Skennerton, the bugger went to the US first and that was that.

---------- Post added at 09:25 AM ---------- Previous post was at 09:20 AM ----------

... Those OG shirts were brilliant. Made from a light cotton that washed easily and dried super-fast. Just a bit lighter weight material than the strides. ...

True. I still have one tucked away amongst my old kit.

[Peter Laidler]

We didn't have slings on our rifles at Battalion level if I remember correctly. The sling loop on the barrel was removed, no slings

[browningautorifle]

You missed the FFD taped to the barrel.

I think it's taped to the bipod, it wouldn't last through the first burst taped to the barrel, specially right there at the gas.

I had an M60 issued in Canungra that had a five digit number, no doubt it was an RVN survivor. It had a hard time with the plastic blanks, but that's no measure. The three water bottles was not unusual, you need water in you, the stuff in the jungle can't be trusted. The weight doesn't matter. We too would remove slings when noise mattered most. You're supposed to have the weapon in hand anyway... Their rifle section had an M60, two M16s for the lead scout and the section commander and the rest were SLR. I think you'd find the man foreground has three water bottles on his belt and one on the ruck that you see. More is better. They get lighter as the day goes on...

[Peter Laidler]

My wife is in Australia at the moment and she emailed me last week to tell me she'd seen a sign in N Qld pointing to - of all places - the dreaded Canungra. She'd obviously heard me mention it in my nightmares with mossies and midges as big as plates that hated poms. I think it's time to go back for a visit with my old pal from 7RAR

But on the early M-60's that 8 RAR had and I saw for the first time, none of us really knew the mechanicals of them. I (early GPMG/L7 trained) went on my 1st class course with Lauri Taggart (.30 M1919 and OHF Bren trained) and asked the course Chief Instructor if we could do a farmiliarisation intro with the M60 but they didn't have any. The most we got was the then 'new' M-16's (we were armed with early AR15's at the time) and the F1 plus the usual stuff. Nope....., they didn't have one that we could use as a trade testing example!

[Paul S.]

I think it's taped to the bipod ...

You are right. We taped them there on the M60 and on the butt stock on the SLR back in the day. One had on the webbing as well.