Warbird Information Exchange

One of my favorite YouTube channels, Forgotten Weapons, occasionally covers aviation related firearms. The USMC Stinger was something I had never heard of and I thought you all would find it interesting.

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Real interesting . Learn some thing new every day.

Very interesting!

A6 predates this, but more of a parallel, special purpose development. This is meant for single user operation, where the A6 was still crew served. AN gun is lighter to begin with, and has a much higher rate of fire.

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Lest Hero-worship raise it's head and cloud our vision, remember that World War II was fought and won by the same sort of twenty-something punks we wouldn't let our daughters date.

Hi all. Indulge me in my first post on Wix.

Keep an eye out for the TV show "Weapon Hunters". They investigate and help with the restoration of ex-military "items" (from the rare FG-42 to the M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer to the B-25 Mitchell). One episode was on the Stinger MG, also referred to as the "Frankengun" from it's bitsa-construction.

I believe the intent was to provide an infantry support weapon with a very high rate-of-fire (intended to be an improvement over existing Browning 0.30-calibre weapons) along the lines of the German MG42s. The TV episode also goes into the history of the weapon's development and the story of the Medal of Honor winner's action (at Okinawa, if I remember correctly). There is also a test-fire demonstration from the reproduction weapon. As it was sourced from the original component parts, when it was presented to the USMC Museum, they considered it to be Stinger serial #7 (as authentic as the original 6 produced).

Regards,
...geoff

Quick heads-up to those of you interested in this Stinger MG and with access to Australian Foxtel History channel; the Weapons Hunter episode with the "New-build" Stinger No.7 will replay on this coming Monday night 22-June-2020. Check your local channel guides for actual air-time.

...geoff

[quote="bearoutwest"]Hi all. Indulge me in my first post on Wix.

Keep an eye out for the TV show "Weapon Hunters". They investigate and help with the restoration of ex-military "items" (from the rare FG-42 to the M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer to the B-25 Mitchell). One episode was on the Stinger MG, also referred to as the "Frankengun" from it's bitsa-construction.

I believe the intent was to provide an infantry support weapon with a very high rate-of-fire (intended to be an improvement over existing Browning 0.30-calibre weapons) along the lines of the German MG42s. The TV episode also goes into the history of the weapon's development and the story of the Medal of Honor winner's action (at Okinawa, if I remember correctly). There is also a test-fire demonstration from the reproduction weapon. As it was sourced from the original component parts, when it was presented to the USMC Museum, they considered it to be Stinger serial #7 (as authentic as the original 6 produced).

Regards,



...geoff[/quote

I wonder if they burned out barrels as fast as he MG42. I don’t think you could change the barrel on a Browning as fast as on a MG42.

Hi @gemmer.
Have to admit not knowing much about the Stinger or the Browning M1919A4 or A6 model LMGs - apart from the Weapons Hunter episode and a little net reading.

From a M1919A4 manual viewed on-line, it seems the intent with the Browning was not to change the barrel on a regular basis, but to use the heavier gauge steel to withstand the temperature increase due to sustained firing in infantry support mode. The A4 was tripod mounted and crew served, but the A6 (with bipod and shoulder stock) was nominally "man-portable" though overly heavy (and long) compared to the MG34/MG42 or Bren style weapons. These latter weapons - designed as truly single-man portable - were equipped with simple barrel attachments and quick release mechanisms. The Browning was not.

If I understand the M1919A4 and A6 manuals' drawings properly, to effect a barrel change would necessitate removing the flash suppressor (and possibly the bipod of the A6), then remove the cooling sleeve (over barrel, with the holes or slots), and then extract the barrel by using a thread winding tool or a unspent 0.30-in shell (used like a modern Allen's key) to unscrew the barrel from the gun-frame. Replacement is in opposite order, with the instruction to screw on the barrel, and then unscrew for two rotations or graduation marks (manual is not clear on this) for proper alignment. Doesn't sound like a simple process.

Just google-search for the FM23-45 or the TM9-206 manuals. Perhaps someone with some military firearms knowledge can confirm or correct this for me.

I'll have to watch the Stinger "Franken-gun" episode again out of curiosity, but from memory I had the impression that it was intended as a prototype or "proof-of-concept" weapon - to create a working weapon as reliable as the M1919A4 (the A6 seems to have been less well thought of) but lighter than the A6 model. The Marines took a few along to Iwo Jima (I think I mis-remembered as Okinawa earlier), and one gunner got himself a Medal of Honour....but probably as much for rescuing wounded comrades as much as using the Stinger LMG.

Brownings in aeroplanes are less worrisome, as the airspeed tends to help cool down the barrel.

...geoff