What is the difference between a machine gun and a submachine gun?

Question

And also, can you give examples of the most used submachine guns in military and the police???

Answer 1

The "machine gun" is a fully-automatic firearm. It uses cartridges in quick succession from an ammunition belt. But the submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun plus the cartridge of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size. Usually it is indicated for assault proposals and first it was semi automatic and was converted to automatic weapon.



Machine guns: XM312, M1917...

Sub Machine gunss: Beretta Model 38, MAC-10, MP5..

Answer 2

The differences between a sub machine gun and a machine gun are varied. The first thing that must be considered is the size of the round. A sub machine gun fires pistol ammuntion, like a 9mm round where as a sub machine gun fires heavy rifle rounds with 7.62mm being a very comman sized round. Secondly the weight difference is huge. A machine gun has a team to carry everything, from the ammo, to the tripod, where a sub machine gun can be carried by one soldier very easily. Also due to the fact of the different ammo fired by both they have different purposes, as a heavier round will travel further. A machine gun lays down suppressive fire on a battlefield at long range, where a sub machine gun is used mainly for QCB, or urban combat operations.



The best sub machinegun in the world today is the MP-5 submachine gun. This wonderful weapon is the prefered weapon for many counter terrorism teams like the FBI's HRT, SWAT Teams, and other Special forces type units for urban combat. The guys in all of those groups know there stuff and the fact they all agree on one weapon is amazing.

Other great submachine guns include the Israeli UZI which is very rugged, small, and compact and was used with great effect by Israeli paratroopers to clear bunker complexes against the Syrians. Another good submachine gun is the P-90 which is very small, has a large 50 round magazine, and is designed for use by troops who do not have the room for a full size assault rifle.

Answer 3

With a submachine gun you are getting the automatic fire that you would get with a larger machine gun, but with the cartridge of a pistol. They are also lighter than machine guns. If you want to see the most used submachine guns in military and police, I'm not sure what that would be. I would guess the MP5, but I'm not sure.

Answer 4

Machinegun traditionally fires Rifle Cartridges and is used as a support weapon in the attack or defence.



An example would be the M1917A1 Browning Watercooled Machinegun in .30 Caliber. It weighed in at 90lbs with gun, mount, water and fired the same.30 Cartridge as the M1903 Sprinfield Rifle, and the M1 Garand Rifle.





Submachinegun(a term coined by Gen. John Thompson, Inventor of the Tommygun) is a weapon which traditionally fires Pistol Cartridges of lower power than rifle cartridges.



An example being the M1928A1 Thompson fired the .45ACP cartridge that the M1911A1 Pistol fired.



Submachineguns are noted for shorter effective ranges(50-75 Meters, vs. 1,100 Meters) and are More portable. they usually are used for close in fighting.





Some Examples which saw widespread use;



American

M1928 Thompson

M1928A1 Thompson

M1 Thompson

M1A1 Thompson

M3 "Greasegun"

M3A1 "Greasegun"



German

MP18

MP28

MP34

MP38

MP40



British

Lanchester

Sten Mk II

Sten Mk III

Sten Mk V

Sterling



Russian

PPD 40

PPsh 41

PPD 43



Misc.

UZI

Swedish M45

HK MP5 series

MAC-10/11 series

Madsen M50 series

French MAT-49

Italian Berretta M1938/M1942 series

Answer 5

A machine gun is a fully-automatic mounted or portable firearm, usually designed to fire rifle cartridges in quick succession from an ammunition belt or large-capacity magazine, typically at a rate of several hundred rounds per minute. It is usually employed to set a base of fire so that riflemen, or assault troops can maneuver on the enemy. When used on defensive operations they are usually set up in pairs to cover selective fields of fire or likely avenues of approach. Machine guns are normally crew-served weapons that are mounted on a tripod.



Examples could be the US M-240G 7.62mm medium machine gun, the US M-2 Browning .50 caliber heavy machine gun, the US M-249 squad automatic weapon light machine gun.





A submachine gun is a firearm that combines the automatic fire of a machine gun with the cartridge of a pistol, and is usually between the two in weight and size. It is usually employed for close range engagements, or by support troops whose main purpose may not be direct engagement. The main purpose of a submachine gun is to provide fully automatic fire at close range with controllable pistol ammunition.



Examples could be the HK MP5 submachinegun, The Thompson submachine gun (tommy gun), the British Sten, the British Sterling.

Answer 6

Machine guns fire rifle ammunition in auto fire only, are generally belt fed, and require two hands to hold (Rambo not withstanding).



Submachine Guns are chambered in pistol cartridges, fire in semi or automatic fire (or in civilian weapons, semi only), are clip-fed, and can be fired with one hand, although not nearly as acurately as you see in the movies.



The most popular submachine gun is the H&K MP-5. They're reliable, with a longer service life than most of the soldiers that carry it, and are more accurate than most rifles at the ranges they are used.

Answer 7

The most basic difference is that the Machine Gun fires a full power rifle bullet, while a sub-machine gun fires pistol bullets.



A common sub-machine gun used in the US military and police is the MP-5, or the Uzi.

Answer 8

Earlier answer of a machine gun fires a standard cartridge used in a battle rifle or assault rifle and the sub-machine gun fires a cartridge usually fired in a pistol. Machine guns are usually belt fed but may be magazine or stripper clip fed and again usually is a crew weapon while the sub-machine gun is an individual weapon. But the primary distinction is the sub machine gun fires a pistil cartridge while the machine gun fire either a full sized or intermediate sized round typically used in a main battle or assault rifle,

Answer 9

I can give you the US Army versions.

A machine gun is a crew served weapon, there are at least two people assigned to operate it. Machine guns are usually belt fed so sustained rates of fire can be utilized. A sub machine gun is an individual weapon, usually clip fed and limited to sustained fire for how many rounds are in the clip. Sub machine guns come in two versions, the Fully automatic rifle and the smaller version firing pistol ammunition.

The M2 .50 caliber machine gun is the king of the roost, shooting half inch diameter bullets, at a rate of fire around 450-500 rounds a minute. This machine gun has been around since WW2.

The M60 Machine gun. A 7.62 MM which usually has a two man crew, but can be operated by one person. This is the primary machine gun used by the light infantry. This gun has been around since the 1960's.

M16 5.52 MM Sub Machine gun. It has been around since the 60's and has been updated and modified several times to increase its efficiency and reliability. It has a 30 round clip and can sustain automatic fire through the entire clip.

The MP5 is a fully automatic sub machine gun that fires 9 MM pistol cartridges from a 30 round magazine.

Answer 10

You guys missed the answer completely. Thompson was asked to design a machine gun for the U.S. Navy that used the .45 cal rounds that already were in the Boat's armory. It needed to have a short barrel for transiting waterproof hatches while remaining upright, and needed to be light weight.

Answer 11

the caliber of ammunition

most sub machine guns have a switch for simi auto and full auto

and machine guns are usually fed without magazines

Answer 12

Machine guns fire full-size cartridges. Submachine guns. like the H&K MP5, shoot pistol cartridges.

Answer 13

Submachine guns use pistol ammo, machine guns use rifle ammo.