Difference between revisions of "M73 (7.62 mm)"

Latest revision as of 01:27, 12 February 2024

The M73 on the M60A2

Description

The 7.62 mm M73 is an American 7.62 mm medium machine gun. In-game the weapon can be found predominantly as a co-axial machine gun on the M48 and M60 family of tanks (historically it replaced the earlier M37 (7.62 mm) machine gun on these tanks), as well as being mounted co-axially on some other rank 5 / 6 American tanks. Being only a 7.62 mm machine gun it is largely ineffective against all but the most weakly armoured, or open cabin, vehicles.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

Vehicles equipped with this weapon
Light tanks	M551 · M551(76)
Medium tanks	T95E1 · M728 CEV
M48	M48A1 · ␗M48A1 · Magach 1 · M48A2 C
M60	M60 · M60A1 (AOS) · M60A1 "D.C.Ariete" · M60A2
Magach	Magach 2 · Magach 3 · Magach 3 (ERA) · ▃Magach 3 (ERA) · Magach 5 · Magach 6 · Magach 6A · Magach 6R · Magach Hydra
MBT-70	XM803 · MBT-70
Armoured gun boats	LCM(6) Zippo

General info

Despite being a completely separate gun the M73 performs identically to the M1919A4 (7.62 mm) and its derivatives. The M73 also doesn't have a 3D model in the game, it currently uses the M1919A4 model in its place.

Available ammunition

The M73 can only be equipped with one ammo belt consisting of one Armour-piercing (AP) bullet, followed by one Tracer (T) bullet. Neither bullet has much penetration (maximum of 13 mm), however the AP bullet performs much better than the tracer bullet.

Penetration statistics
Ammunition	Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)
Ammunition	10 m	100 m	500 m	1,000 m	1,500 m	2,000 m
AP	13	12	7	3	2	0
T	5	4	2	1	0	0

Shell details
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	Ricochet
Ammunition	Velocity (m/s)	Projectile mass (kg)	Fuse delay	Fuse sensitivity (mm)	Explosive mass (TNT equivalent) (g)	0%	50%	100%
AP	853	0.01	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°
T	835	0.01	-	-	-	47°	56°	65°

Comparison with analogues

The M73 performs identically to the M1919A4 and its derivatives (L3A1 & M37). Like the M1919A4 it suffers from a somewhat low rate of fire compared to other , similar, machine guns such as the BESA and L8A1, firing 100 rounds per minute less (500 compared to 600). The weapon also has slightly worse penetration than the BESA (7.92 mm), which is the main co-axial weapon of British tanks, although does get a larger ammo belt than other comparable guns.

Usage in battles

Due to the very low penetration this weapon it is largely ineffective against enemy armour (although you may be able to penetrate some vehicles with extremely thin armour). The gun is primarily useful for incapacitating exposed crew members in open topped vehicles (although there are few such vehicles at the battle ratings this gun is found at). The gun can also be used for ranging on some vehicles, as well as marking enemy vehicles and obscuring the view of enemy players (shooting at their gun sight). You can use the gun against aircraft however it does minimal damage, and being co-axially mounted on most tanks can often not be brought / kept on target against aircraft.

Pros and cons

Pros:

Larger belt capacity than some comparable guns

Cons:

Worse rate of fire compared to comparable guns
Low penetration makes it ineffective against armour
Generally low damage

History

The M73 machine gun in display

The M73 is an American 7.62 mm medium machine gun, unlike previous American tank mounted machine guns the M73 was designed from the start to use the 7.62×51 mm NATO round (instead of the 7.62×63 mm ".30-06 Springfield" round). During WW2 the M1919A4 (7.62 mm) machine gun was the US army's standard co-axial mounted machine gun, and although being a proven weapon it had some limitations in the co-axial mounted role. After WW2 the army commissioned and improved version (the M37), but also looked to outright replace the M1919 with a newer design. The program to replace the M1919 was started in 1951 and faced a series of delays, eventually ending in early 1959 with the Springfield Armory's T197E2 prototype being selected for as the M73, and production starting the same year.

The M73 was predominantly fitted to the M48 and M60 Patton series of tanks, as well as the M551 Sheridan; it featured the ability to be fed from either side and other features which would in theory make it a good co-axial machine gun. In reality the weapon soon proved to be over complicated, and rapidly became highly disliked by tank crews due to frequent malfunctions and a very high rate jamming, compared to the extremely reliable M1919 and M37 they were used to. In 1970 an improved version, the M73E1, was produced in order to address the poor reliability of the original, and in 1972 the weapon was re-designated M219 (rumoured to have been done to try and try and remove the stigma associated with the M73 name).

The M73E1 / M219 again proved to suffer from extreme reliability issues and by 1971 the US army, and the weapons manufacturer, had decided the weapon was a lost cause and begun a replacement program, with with 8 different prototypes being produced (with 5 later being selected for further development). While the American replacement program was underway, on 6th October 1973 the Yom Kippur War started with Egypt and Syria invading Israel. During the 20 day long war Israel used their American M60 (designated Magach) tanks, armed with the M73. After their experiences using the M73 in battle the Israelis declared it unfit for purpose and demanded that the US replace the guns with something more reliable.

The US Army's replacement program was scrapped and they instead evaluated eight different, already existing, machine guns as a more rapid replacement. In the end they selected the Belgian FN MAG 60-40 (7.62 mm) machine gun to enter service as the M240, replacing the M73 on American and Israeli tanks.

Media

Videos

Tank M73 Machine Gun 7.62MM - Part 1 Operation, Disassembly and Assembly - Nuclear Vault

External links

Tank machine guns
USA
7.62 mm	M37 · M60D · M73 · M240 · M1919A4 · Mk.52
12.7 mm	FN M3P · M2HB · M80 · M85
Germany
5.56 mm	MG4
7.62 mm	C6 · MG3A1
7.92 mm	MG13 Dreyse · MG34 · MG37(t) · MG42
12.7 mm	S.MG.50
USSR
7.62 mm	DT · PKMB · PKT · PKTM · RP-46 · SGMT
12.7 mm	DK · DShK · 6P49 · NSVT
14.5 mm	KPVT
Britain
7.62 mm	Browning MG4 · L3A1 · L8A1 · L8A2 · L37A1 · L37A2 · L94A1
7.7 mm	Vickers
7.92 mm	BESA
12.7 mm	L21A1
Japan
6.5 mm	Type 91
7.62 mm	Type 74
7.7 mm	Type 97
12.7 mm	Type 60 (B)
China
5.8 mm	QJT
7.62 mm	Type 55 · Type 59 · Type 86
12.7 mm	QJC88A · Type 54
14.5 mm	QJG02
Italy
7.62 mm	Beretta MG42/59 · FN MAG 60-40
8 mm	34/40M · Breda Mod. 38
13.2 mm	Breda Model 31
France
7.5 mm	AAT-52 · MAC 31
7.62 mm	A-A-F1N
8 mm	Hotchkiss Mle 1914
Sweden
6.5 mm	ksp m/14-29
7.62 mm	ksp 39 C · ksp 58 · ksp 94
8 mm	ksp m/36 · ksp m/39B
12.7 mm	ksp 88

Naval machine guns
USA
7.62 mm	M73
12.7 mm	AN-M2
Germany
7.62 mm	MG-3
7.92 mm	MG08 pattern 1908 · MG15 · MG34
13.2 mm	Hotchkiss
15 mm	MG M38(t)
USSR
7.62 mm	Maxim
12.7 mm	DShK
14.5 mm	KPV
Britain
7.62 mm	FN MAG
7.7 mm	Lewis 1916 · Vickers GO No.5
12.7 mm	Vickers Mk.V
Japan
6.5 mm	Maxim · Type 38 pattern 1907
7.7 mm	Type 89 · Type 92
13.2 mm	Type 93
Italy
6.5 mm	Breda Mod.30 · Fiat Model 26
12.7 mm	Breda-SAFAT
13.2 mm	Breda Model 31
France
7.7 mm	Darne M1922
7.92 mm	Hotchkiss pattern 1914
13.2 mm	Browning · Model 1929 Hotchkiss

@@ Line 3: / Line 3: @@
 <!-- ''Write an introduction to the article in 2-3 small paragraphs. Briefly tell us about the history of the development and combat using the weaponry and also about its features. Compile a list of air, ground, or naval vehicles that feature this weapon system in the game.'' -->
-[[File:M73 2 (50623468506).jpg|thumb|right|The M73 machine gun in display]]
+The '''7.62 mm M73''' is an American 7.62 mm medium machine gun. In-game the weapon can be found predominantly as a co-axial machine gun on the M48 and M60 family of tanks (historically it replaced the earlier [[M37 (7.62 mm)]] machine gun on these tanks), as well as being mounted co-axially on some other rank 5 / 6 American tanks. Being only a 7.62 mm machine gun it is largely ineffective against all but the most weakly armoured, or open cabin, vehicles.
+=== Vehicles equipped with this weapon ===
+<!-- ''List out vehicles that are equipped with the weapon.'' -->
-The '''M73''' is an American 7.62mm medium machine gun. In-game the weapon can be found predominantly as a co-axial machine gun on the M48 and M60 family of tanks (historically it replaced the earlier [[M37 (7.62 mm)]] machine gun on these tanks), as well as being mounted co-axially on some other rank 5 / 6 American tanks. Being only a 7.62 mm machine gun it is largely ineffective against all but the most weakly armoured, or open cabin, vehicles.
+{{Navigation-Start|Vehicles equipped with this weapon}}
+{{Navigation-First-Line|'''Light tanks'''}}{{Specs-Link|us_m551}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_m551_76}}
-<!-- ''List out vehicles that are equipped with the weapon.'' -->
+{{Navigation-Line|'''Medium tanks'''}}{{Specs-Link|us_t95e1}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_m728}}
-{{Navigation-Start|Vehicles equipped with this weapon}}
+{{Navigation-Line|M48}}{{Specs-Link|us_m48a1_patton_III}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|cn_m48a1_patton_III}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|il_m48a1_patton_III}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|germ_mkpz_m48a2c}}
+{{Navigation-Line|M60}}{{Specs-Link|us_m60}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_m60a1}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|it_m60a1_ariete}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_m60a2}}
+{{Navigation-Line|Magach}}{{Specs-Link|il_magach_2}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|il_magach_3_idf}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|il_magach_3}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_magach_3}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|il_magach_5}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|il_magach_6}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|il_magach_6a}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|il_magach_6r}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|il_magach_6_rocket}}
+{{Navigation-Line|MBT-70}}{{Specs-Link|us_xm_803}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_mbt_70}}
-{{Navigation-Line|M48}}{{Specs-Link|us_m48a1_patton_III|short}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|cn_m48a1_patton_III|short}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|germ_mkpz_m48a2c|short}}
+{{Navigation-First-Line|'''Armoured gun boats'''}}{{Specs-Link|us_lcm_zippo}}
-{{Navigation-Line|M60}}{{Specs-Link|us_m60|short}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_m60a1|short}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|it_m60a1_ariete|short}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_m60a2|short}}
-{{Navigation-Line|Other}}{{Specs-Link|us_m551|short}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_mbt_70|short}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_magach_3|short}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_t95e1|short}}{{-}}{{Specs-Link|us_xm_803|short}}
 {{Navigation-End}}
@@ Line 19: / Line 24: @@
 == General info ==
 <!-- ''Tell us about the tactical and technical characteristics of the cannon or machine gun.'' -->
 Despite being a completely separate gun the M73 performs identically to the [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)]] and its derivatives. The M73 also doesn't have a 3D model in the game, it currently uses the M1919A4 model in its place.
 === Available ammunition ===
 <!-- ''Describe the shells that are available for the weapon and their features and purpose. If it concerns autocannons or machine guns, write about different ammo belts and what is inside (which types of shells).'' -->
-The M73 can only be equipped with one ammo belt consisting of one Armour Piercing (AP) bullet, followed by one Tracer (T) bullet. Neither bullet has much penetration (maximum of 10 mm), however the AP bullet performs much better than the tracer bullet.
+The M73 can only be equipped with one ammo belt consisting of one Armour-piercing (AP) bullet, followed by one Tracer (T) bullet. Neither bullet has much penetration (maximum of 13 mm), however the AP bullet performs much better than the tracer bullet.
-{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
+{{:{{PAGENAME}}/Ammunition|AP, T}}
-! colspan="7" | Penetration statistics
-|-
-! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
-! colspan="6" | '''Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm)'''
-|-
-! 10 m !! 100 m !! 500 m !! 1,000 m !! 1,500 m !! 2,000 m
-|-
-| AP || 10 || 9 || 7 || 4 || 0 || 0
-|-
-| T || 5 || 4 || 2 || 1 || 0 || 0
-|-
-|}
-{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center" width="100%"
-! colspan="10" | Shell details
-|-
-! rowspan="2" data-sort-type="text" | Ammunition
-! rowspan="2" | Velocity<br>(m/s)
-! rowspan="2" | Projectile<br>Mass (kg)
-! rowspan="2" | Fuse delay<br>(m)
-! rowspan="2" | Fuse sensitivity<br>(mm)
-! rowspan="2" | Explosive Mass<br>(TNT equivalent) (g)
-! rowspan="2" | Normalisation at 30°<br>from horizontal
-! colspan="3" | Ricochet
-|-
-! 0% !! 50% !! 100%
-|-
-| AP || 853 || 0.0108 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +2.0° || 47° || 60° || 65°
-|-
-| T || 835 || 0.0095 || N/A || N/A || N/A || +2.0° || 47° || 60° || 65°
-|-
-|}
 === Comparison with analogues ===
@@ Line 79: / Line 53: @@
 == History ==
 <!-- ''Examine the history of the creation and combat usage of the weapon in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too long, take it to a separate article, taking a link to the article about the weapon and adding a block "/History" (example: <nowiki>https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Weapon-name)/History</nowiki>) and add a link to it here using the <code>main</code> template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <code><nowiki><ref></ref></nowiki></code>, as well as adding them at the end of the article with <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>.'' -->
-The M73 is an American 7.62mm medium machine gun, unlike previous American tank mounted machine guns the M73 was designed from the start to use the the 7.62×51mm NATO round (instead of the 7.62×63mm ".30-06 Springfield" round). During WW2 the [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)]] machine gun was the US army's standard co-axial mounted machine gun, and although being a proven weapon it had some limitations in the co-axial mounted role. After WW2 the army commissioned and improved version (the [[M37 (7.62 mm)|M37]]), but also looked to outright replace the M1919 with a newer design. The program to replace the M1919 was started in 1951 and faced a series of delays, eventually ending in early 1959 with the Springfield Armory's T197E2 prototype being selected for as the M73, and production starting the same year.
+[[File:M73 2 (50623468506).jpg|thumb|right|The M73 machine gun in display]]
+The M73 is an American 7.62 mm medium machine gun, unlike previous American tank mounted machine guns the M73 was designed from the start to use the 7.62×51 mm NATO round (instead of the 7.62×63 mm ".30-06 Springfield" round). During WW2 the [[M1919A4 (7.62 mm)]] machine gun was the US army's standard co-axial mounted machine gun, and although being a proven weapon it had some limitations in the co-axial mounted role. After WW2 the army commissioned and improved version (the [[M37 (7.62 mm)|M37]]), but also looked to outright replace the M1919 with a newer design. The program to replace the M1919 was started in 1951 and faced a series of delays, eventually ending in early 1959 with the Springfield Armory's T197E2 prototype being selected for as the M73, and production starting the same year.
 The M73 was predominantly fitted to the M48 and M60 Patton series of tanks, as well as the [[M551|M551 Sheridan]]; it featured the ability to be fed from either side and other features which would in theory make it a good co-axial machine gun. In reality the weapon soon proved to be over complicated, and rapidly became highly disliked by tank crews due to frequent malfunctions and a very high rate jamming, compared to the extremely reliable M1919 and M37 they were used to. In 1970 an improved version, the M73E1, was produced in order to address the poor reliability of the original, and in 1972 the weapon was re-designated M219 (rumoured to have been done to try and try and remove the stigma associated with the M73 name).
@@ Line 103: / Line 78: @@
 * ''other literature.'' -->
-* [[wikipedia:M73_machine_gun|Wikipedia - M73 machine gun]]
+* [[wikipedia:M73_machine_gun|[Wikipedia] M73 machine gun]]
 * [https://modernfirearms.net/en/machineguns/u-s-a-machineguns/m73-m219-eng/ Modern Firearms - M73, M219]
 * [http://www.smallarmsreview.com/display.article.cfm?idarticles=1192 Small Arms Review - The M73/M219 Machine Gun: Mama's Ugly Baby]
 {{Tank machine guns}}
+{{Naval machine guns}}
 [[Category:Tank machine guns]]
+[[Category:Naval machine guns]]

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