L7 LMG (FN MAG-58) for Australian Army?

[PFC Luu [29ID]]

Did the Australians use the L7 LMG in Vietnam? During the Malaysia-Indonesia Confrontation (1963-1966), the Australians used the L7 LMG.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Australian_soldier_Borneo.jpg

[WhipMyWombat]

pretty sure during the confrontation the brits supplied the aussies

[batmack8989]

I would love to have some guns they had during the period, not just the FN MAG but also the Bren in 7.62, however i think IRL they didn't use them in Vietnam, having M60s instead

[=(e)= Lemonater47]

Originally posted by WhipMyWombat:

pretty sure during the confrontation the brits supplied the aussies

During the early part of the war they were stuck with the americans. Fighting in american units. On the american logistics chain. That didn't last very long but they kept getting US weapons.

Which is why they ended up with M60s, M79s and M16s. It's also why they didn't take their L4 bren guns. Since the bren gun was actually the LMG of the australian army before and continued to be after the Vietnam war.

The L7 was the british designation for the FN MAG. The Australians adopted it shortly before the Vietnam war. Not in a light machine gun role however. As a sort of GPMG though not in today's sense of the term.

[PFC Luu [29ID]]

Originally posted by =(e)= Lemonater47:

Originally posted by WhipMyWombat:

pretty sure during the confrontation the brits supplied the aussies

During the early part of the war they were stuck with the americans. Fighting in american units. On the american logistics chain. That didn't last very long but they kept getting US weapons.

Which is why they ended up with M60s, M79s and M16s. It's also why they didn't take their L4 bren guns. Since the bren gun was actually the LMG of the australian army before and continued to be after the Vietnam war.

The L7 was the british designation for the FN MAG. The Australians adopted it shortly before the Vietnam war. Not in a light machine gun role however. As a sort of GPMG though not in today's sense of the term.

I thought only Britain and India had had 7.62x51mm Brens, while Canada and Australia went with FN FAL based squad automatic weapons (C2A1 and L2A1). Or were you saying that Australia was still using the .303 British Bren?

[Roujiamo 南蛮主义者]

Originally posted by Pvt. Luu 29ID:

Originally posted by =(e)= Lemonater47:

During the early part of the war they were stuck with the americans. Fighting in american units. On the american logistics chain. That didn't last very long but they kept getting US weapons.

Which is why they ended up with M60s, M79s and M16s. It's also why they didn't take their L4 bren guns. Since the bren gun was actually the LMG of the australian army before and continued to be after the Vietnam war.

The L7 was the british designation for the FN MAG. The Australians adopted it shortly before the Vietnam war. Not in a light machine gun role however. As a sort of GPMG though not in today's sense of the term.

I thought only Britain and India had had 7.62x51mm Brens, while Canada and Australia went with FN FAL based squad automatic weapons (C2A1 and L2A1). Or were you saying that Australia was still using the .303 British Bren?

We used the brens well into the 70's in the form of the L4, Often as backups, training and portable AA emplacements, though they did see front line use in our overseas service as late as 1978. I am not sure of their calibres, but they can frequently be seen in millitary bases as a display. The Irish forces only phased them out in the mid 2000's

The Issue with the Bren is that it is a very outdated design, the aussies were right to replace it with the american stuff. The 7.62x51 varient, the L4, was in use by the ANZACs before that, and did see use during the same time in conflicts such as the Indeonesian-malayan confrontation and general service after the Vietnam war where American weaponry was less readily available; the heavy weight, limited magazine capacity and generally awkward shape made it less desirable than its modern cousins.

Don't get me wrong here, the Bren is a brilliant gun, a typical brittish design without any bells and whistles, but seeing as we no longer live in threat of our factorys being decimated by bombs it makes sence that it was phased out in favour of more luxurous weaponry.

[Wideload]

I believe the reason the Aussies didnt use the MAG58 was the original ones were British contract L7's and their lack of use was more political than anything.