An Cosantóir March 2014 www.dfmagazine.ie
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By SGT WAYNE FITZGERALD
PhOtOS By 2/LT ALAN MARKEY, D COY, 27 INF BN
T
he Belgian-made 7.62mm GPMG, both bipod and tripod variant, has stood the
test of time having been in service with the Defence Forces for 50 years, and
is also used by many other armed forces around the world today.
The General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG) Sustained Fire (SF) forms one of the
three sections of the weapons platoon (along with a 60mm mortar section and
an 84mm anti-tank section) of the rifle company in the standard Defence Forces
organisation. The GPMG SF section, which is comprised of three detachments, gives
the infantry company commander extra fire support to bolster the rifle platoons.
The weapons platoon is considered a company asset and as such the company com-
mander may give instructions for it to be broken down and for control of the vari-
ous detachments to be distributed to the rifle platoon commanders. In such cases
the weapons platoon commander will co-locate with company HQ in order to assist
with the company's fire plan.
When used in the tripod-mounted SF role the GPMG is employed as a medium
machine-gun to support the company in offensive and defensive operations, and
during withdrawal. The weapon is very effective in this role as it can accurately hit
point targets up to 1,800m away
or provide fire over a target area
with an average rate of fire of 800
rounds-per-minute. The weapon's
crew consists of the detachment
commander, gunner, and loader.
A C2AI sight is used in conjunc-
tion with an aiming post to allow
the crew to record targets for
engagement when they cannot
be observed due to darkness or
battlefield conditions. This en-
sures that the GPMG SF can be re-
lied upon to support troops during
night operations.
Pictured are members of 27 Inf Bn, both permanent
and reserve who took part under the single-force con-
cept in a recent GPMG SF shoot in the Glen of Imaal,
Co Wicklow.
