Denel MG4

Belt-Fed, Air-Cooled Machine Gun [ 1960 ]

The MG4 is nothing more than a South African re-imagining of the classic American World War 2-era Browning M1919A4 air-cooled, belt-fed machine gun.

Authored By: Staff Writer | Last Edited: 02/21/2017 | Content ©www.MilitaryFactory.com | The following text is exclusive to this site.

Official image from the South African Army website.

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The Browning M1919 became a classic machine gun after its introduction following World War 1 (1914-1918). It was eventually featured as a dedicated infantry machine gun and an aircraft machine gun and went on to see combat action in a myriad of conflicts spanning the "Banana Wars" and the modern Syrian Civil War. Over 5 million of the type, in one form or another, have been made by various manufacturers. The prolific reach of the M1919 series inevitably meant that the machine gun found its way into the inventories of many national armies, among those the South African Army where it continues in service as the "M4".

The M4, born from the M1919A4 production model, is a modernized version of the same gun forged through work handled by Lyttleton Engineering Works of Pretoria. A major portion of the work was in rechambering the original weapon, which fired the .30-06 Springfield rifle cartridge, to the ubiquitous Cold War-era 7.62x51mm NATO rifle cartridge. During this time, components of the weapon received reinforcement to better serve the Army in its expected fighting environments. The feed was also reworked at this time to incorporate an open bolt function and the gun could now support disintegrating link belts common to modern machine guns.

The machine gun is cooled via air-cooling with the barrel jacket being perforated with many holes for air circulation. The operation is recoil-based (short-recoil).

In both form and function, the MG4 is the M1919A4 with a modern flair. Typically showcased on a durable tripod assembly for stabilized firing from fixed positions, the MG4 can also be used as a trainable vehicle machine gun (pintle mounting) or a stationary Anti-Aircraft (AA) machine gun.

The gun now falls under the Denel Land Systems brand label.©MilitaryFactory.com

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Specifications

Lyttleton Engineering Works (Denel Land Systems) - South Africa
Manufacturer(s)

South Africa
Operators

1960
Service Year

South Africa
National Origin

FIRE SUPPORT
Capable of suppressing enemy elements at range through direct or in-direct fire.

1,015 mm
(39.96 inches)
Overall Length

594 mm
(23.39 inches)
Barrel Length

28.66 lb
(13.00 kg)
Empty Weight

Short-Recoil; Belt-Fed; Open Bolt
Action

OPEN BOLT
System utilizes internal mechanism where bolt and associated working components are set to the rear of the receiver with no cartridge chambered; trigger actuation moves bolt forward, chambers cartridge, and fires bullet in single action - ultimately resetting during the complete cycle by way of the generated energy.

7.62x51mm NATO
Caliber(s)
May not represent an exhuastive list; Calibers may be model-specific dependent; Always consult official manufacturer sources.

250-round disintegrating belt
Rounds

Iron; Optional Optics
Sights

Material presented above is for historical and entertainment value and should not be construed as usable for hardware restoration, maintenance, or general operation - always consult official manufacturer sources for such information.

655 feet
(200 meters | 218 yards)
Max Effective Range

600
Rounds-per-Minute
Rate-of-Fire

2,755 ft/sec
(840 m/sec)
Muzzle Velocity

MG4 - Base Series Designation

7.62mm MG - Alternative Designation

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Images

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Official image from the South African Army website.

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