Using the T&E for Medium Machineguns

[Creeping Death]

You are correct. The T&E is the actual piece of gun gear that connects the tripod and the weapon together, enabling the gunner to traverse the weapon on a straight line, and make exact ajustments on the elevation, instead of just free firing it. Generally used when strict fire control measures need to be placed on the guns IOT prevent fratricide, ensure proper coverage of defelades, etc.

Any of you old MGs out there remember what the increments were on the T&E? I.E. one click equals how much of a change in point of impact? I have no idea.

[Looon]

The whole time I was in Batt, I never used that fucking thing in one live fire exersize.

[Spartan]

What I remember is that the T&Es we used had a lot of slop in the them and the only way you could make them work was by pushing the butt of the gun hard to the right with your jaw in order to maintain any consistency in how the T&E adjustments were made. If you did not do this and relied on the T&E to hold the gun in one position by itself, you couldn't hit a damned thing.

[Spartan]

We used the Tripod for almost everything, even when we made "chance contact" during movement to contact drills. It allows the MG to achieve and maintain a very deadly field of grazing fire.

And gave the opportunity for the Gun Team to learn to really work well as a team. The AG was certainly more a part of the team this way, instead of just following the gunner and prepping boxes of rounds to link in, he actually had something to do that was 'gun related'.

[SkyShark]

As a 60 Gunner the only time I ever used the T& E was for qualifications.
Other than that Live Fires, Defensive positions everything else I free gunned it all the way.

Actually I take that back. I did use it when a proper range card was required in defense positions. However, after the range card was complete it was taken off. It was just extra weight.

[Looon]

I only remeber using for gun drills. Even when I made gunner, I didn't like the tri-pod or the device, as I called it.

I think my biggest motivation for carrying it in my ruck, was so I would'nt get smoked if I was caught without it.

But...........setting up the tri-pod and the "device" was a big job for the AG.

[Spartan]

We pretty much always set up the Tripod for use in defensive positions, say in Honduras (W/T&E), and also for ambushes (although without the T&E in that application).

[Spartan]

I kinda of miss those days. Any of you former PIG dudes remember doing live fire drills and just letting loose with auto even after the SL was screaming to go to rapid rate of fire??? Just so you did not have to hump out so much ammo back to the PB or HLZ??

Fun times!

I remember a close ambush where the targets were pulled on a sled in front of us. Our platoon went first. We had 400 rounds linked and I was the gunner. I damned near shot them all into the target sled to my front, and after the target was fairly shredded, I went to work on the post supporting it until SFC Nethken, our lane grader for the exercise, kicked me in the boot before I could finish destroying it with a terse "I think he's dead".

I wanted to see it fall over after I shot completely through the lumber. It was not to be.

The funny part is that our PSG (Rivera) had brought along a tape recorder to record the violence of action, to play it back so we could hear if there was a 'lull' in the fire during the briefback. I remember hearing him play it back and how great it sounded, until later, I looked at his tape recorder and noticed that it used a 'Voice Activated Microphone'. What an idiot. I didn't say anything about it.

[Looon]

The whole Tripod thing and Gun Team Drills were a way of life at 2d batt when I was there. We used to always have competitions with the other Companies' Gun Teams to have boasting rights.

I can remember spending ALOT of time in the Quad running drills with our SL when we had downtime. The AG used to carry the T&E on a loop of 550 cord snaplinked into his LBE for easy extraction. The AG would also carry the Tripod, 600 rounds and the spare barrel in those custom made AG Bags with fastex clips that the AG slung around his shoulders.

I kinda of miss those days. Any of you former PIG dudes remember doing live fire drills and just letting loose with auto even after the SL was screaming to go to rapid rate of fire??? Just so you did not have to hump out so much ammo back to the PB or HLZ??

Fun times!

Yeah, I did the same shit Sloth. Whoops.

[Steadfast]

The whole Tripod thing and Gun Team Drills were a way of life at 2d batt when I was there. We used to always have competitions with the other Companies' Gun Teams to have boasting rights.

I can remember spending ALOT of time in the Quad running drills with our SL when we had downtime. The AG used to carry the T&E on a loop of 550 cord snaplinked into his LBE for easy extraction. The AG would also carry the Tripod, 600 rounds and the spare barrel in those custom made AG Bags with fastex clips that the AG slung around his shoulders.

I kinda of miss those days. Any of you former PIG dudes remember doing live fire drills and just letting loose with auto even after the SL was screaming to go to rapid rate of fire??? Just so you did not have to hump out so much ammo back to the PB or HLZ??

Fun times!

DS, I highlighted the part of your post that reffered to me as well. In the 82nd. I was in weapons sqd and carried the T & E bag. It's contents were the Tripod and the Equipment, The equipment was the extra barrel and a mitt to hold the hot barrel and exchange the barrels. The bag didn't have those fastex clips you refer to, instead it had just a strap similiar to the strap on a rifle although I can't remember if it was adjustable. Just remembering, thank you for reminding me. Whew. That was 34+ years ago for me. LOL