ALFA M44
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| ALFA M44 machine gun | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Medium machine gun |
| Place of origin | Spain |
| Service history | |
| Used by | Spain Egypt Democratic Republic of Congo |
| Wars | Ifni War[1] Suez Crisis Six-Day War Simba rebellion |
| Production history | |
| Manufacturer | Fabrica de Armas de Oviedo |
| Produced | 1944–1962 |
| Specifications | |
| Mass | 13 kg (28.66 lb) |
| Length | 1,450 mm (57.1 in) |
| Barrel length | 750 mm (29.5 in) |
| Cartridge | 7.62×51mm NATO 7.92×57mm Mauser |
| Action | Gas-Operated; Automatic Fire Only |
| Rate of fire | 780 rounds/min |
| Muzzle velocity | 760 m/s (2,493 ft/s) |
| Feed system | belt |
| Sights | rear aperture, front notch[2] |
The Alfa M44 was a Spanish machine gun developed during World War II. At this time, stocks of machine guns ran low and no outside source was available. Non-combatant nations found that the belligerent nations were unable to supply as they were preoccupied with meeting their own wartime production needs. It complimented the ZB-26 light machine gun, and replaced the aging Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun. Originally chambered in 7.92×57mm Mauser, in 1955 an updated version chambered in 7.62×51mm NATO was introduced, and was subsequently issued to Spanish troops, sometimes referred to as the M55. Along with Spain, the M44 was also prominently used by Egypt, whose army had standardised on the 7.92×57mm Mauser round. Also in the early 1960s, the Congo government bought a batch of weapons from Spain, including Alfa machine guns, to combat the Simba.
Gallery
[edit]-
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A photo of a tripod-mounted ALFA M44 on display at the Batey ha-Osef Museum, Tel Aviv, Israel -
Another photo of a tripod-mounted ALFA, captioned as M55, given that it is chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Algunas armas utilizadas en la guerra de Ifni 1957-1958" [Some weapons used in the Ifni War 1957-1958] (in Spanish). 14 August 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
- ^ "ALFA 44 (Ametralladora ALFA Modelo 44) Medium Machine Gun". 9 May 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2016.
External links
[edit]- Image of an ALFA M44 mounted on a tripod with a distinctive cylindrical hopper for the belt feed
- ALFA Modelo 44
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