Colt Light Aircraft Machine Gun MG40 - 2

(Air-cooled)

General Description

The Colt Light Aircraft Machine Gun MG40-2 is an designed for airplane use and is capable of great rapidity of fire.

The gun is of a special light construction and can be fed with cartridges from the left-hand or the right-hand side as may be desired, the change from one hand to the other being effected by a simple re-positioning of some of the component parts taking very little time to carry out.

The gun is supplied in two types; the Flexible (for observer) type is provided with a back plate having hand grips and a hand trigger, whereas the Fixed or Wing type is provided with a black plate without the hand grips. There is a steel jacket which envelopes the barrel and to which, in case of the Flexible gun, sights are attached. At the front end of the barrel jacket is a muzzle attachment, a hole in the rear of which provides a bearing for the barrel.

The recoil buffer in both the Flexible gun and the Fixed or Wing gun is of the horizontal type.

The Flexible type gun is provided with a retracting slide which makes connection with the bolt by means of a stud in the side of the bolt.

The Fixed or Wing type gun is provided with an operating slide which makes connection with the bolt by means of a stud in the bolt. Provision is made for attaching a cable as to permit remote control. Incorporated in the operating slide is a feature whereby the slide when hand operating can be drawn back to its full extent and the bolt retained there by returning the slide handle to the right or left.

The cover is provided with a fitting at its front end which enables it to remain open in an one of three positions. This is useful when in flight if it should be desired to get access to the gun's mechanism in order to remove a faulty cartridge. The arrangement provided prevents the cover from being blown down upon the operator's hand and in order to close the cover, it is only necessary to exert a quick pull upon it.

Provision is made on the side plates of guns to receive a type of trigger motor to suit the mechanical synchronizing gear, thus enabling the Fixed type of gun to be fired through the plane of propeller rotation. The function of the synchronizing gear is to time properly the fire of the gun in relation to the position of the rotating propeller blades. The trigger motor may be mounted on right-hand side or left-hand side of gun as may be desired and to suit this adaptable feature the sear in bolt mechanism of the gun can be assembled right-hand or left-hand.

Principle of Operation

The force of recoil is utilized to reload and fire the gun automatically as long as ammunition is supplied and the trigger is pressed.

Each time a cartridge is fired the recoil carries the barrel backwards a short distance. This motion unlocks the bolt from the barrel extension and throws the bolt to the rear against the action of a spring. As the bolt goes back, it extracts the empty cartridge from the chamber and at the same time draws a live cartrdige from the links.

The driving spring then returns the bolt and barrel to the forward position, loads the cartridge into the barrel eject the empty cartridge case, locks the bolt to the barrel extension and, if pressure is maintained upon the trigger, the cartridge is fired.

Last Modified on July 30, 1999
aalbert@biggerhammer.net