Guides
Machine guns, generally, are heavier weapons with a rapid rate of fire. To quote the Quake manual, they "eat ammo like popcorn."
History
Since the dawn of warfare, man has sought to create a weapon that fires faster then the rest. For millennium, this came usually in the form of a archer with a quick hand or a specially designed rapid firing crossbow (Chu-Ko-Nu). However, it would not be until the 18th and 19th centuries that these ideas would come to reality. The first "machine gun" in the literal sense was the Gatling gun which was used commonly in the late 18 and early 19th centuries. However, the Maxim machine gun would be considered the first true machine gun. Designed and produced in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, the Maxim machine gun changed the way wars are fought. This is plainily seen in the carnage and death of the First World War. Unprotected and poorly trained infantry were thrown senselessy at much better defended and armed machine guns. What ensued was 4 years of slaughter.After the First World War, the machine gun changed darastically. Unlike the cumbersome and bulky machine guns of WW1, the machine guns of World War 2 were fairly light, fired faster, had more powerful ammunition, and were much more common. Almost every platoon in every nation's military had a squad suppport light machine gun. Probably the most famous machine gun of this era was the legendary MG42 used by the Germans. Capable of the stil staggering 1200 rounds per minute, countless men died by the MG42s hail of lead. After WW2 and during the Cold War, machine guns evolved even more. On average, the split into two distincitve catagories.
For the Soviet Union, machine guns were intended to be used on a squad level as heavy support and to suppres the enemy during infantry charges. The Western machine guns on the other hand were usually designated on a platoon level and were designed with heavy defense in mind. While not the general rule, Western (American specifically) machine guns generally had a larger round and were bulkier. This comparison can be clearly made with the Soviet RPK-74 and the American M-60. In the modern world, machine guns are used as suppressive and heavy support weapons. Machine guns are commonly pintle mounted on vehicles of all kinds as well as carried by a specially designated Support Gunner.
