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The M27 link, formally Link, Cartridge, Metallic Belt, 5.56mm, M27 is a metallic
Metal link M27 for cal. 5.56×45mm Technical data
/ref> The links often have an extra anti-corrosion surface treatment, generally (oil impregnated) black phosphate, and can be collected and reassembled by hand with fresh ammunition, but in practice this is not commonly done as it is labor-intensive, and the inexpensive links are considered disposable.
M27 link technical data
Firearm components Ammunition Military equipment introduced in the 1970s {{Ammo-stub
The M27 link, formally Link, Cartridge, Metallic Belt, 5.56mm, M27 is a metallic disintegrating link
upright=1.35, An M60 machine gun belt loaded with 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges, aboard a U.S. Navy">7.62×51mm_NATO.html" ;"title="M60 machine gun belt loaded with 7.62×51mm NATO">M60 machine gun belt loaded with 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges, aboar ...
issued by the United States armed forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is ...
and among NATO and designed for use in belt-fed firearms. It holds 5.56×45mm NATO ammunition.
History
The first scaled-down version of the mid-20th centuryM13 link
The M13 link, formally Link, Cartridge, Metallic Belt, 7.62mm, M13, is the U.S. military designation for a metallic disintegrating link specifically designed for ammunition belt-fed firearms and 7.62×51mm NATO rounds. It was introduced in the ...
was developed in the early 1960s for the Stoner 63
The Stoner 63 is a 5.56×45mm NATO modular weapon system. Using a variety of modular components, it can be configured as an assault rifle, carbine, top-fed light machine gun, belt-fed squad automatic weapon, or as a vehicle mounted weapon. Also ...
belt-fed
upright=1.35, An M60 machine gun belt loaded with 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges, aboard a U.S. Navy">7.62×51mm_NATO.html" ;"title="M60 machine gun belt loaded with 7.62×51mm NATO">M60 machine gun belt loaded with 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges, aboar ...
light machine gun
A light machine gun (LMG) is a light-weight machine gun designed to be operated by a single infantryman, with or without an assistant, as an infantry support weapon. LMGs firing cartridges of the same caliber as the other riflemen of the ...
/squad automatic weapon
A squad automatic weapon (SAW), also known as a section automatic weapon or light support weapon (LSW), is a man-portable automatic firearm attached to infantry squads or sections as a source of rapid direct firepower. Weapons fulfilling t ...
and designated as the "S-63 BRW" link.
In the early 1970s this scaling-down concept was further developed. The resulting modified link had a slightly different angle of pitch and was adapted as the M27 link for use with the FN Minimi
The FN Minimi (short for french: Mini Mitrailleuse; "mini machine gun") is a Belgian 5.56mm light machine gun/squad automatic weapon developed by Ernest Vervier for FN Herstal. First introduced in the late 1970s, it is now in service in more tha ...
/M249 SAW
The M249 light machine gun (LMG), also known as the M249 Squad Automatic Weapon (SAW), which continues to be the manufacturer's designation, and formally written as Light Machine Gun, 5.56 mm, M249, is the American adaptation of the Belgian F ...
.
The M27 link is used on the FN Minimi/M249, HK23, MG4, CETME Ameli, K3, Mini-SS and Negev
The Negev or Negeb (; he, הַנֶּגֶב, hanNegév; ar, ٱلنَّقَب, an-Naqab) is a desert and semidesert region of southern Israel. The region's largest city and administrative capital is Beersheba (pop. ), in the north. At its sout ...
, among others.
Design details
Each M27 link consists of a single piece of metal curved into two partial cylinders, into which adjacent rounds slide. Like the M13 link, the M27 link is a push-through design. Rounds are extracted by pushing forward out of the link. With the round freed, the link disintegrates (detaches from the belt) and is ejected. This is in contrast with older belt systems which were typically made of fabric and were fed straight through the weapon without disintegrating. MIL-L-63532C stipulates that the force to strip a NATO approved round from the M27 link should be between and the belt should have a minimal tensile strength of . A single M27 link weighs approximately ./ref> The links often have an extra anti-corrosion surface treatment, generally (oil impregnated) black phosphate, and can be collected and reassembled by hand with fresh ammunition, but in practice this is not commonly done as it is labor-intensive, and the inexpensive links are considered disposable.
See also
*M1 link
The M1 link, was the U.S. military designation for a steel disintegrating link designed for the M1917 Browning machine gun and M1919 Browning machine gun, and the .30-06 Springfield cartridge that they fired. A single round would hold two links t ...
*M13 link
The M13 link, formally Link, Cartridge, Metallic Belt, 7.62mm, M13, is the U.S. military designation for a metallic disintegrating link specifically designed for ammunition belt-fed firearms and 7.62×51mm NATO rounds. It was introduced in the ...
References
M27 link technical data
Firearm components Ammunition Military equipment introduced in the 1970s {{Ammo-stub