M60

The M60 is an American machine gun designed between the late 1940s to 1957, where it was first put into service with the United States military, to replace the M1918 BAR and M1919 Browning, but based partially upon the MG42. A large and bulky weapon, the M60 fires the 7.62x51mm NATO round at a rate of fire of between 500 to 600 rounds per minute up to an effective range of 1.1 kilometers. It saw extensive use during the Vietnam war by American and South Vietnamese troops, and has been put into service with many modern armies. In recent years, it has been gradually phased out from the US military and has been replaced or complemented by designs such as the M240.

Battlefield Vietnam
In Battlefield Vietnam, the M60 is the light machine gun issued to American and South Vietnamese as an option of the Heavy Assault kit. It has a 100-round capacity, high standing recoil, medium damage, high rate of fire and low accuracy. The M60 is best used at medium ranges in burst fire since it's accuracy quickly deteriorates after a few shots. It also has enormous recoil when standing up or crouching. Prone decreases most of the drawbacks of this weapon, especially its recoil, which is quite low in prone, though its accuracy is generally too poor to be of much use in at long ranges. It is the counterpart to the North Vietnamese RPD.

The M60 is also mounted on several American and South Vietnamese vehicles, these being the PBR, the Huey and the ACH-47 Chinook. It still has the same kind of performance damage- and accuracy-wise, though it has an overheat limit, a 400- to 500-round belt that never needs to be reloaded, and, since being mounted, no recoil.

The Stationary M60 is an emplaced weapon found mounted in bunkers and crashed CH-47s on the Defense of Con Thien and the Fall of Saigon. These M60s have unlimited ammunition and otherwise have the same characteristics of the M60s mounted in vehicles. They tend to be near American and South Vietnamese bases, though some are scattered about.

Battlefield: Bad Company
"Firing off hundreds of rounds from a machine gun is a beautiful thing, but for you, this machine gun will be just what you need to support your team in battle. With an oversized magazine and great reliability, a light machine gun is always welcomed on the battlefield." The M60 machine gun in Battlefield: Bad Company is one of the "Find all Five!" In order to unlock the weapon one must subscribe to the Battlefield Newsletter. However, DICE have freely released a universal code. The code for the M60 is try4ndrunf0rcov3r.

The M60 is issued to the Support kit. It has 150 rounds in a full belt with 300 rounds in reserve. The M60 has a slower rate of fire than other LMGs, which will give it a disadvantage at closer ranges, but this is made up for by its high accuracy and damage. At long range it is best to fire in short bursts or to fire single shots due to the weapon's sub-par accuracy as compared to assault rifles. Moving while shooting will make it almost impossible to hit a target more than 20 meters away.

As with the other machine guns, a good tactic is to support friendly players through fire and maneuver, considering static positions are easier to maintain with machine guns, and their high ammunition capacity and utility for suppressive fire.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2
In singleplayer, the M60 LMG is always used by Terrence Sweetwater, and can be found in its normal state on Sangre Del Toro, in the fountain when the two Hinds drop in troops. A variant with a 4X Rifle Scope can be found to the south of the bottom of the lighthouse in Sangre Del Toro, and by a destroyed wall on the last slope before the player faces the two Havocs at station C. Both variants of the M60 are collectibles.

In multiplayer, the M60 LMG is the 4th light machine gun issued to the Medic kit requiring 25,000 points. It has a belt length of 100 rounds and has the highest damage per shot of the LMGs, equal to that of the PKM. The Red Dot Sight and 4X Rifle Scope are usually used as the iron sights are fairly obtrusive and hard to use, and inefficient for pin-point accuracy. It is also very important to note the M60 has an extremely high recoil almost similar to that of the G3, and tap firing might be necessary even at medium range.

It must be noted that the M60's damage has been reduced twice in the time the game has been out. When Bad Company 2 was first released, the M60 did 25-20 damage. Amidst complaints and balance issues, it was reduced to 20-16.7. Amidst more balancing issues, it was finally reduced to 16.7-14.3, the same as the PKM. This effectively means the PKM is now more powerful as it has the same damage and a higher rate of fire, but the M60 is still more accurate. Since then, the M60 has been used significantly less by players.

Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam
In Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam, the M60 is issued to the Medic kit. It has stats identical to its base game counterpart, except in terms of damage, but the iron sights are cleaner and less obstructive, most likely to balance out the lack of attached sights available to the player. The M60 is also mounted on UH-1 Iroquois helicopters for use by passengers. Among its rusted and battered appearance, the M60 also boasts woodland camouflage and is one of only 2 weapons in Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam to use camouflage, the other being the M79.

Trivia

 * When Sweetwater is firing the M60 during the campaign of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, it has the same firing sound as the PKM.

Videos
Video:BFV M60 footage|Gameplay with the M60 in Battlefield: Vietnam, on the map Ho Chi Minh Trail; note that the player is prone, substantially decreasing recoil. Video:M60 LMG|Gameplay of the M60 LMG in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 at Atacama Desert, Arica Harbor and White Pass in Rush mode (note: this footage was taken before the R9 Client update, thus the M60 in this footage has damage of 20-16.7) Video:M60 Vietnam|Gameplay with the M60 in Battlefield: Bad Company 2: Vietnam at Vantage Point, Cao Son Temple and Operation Hastings in Rush mode