An M60 in reality.
The M60 is one of a family of American Light Machine Guns firing the 7.62x51mm NATO cartridge. There are several types of live ammunition approved for use in the M60 including ball, tracer, and armor-piercing rounds.
Introduced in the 1957, it has served with every branch of the U.S. military and still serves with other armed forces. Its manufacture and continued upgrade for military and commercial purchase continues into the 21st century though it has been replaced or supplemented in most roles by other designs, notably the M240 in U.S. service. The current M60 being used by the US Military is the E4 variant (modernized version than the old predecessor E3 version) as it features many RIS rails for mounting sight attachments. The E4 was also shorter than it's predecessor. The M60 is now being phased out of service by the M240 SAW.
Battlefield Vietnam
The M60 is the only light machine gun for the American and South Vietnamese forces. It is issued to 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. Its enormous recoil when fired standing up is an extreme drawback. Prone effectively eliminates most of the drawbacks of this weapon.
The M60 also comes mounted on many American and South Vietnamese vehicles. It still has the same kind of performance, only, since being mounted, has an overheat limit, obsolete recoil and a 400-500 round belt that never needs to be reloaded. On M113 APCs, the M60 is constantly being refilled by the ammo box inside the vehicles, making it have infinite ammo.
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Battlefield: Bad Company
— Haggard describing the M60 Machine Gun.
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.
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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.
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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 include camouflage, the other being the M79 .
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Trivia
- When Sweetwater is firing the M60 during the campaign of Battlefield: Bad Company 2, it has the same firing sound as the PKM.
- Since Light Machine Guns can damage helicopters in Battlefield: Bad Company, both the M60 and the MG3 are very effective at shooting them down if there are no AA guns or .50 cals in the area, the former doing more damage and the latter firing more rounds to hit. However, the same does not apply to Battlefield: Bad Company 2 as helicopters, except for UAV's, are armored up to but not including .50 caliber rounds.
Videos
[[Video:BFV M60 footage|thumb|right|300px|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|thumb|left|300px|Gameplay of the M60 LMG in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 at Atacama Desert, Arica Harbor and White Pass]]
External Links
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