Hello,
Here is a Danish 50-round belt.
Is there any way to tell whether it is in 30.06 for “M/1951” or 7.62 Nato for “M/62 Let Maskingevær”
The weapons are described on the Danish Arms and Armour Society website :
vaabenhistoriskselskab.dk/ar … n_list.php
Cheers,
JFL
They are certainly for the M/62, i.e. 7,62 NATO. I’m not sure what was used with the SIG gun. I’m the editor of the automatics line on Arma Dania, could I have your permission to use the picture on the M/62 entry?* -I am trying to put up some pictures and info on magazines and belts. My only two belts are a ‘(crown)VAR’ and a ‘87T’, both with a different lead/coupler clip than yours.
Tia Soren
with credit: “Photo by JFL”
Soren, the commercial pamphlet on the SIG M50 is showing this belt as well.
[quote=“mausernut”]They are certainly for the M/62, i.e. 7,62 NATO. I’m not sure what was used with the SIG gun. I’m the editor of the automatics line on Arma Dania, could I have your permission to use the picture on the M/62 entry?* -I am trying to put up some pictures and info on magazines and belts. My only two belts are a ‘(crown)VAR’ and a ‘87T’, both with a different lead/coupler clip than yours.
Tia Soren
with credit: “Photo by JFL”[/quote]
Soren,
I believe that the belt marked “87T” was made in the Netherlands by MFT (Metaalwaren-Fabriek Tilburg B.V.) in 1987.
gravelbelly
Okay. T for Tilburg. :-) Thx Gravelbelly. I’ll see if I can make up a picture with some cartridges and the belts for the A-D page.
Soren
Some years ago I was given a 1940 dated German Gurt 34 (originally for 7.9x57mm) steel belt filled with fired Danish .30 Browning (7.62x63mm) cases by a Danish collector. He assured me that this combination of cases and belt was correct as Denmark used German belts in their .30" calibre MG’s.
gravelbelly
A bit of fresh air on this old topic …
I recently got a cardboard box with Danish MG-belts:
Translation of the printed label:
Armed Forces War Material Administration
5 pieces
cartridge belt M/51
(catalog- and stock-number) and
1 piece
starter tab
(catalog- and stock-number)
(for use with 7.62 mm machinegun M/51)
Made by the Arsenal of Weapons
The five M/51-belts are of the known 50 rounds-length connectable type.
The box was packed 1955:
The semi-circular connectors of the belts and the starter tab are similar to the German Gurt 34 (for 7.92x57 machineguns):
And marked with ‘(crown)VA’:
For comparison: The modern versions have ‘noses’ on the different shaped connectors (identical to the belt ‘DM1’ for the MG3 of the German Federal Army):
They are marked ‘(crown)VAR’:
The Danish Let Maskingevær M/62 is similar to the German MG3 (a modified MG42 in 7.62x51). I believe that the newer belts with the ‘noses’ have been accepted together with the MG in 1962. However, I do not know which Danish designation the newer belts got. Maybe ‘patronbånd M/62’?
Just one Point, if the Gurt 34/42 was used with .30 in a BMG, the Belt would have to be fed “upside down”, as the BMGs Cartridge extractor Lever would foul the Extractor Groove tab on the belt if fed in the normal, tab uppermost orientation ( as with MG34 and 42 and DM-1 7,62 Nato guns).
BMGs “extract” the cartridge from the belt, whilst the Others “push through” the cartridge. (into the Chamber.).
Regards,
Doc AV
[quote=“DocAV”]Just one Point, if the Gurt 34/42 was used with .30 in a BMG, the Belt would have to be fed “upside down”, as the BMGs Cartridge extractor Lever would foul the Extractor Groove tab on the belt if fed in the normal, tab uppermost orientation ( as with MG34 and 42 and DM-1 7,62 Nato guns).
BMGs “extract” the cartridge from the belt, whilst the Others “push through” the cartridge. (into the Chamber.).
Regards,
Doc AV[/quote]The only known .30 caliber BMG’s in danish service were the one mounted in our M/24 Chaffees. These used the classic white webbing belts to feed the gun.
Soren
Post War Denmark standardised their rifle calibre as .30-06 (7.62x63mm), later changing to 7.62mm NATO calibre.
The Madsen-Saetter MG 51 as adopted by Denmark was in .30-06 calibre, called 7.62mm by the Danes (and many other countries). The gun was called the MG 1950 by the makers who offered it in any standard rimless military calibre. The M62 MG was in 7.62mm NATO calibre.
1950/51 was a little too early for 7.62mm NATO to have been adopted by Denmark. So, the belt boxes above were for the 7.62x63mm round and the same belt was later used for the M62 as well.
gravelbelly
Great piece of information Defender, thank you very much.
Cheers,
JFL
[quote=“gravelbelly”]Post War Denmark standardised their rifle calibre as .30-06 (7.62x63mm), later changing to 7.62mm NATO calibre.
The Madsen-Saetter MG 51 as adopted by Denmark was in .30-06 calibre, called 7.62mm by the Danes (and many other countries). The gun was called the MG 1950 by the makers who offered it in any standard rimless military calibre. The M62 MG was in 7.62mm NATO calibre.
1950/51 was a little too early for 7.62mm NATO to have been adopted by Denmark. So, the belt boxes above were for the 7.62x63mm round and the same belt was later used for the M62 as well.
[/quote]
Denmark never adopted the Madsen-Saetter (it only saw service in Indonesia, if I remember right). As mausernut wrote before: the Danish M/51 was the Swiss SIG MG50 in .30-06 (7,62x63). The belt M/51 was adopted with this machine gun.
The M/62 MG (7.62x51 NATO) replaced the M/51 MG and the bunch of British, US and Swedish MG in Danish post-war service.
The belt M/51 is interchangeable with the belt for the M/62 MG, independently of the two different calibers. So stored quantities of the older belts were probably even used for M/62 MG.
BTW: actually the Danish designation of M/62 MG belt is just “patronbånd” (belt) without model-year.
