HMG-38 heavy machine gun

HMG-38 heavy machine gun
Production overview
Type:	Heavy machine gun (standard configuration); Heavy automatic rifle ("Monitor Rifle" configuration);
Operation:	Fully-automatic
Service history
In service:	Insurrection

The HMG-38 heavy machine gun is an automatic firearm employed by the UNSC Army and CMA Marine Corps during the 24th and 25th centuries.^[1]

Overview[edit]

Design details[edit]

The HMG-38 was introduced in 2338 as a heavy machine gun, though was later "modernised" and introduced into CMA and UNSC service in a "Monitor Rifle" configuration. This configuration saw the HMG-38 issued to the CMA and second-line UNSC Army units as a heavy automatic rifle, though proved incredibly unpopular with the troops due to low magazine capacity and an unwieldly reloading process. However, the weapon was considered reliable and easy to maintain, which ultimately allowed the weapon to stay in service until 2495 despite its aging status - at which point it was supplanted by the VK78 Commando.^[1]^[3]

Operational history[edit]

The HMG-38 was introduced in 2338, and was able to stay in service in the hands of the CMA and UNSC for nearly two centuries. They were formally retired from CMA service in 2495, though many of the examples slated for decommissioning and disposal ultimately found their way into Insurrectionist hands thanks to CMA corruption and UEG mismanagement.^[1] By 2525, They were used by the United Rebel Front guards of Colonel Robert Watts in the Eridanus cell of the Insurrection.^[2]