General-purpose machine gunA general-purpose machine gun (GPMG) is an air-cooled, usually belt-fed machine gun that can be adapted flexibly to various tactical roles for light and medium machine guns. A GPMG typically features a quick-change barrel design calibered for various fully powered cartridges such as the 7.62×51mm NATO, 7.62×54mmR, 7.5×54mm French, 7.5×55mm Swiss and 7.92×57mm Mauser, and be configured for mounting to different stabilizing platforms from bipods and tripods to vehicles, aircraft, boats and fortifications, usually as an infantry support weapon or squad automatic weapon.
Rechargement (munitions)droite|vignette|Composantes d'une cartouche de carabine moderne. Du haut vers le bas : une balle chemisée, de la poudre sans fumée, un étui, une amorce. Le rechargement de munitions ou le chargement à la main réfère à la procédure d'assemblage de cartouches d'armes à feu à percussion centrale à partir de ses composantes par un individu, plutôt que d'acheter des munitions manufacturées.
