The M13 link, formally Link, M13, is the U.S. military

United States armed forces

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

 designation for a disintegrating metallic link specifically designed for belt-fed firearms and rounds

Cartridge (firearms)

A cartridge, also called a round, packages the bullet, gunpowder and primer into a single metallic case precisely made to fit the firing chamber of a firearm. The primer is a small charge of impact-sensitive chemical that may be located at the center of the case head or at its rim . Electrically...

; it was introduced in the mid-20th century. It is the primary link type for the U.S., and among NATO for 7.62 mm ammunition

7.62 mm caliber

7.62 mm caliber is a nominal caliber used for a number of different cartridges. Historically, this class of cartridge was commonly known as .30 caliber, the Imperial unit equivalent, and was most commonly used for indicating a class of full power military main battle rifle cartridges...

. It has been in use for over 50 years as of 2007 and is used on the Dillon M134D Minigun, M60 Machine Gun

M60 machine gun

The M60 is a family of American general-purpose machine guns firing 7.62×51mm NATO cartridges from a disintegrating belt of M13 links...

, FN MAG

FN MAG

The FN MAG is a Belgian 7.62 mm general-purpose machine gun, designed in the early 1950s at Fabrique Nationale by Ernest Vervier. It has been used by more than 80 countries, and it has been made under licence in countries such as Argentina, Egypt, India, Singapore, the United Kingdom and the...

, AA-52

AA-52

The AA-52 is one of the first French-produced guns of the post World War II era. It was manufactured by MAS...

, HK21

HK21

The HK21 is a German 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun, developed in 1961 by small arms manufacturer Heckler & Koch and based on the G3 battle rifle. The weapon is in use with the armed forces of several Asian, African and Latin American countries. It was also license-manufactured by Fábrica do...

, and the MG3, among others.

The M13 Link replaced the M1 link

M1 link

The M1 link, was the military designation for a steel disintegrating link designed for .30 cal. belt-fed firearms and rounds.M1 links were used during World War I, World War II, and the Korean War but were replaced in frontline service by the NATO M13 link developed for the M60 machine gun.M1 links...

s used on the older M1917 Browning machine gun and M1919 Browning machine gun

M1919 Browning machine gun

The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century. It was used as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S. and many other countries, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War...

 family, though some conversions of the M1919 to the M13 were done, such as on the U.S. Navy Mark 21 Mod 0 machine gun, which saw service in the Vietnam War

Vietnam War

The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...

. Once converted it cannot use other link types, as firearms made for the M13 Link are not backward compatible with the M1 link (or other systems).

In West German service the link received the designation DM-13, some other countries also redesignated it when it was adopted.

External links

• http://www.army-technology.com/contractors/ammunition/eurolinks/