Andrew H. Posted August 31, 2001 Share Posted August 31, 2001 <BLOCKQUOTE>quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Brian: Its called "stellite" and was first used in airborne .50 cals on USAAF bombers (notably B-17 & B-24). I have no idea if it was applied to other weapons in WWII but was/is commonly used in small arms today.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE> Yes, stellite is what I'm talking about. IIRC, stellite was used to line some parts of the chamber of some .50 cals (I assume for both infantry and aircraft use, but I don't really know) during WWII, but was not used to line the barrels of MGs until after the war. I don't know that much about aircraft armament, though, so I suppose it's possible that aircraft .50 cals had stellite-lined barrels in WWII. I understand that stellite lined barrels need to be replaced after 6000-7000 rounds, which is about twice as long as conventional barrels lasted. Some WWII barrels were chrome-lined (including the PPSh SMG). I don't think that this extended barrel life much, if any, but it did make barrels less likely to foul, and easier to clean. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SGT_Gold Posted September 3, 2001 Share Posted September 3, 2001 Originally posted by jwxspoon: [QB]I've also seen an M16 barrel get so hot that it turned the barrel white, the flash hider unscrewed itself and the handguards melted up front. Wouldn't the weapon be cooking off by this time? White hot is is well past the ability of the barrel to stay 'true'. Wouldn't you also get a round 'hanging up' in the barrel? :eek: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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