The M2 Browning Machine Gun (M2MachineGun), commonly known as the 0.50 Heavy Machine Gun (BrowningMachineGun, Cal..50, M2HB, Flexible.), is a large-caliber heavy machine gun designed by John Moses Browning. It fires 12.7×99 mm (.50BMG
) Large-caliber ammunition is commonly used in fire positions set up by infantry and military vehicles such as tanks, armored personnel carriers, etc. Its main purpose is to attack lightly armored targets, gather living targets and low-altitude air defense. It has been in service since 1921 until
21st century.
Introduction
The M2's .50BMG ammunition was developed by the Winchester Repeating Arms Company of the United States. It was mainly used to combat the German 13mm anti-tank rifle ammunition during World War I. In order to keep up with the progress, designer Browning (1855-1926)
Cooperating with technicians from Winchester Company, we developed a 12.7mm caliber machine gun based on the M1917 Browning heavy machine gun. The M2 Browning large-caliber heavy machine gun is actually the M1917 Browning heavy machine gun (7.62mm
caliber), was officially finalized in 1921 and listed as the standard equipment of the US military. The US military named it M1921 at the time and was equipped with a water-cooling heat dissipation device. The gun added a hydraulic buffer to absorb excessive barrel recoil, and
The flow rate of oil in the hydraulic buffer is adjustable, and the firing rate changes with the flow rate; in order to prevent misfire, a rear sear is added; in order to facilitate two-hand operation, the small grip is removed and replaced with a double grip mounted at the rear of the receiver.
.In the 1920s, it was developed for air defense and anti-armor purposes, and the first air-cooled 12.7mm caliber heavy machine gun was developed. In 1932, the US military improved the M1921 and officially named it M2, replacing it with a smaller air-cooled barrel.
.At that time, in order to solve the problem of the barrel being easily overheated during continuous shooting, an M2 machine gun with a heavy barrel was developed in 1933, called the M2HB. Later, the M2QCB and lightweight version with a quick barrel replacement were introduced.
Still in use.
The American M2HB machine gun is one of the most famous large-caliber machine guns in the world. It is currently equipped in more than 50 countries and is used by most Western countries. In addition to equipping the M2HB machine gun with a tripod, the U.S. military also equips it with
It is used as a ground support weapon on light jeeps and infantry fighting vehicles, and as a parallel machine gun on tanks.
Structural features
The M2 large-caliber machine gun uses large-caliber .50BMG ammunition, which has the advantages of strong firepower, stable ballistics, and extremely long range. The rate of fire is 450 to 550 rounds per minute (the aviation version during World War II was 600 to 1,200 rounds per minute) and
The recoil action system makes it very stable during fully automatic firing and has a high hit rate, but the low rate of fire also reduces the M2's supporting firepower.
The gun adopts the short-recoil working principle of the barrel and the locking structure of the locking iron. When shooting, as the warhead moves forward along the barrel, under the pressure of the gunpowder gas in the chamber, the barrel and bolt recoil at the same time. The warhead flies
After exiting the muzzle, the locking iron leaves the locking support surface on the wedge latch, and the pins on both sides are pressed down by the unlocking slopes on the shaping plate. Then the entire locking iron breaks away from the locking groove under the bolt, and the bolt is unlocked.
Subsequently, the barrel sleeve slams into the built-in hook-shaped accelerator, and the upper end of the accelerator hits the rear of the bolt, accelerating the bolt recoil. The gun is equipped with a hydraulic buffer mechanism. When the barrel and sleeve recoil, the piston of the hydraulic buffer
Being pushed back, the oil in the buffer tube is compressed, causing it to escape forward from the gap between the inner walls of the oil tube around the piston, which has a buffering effect on the recoil. When the bolt is retracted, the bump at the rear of the bolt is accelerated by impact.
The upper end of the latch causes it to rotate forward, and the accelerator releases the hydraulic buffer spring, pushing the barrel and sleeve back forward. The locking iron is forced to lift up under the action of the locking slope on the wedge latch, and enters the locking groove under the bolt.
, the bolt is locked.
The gun adopts a one-way ammunition feeding mechanism and a two-way ammunition feeding mechanism. The guide post at the end of the detachable rod snaps into the curved groove on the top of the bolt. When the bolt moves reciprocally, the ammunition feeding action is realized.
The gun uses a simple blade front sight and a vertical frame rear sight, both of which are placed on the receiver.
The gun fires 12.7×99mm caliber bullets, including ordinary bullets, armor-piercing incendiary bullets, armor-piercing bullets, tracer bullets, armor-piercing tracer bullets, armor-piercing incendiary tracer bullets, sabot-piercing bullets, hard-core armor-piercing bullets, training bullets, etc.
The M2 Browning large-caliber heavy machine gun has a maximum range of 7.4 kilometers (4.55 miles) when firing M2 ordinary ammunition. It also has an effective range of 1.8 kilometers (1.2 miles) when mounted on an M3 tripod. The M2 Browning large-caliber heavy machine gun
The machine gun has a net weight of 38 kilograms (84 pounds), and its M3 tripod weighs 20 kilograms (44 pounds). The V-shaped trigger is installed at the rear of the receiver and is equipped with two grips. The shooter can adjust the full automatic by locking or opening the bolt.
Or semi-automatic launch. The M2 has a wide range of uses. In order to adapt to different equipment, it can be changed to feed ammunition on the right side of the receiver in a short time without the need for special tools.
Basic specifications
Total weight: 38kg (empty gun), 58.2kg (with tripod), 58kg (empty gun, without tripod)