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HandWiki. M2 Browning. Encyclopedia. Available online: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/37997 (accessed on 16 September 2026).
HandWiki. M2 Browning. Encyclopedia. Available at: https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/37997. Accessed September 16, 2026.
HandWiki. "M2 Browning" Encyclopedia, https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/37997 (accessed September 16, 2026).
HandWiki. (2022, December 05). M2 Browning. In Encyclopedia. https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/37997
HandWiki. "M2 Browning." Encyclopedia. Web. 05 December, 2022.
M2 Browning
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The content is sourced from: https://handwiki.org/wiki/Engineering:M2_Browning

The M2 Machine Gun or Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun is a heavy machine gun designed toward the end of World War I by John Browning. Its design is similar to Browning's earlier M1919 Browning machine gun, which was chambered for the .30-06 cartridge. The M2 uses the much larger and much more powerful .50 BMG cartridge, which was developed alongside and takes its name from the gun itself (BMG standing for Browning Machine Gun). It has been referred to as "Ma Deuce", in reference to its M2 nomenclature. The design has had many specific designations; the official designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly armored vehicles and boats, light fortifications and low-flying aircraft. The Browning .50 caliber machine gun has been used extensively as a vehicle weapon and for aircraft armament by the United States from the 1930s to the present. It was heavily used during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the Soviet–Afghan War, the Gulf War, the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan in the 2000s and 2010s. It is the primary heavy machine gun of NATO countries, and has been used by many other countries as well. The M2 has been in use longer than any other firearm in U.S. inventory except the .45 ACP M1911 pistol, also designed by John Browning. The current M2HB is manufactured in the U.S. by General Dynamics and U.S. Ordnance for use by the U.S. government, and for allies via Foreign Military Sales, as well as foreign manufacturers such as FN Herstal.

m1919 military heavy machine

References

  1. Chinn 1951, p. 333, stating "The Germans put a heavily armored plane into service during the closing days of World War I. This act made obsolete for all time the rifle-caliber machine gun for aerial use. Some countries were slower to accept the fact than others but nevertheless it cannot be disputed. The United States was among the first to come to this realization."
  2. Chinn 1951, pp. 181–182
  3. Chinn 1951, p. 182
  4. Chinn 1951, p. 183
  5. Chinn 1951, p. 184
  6. Chinn 1951, p. 184. Chinn states that the German round was 12.7-mm anti-tank, but it may have been the 13.2mm TuF round. The Germans were working on their MG 18 TuF heavy machine gun.
  7. Chinn 1951, p. 186
  8. Chinn 1951, pp. 333–335
  9. Chinn 1951, pp. 336–337
  10. "Major Product Achievements". Fnherstal.com. http://www.fnherstal.com/index.php?id=655. Retrieved 2011-09-19. 
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  12. Dunlap, Roy F., Ordnance Went Up Front, Samworth Press (1948), pp. 310–311: the official rate during WWII was 450–575 rpm, but it was extremely rare to encounter a M2HB that exceeded 550 rpm.
  13. DiGiulian, Tony, USA 0.50"/90 (12.7 mm) M2 Browning Machine Gun (2007) Article http://www.navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_50cal-M2_MG.htm
  14. FM 23-65, "Browning Machine Gun Caliber .50 HB, M2". U.S. Department of the Army, December 2002. http://m2hb.net/manuals/fm23_65.pdf
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