Browning M2 Machine Gun .50″ cal

Browning machine gun M2 .50 cal., HB,

Browning-m2-.50-cal

The Browning machine gun calibre .50 HB, M2 is a belt-fed, recoil-operated, air-cooled, crew-served machine gun. The gun is capable of single shot, as well as Full automatic fire, and operates on the short recoil principle.

Designed towards the end of WW1 by John Browning it has been in production longer than any other machine gun proving effective against Infantry, lightly armoured vehicles, light fortifications and low-flying aircraft.

It was used extensively during WW2, the Korean War, the Falklands war, in Iraq and in Afghanistan. It is the primary heavy machine gun of NATO countries.

The M2 has varying cyclic rates of fire, depending on the model. The M2HB (heavy barrel) air-cooled ground gun has a cyclical rate of 450-575 rounds per minute. The maximum rates of fire are generally not achieved in use, as sustained fire at that rate will wear out the bore within a few thousand rounds, necessitating replacement. In addition to full automatic, the M2HB can be selected to fire single-shots.

The M2 has an effective range of 1,830 metres (2,000 yds.) and a maximum effective range of 2,000 metres (2,200 yds.) when fired from the M3 tripod. In its ground-portable, crew-served role as the M2HB, the gun itself weighs 84 pounds (38 kg) and the assembled M3 tripod another 44 pounds (20 kg).