The Browning M2 .50 caliber machine gun is better known as the 'Ma Duce' to those who have had the pleasure of firing this heavy barrel machine gun. In 1919 John M. Browning developed the M2 .50 cal as an anti-aircraft weapon. The M2 was first introduced into the United States Military in 1933 and is used by many militaries through out the world today. Since 1933 there have been little changes made to this weapon system. The BMG (Browning Machine Gun) is a crew served, belt fed, air-cooled, recoil operated machine gun capable of firing in single shot or fully automatic.
Today the M2 is used for more than just anti-aircraft. Since very little changes have been made to this remarkable weapon system, military researchers have been able to maximize the capabilities and uses on the battle field. This weapon is used both in the offense and defense and can be used effectively to engage light armored vehicles, low flying aircraft, boats, and personnel. The M2 can either be ground or vehicle mounted giving our military unlimited uses of this weapon. This weapon system has been mounted on numerous light armored vehicles, air craft, water craft, as well as tanks.
The M2 .50 caliber machine gun is a crew served, belt fed, air-cooled, recoil operated machine gun capable of firing in single shot or fully automatic.
weight of total gun with tripod 128lb
weight of receiver 60lb
weight of barrel 24lb
weight of tripod 44lb
length of gun 65in
length of barrel 45in
muzzle velocity 3050fps~888m/s
bore diameter .50cal~12.7mm
maximum effective range 2000m
maximum range 6800m~4.2miles
There are over 20 different types of ammunition that have been made for the M2, each with it's own individual characteristics, color coding and uses. The primary round discussed on this web page is the M2 .50 caliber ball cartridge. The M2 ball round is one of the few rounds that does not have any color coding. This round consists primarily of the casing, primer, powder, and projectile. The projectile is 58.7mm long, 12.7mm in diameter and has a weight of 42.9grams. The projectile is a soft lead core incased in a full metal jacket. Most ammunition for the M2 comes linked in 100 round belts as shown below.
There are some basic methods of firing that must be defined before discussing defilade fire. The first of these is line of sight. Line of sight is defined as the path from the gunner's eye to the target.
2nd Raider battalion was one of the first U.S. military units to use the newly issued M-1 Garand in combat. This special privilege allowed the Raiders to experiment with a variety of new innovations and weaponry, resulting in a unique, yet deliberately selected armory. With an emphasis on mobility, the Raiders opted for lighter weapons with higher rates of fire. For example the Raiders utilized the .30-caliber air-cooled Browning machine gun instead of its .50 caliber brother, issued to standard infantry units. The Raiders tested a plethora of innovative equipment including, individual, man portable stoves, collapsible bicycles, and eight foot toggle ropes which had a loop at one end and a peg at the other, useful for scaling cliffs. Certain items in the Raider arsenal became unique to the raiders such as the “Raider Stiletto,” a dagger issued to Raider units modeled after the British commandos Fairbairn-Sykes fighting knife, and the “Gung Ho” knife and jacket, the later being a large heavy Bowie style knife and the jacket being a hunting jacket with large pockets replacing the need for a pack. One of the most unique weapons in the Raider arsenal was the British Boys anti-tank
Prior to the invention of the Minié ball it was necessary for the bullet to be the same diameter as the barrel in order for it to engage the rifling. This made it difficult and time consuming to load because the bullet would have to be rammed down the barrel with some force. Due to this fact, muzzle loading rifles had not seen any previous use in combat. The Minié ball, however, changed this. The Minié bullet was slightly smaller in diameter than the rifle barrel, was conical in shape, and contained an iron plug in its hollow base. When fired the force of the expanding charge would force the iron plug into the base of the bullet, thus causing the base to expand slightly and engage the rifling. The Minié bullet, fired from a rifled musket, had an effective range of up to 250 yards, which was a vast improvement over earlier muskets and ammunition. The rifled musket firing the Minié ball became the most common firearm used by both sides during the Civil War, and the Springfield armory in Massachusetts produce nearly two million for the Union Army. (History.com, 2010)
The United States military decided to develop a new tank that could compete with and defeat the tanks of the Soviet Union. They began several projects initially in an attempt to replace the dated M60 tank, which entered the service in 1960. After several attempts, the U.S. Army awarded a contract to General Dynamics for the production of the MA Abram tank. The M1 tank has been continuously improved and it has proven itself as one of the military’s most effective and important fighting vehicles in battle.
size. The muzzle velocity is at 2,800ft/sec (853m/sec) with also a rate of fire 725 rounds per
The Lemat revolver, pictured above, was a popular pistol among southerners and confederates during the Civil War (Lemat revolver. (2014, January 27). Retrieved from wikipedia). ‘’This gun has a nine round magazine and has a barrel that holds a 20ga round birdshot’’ (Lemat revolver. (2014, January 27). Retrieved from wikipedia). Many of the famous generals used it, which made it more popular. ‘’They only made about 2,900 Lemat pistols’’ (Lemat revolver. (2014, January 27). Retrieved from wikipedia). ‘’This gun was used through 1861-65 and was made from 1856 to 1865’’ (Lemat revolver. (2014, January 27). Retrieved from wikipedia). After the war, they stopped production of this weapon.
This was the self contained brass cartridge. It contained an ignition source called a primer, an amount of powder and a bullet. Early cartridge guns were converted percussion rifles. The first repeating rifles were the Henry and Spencer, the Henry had a fifteen shot internal magazine and the Spencer a seven round removable magazine this meant multiple could be carried. Repeaters were not limited to rifles though handguns such as the famous Colt Single Action Army were a common favorite among both civilians and military personnel. The industrial revolution boosted the firearms industry. It allowed gunsmiths who formerly would cut rifling and make parts by hand using saws and files to now use vertical mills and lathes to improve both output and precision. Barrels became easier to rifle and take to size using lathes and mills allowed sights to be manufactured much easier. The next major evolutionary step in the firearms industry was the bolt action rifle. A bolt action provides a tighter seal at the breach than other actions allowing higher pressure cartridges and a farther effective range do to increased velocity The first bolt action used by the U.S. military was the Krag-Jorgensen a Norwegian rifle with a internal side loading magazine. It was thought by many that the Krag was was an exceptional piece of equipment but during the Spanish - American War it was proved otherwise. Spaniards armed with German Mausers a rifle with a
Ballistics is the scientific study of the dynamics of projectile and bullet trajectory. Crime members utilize equipment that will allow to match individual characteristics to a known object in order to make a comparison. Just like the Locards exchange principle “when two objects come in contact, evidence is always left behind”. When a weapon has been shot, the barrel of the gun will leave marks on the bullet. With the marks left behind, one can scientifically prove the kind of weapon used, trajectory and estimate the distance between criminal and victim.
The primary long gun of the Union Army was the M-1861 Springfield Rifle. The 1861 Springfield was a .58 Caliber, muzzle loading, single-shot rifle. The 1861 Springfield rifle used the 500 grain .58 caliber bullet and 60 grains of powder. It had a muzzle velocity of 950 Fps and was accurate up to 300 yards with a maximum range of 500 yards. The 1861 Spring...
13 What does boresighting do to the weapon system? removes the error between the barrel and sight to produce more accurate fire
The .243 Winchester (6×52mm) is a popular sporting rifle cartridge. Initially designed as a target/varmint round, it may be used for animals such as coyote, blacktail deer, whitetail deer, mule deer, pronghorn, and wild hogs. It can also be used against larger animals such as black bear or elk but is sometimes said to be "too light" for such large animals. Rounds of at least 90 grains are better suited for hunting larger animals while rounds less than 90 grains are more suitable for varmints.[3]The .243 is based on a necked down .308 cartridge case. It is very popular with target shooters, Metallic Silhouette, and long range shooters, because of its accuracy and low recoil.
First, the M1 Rifle was a newer adaptation of the gun that was cheap and mass produced for soldiers. It was called the most effective weapon of the war, beating out bombs and airplanes. Compared to older guns it was faster, shot harder, and was far easier to load. It was also lightweight and had clips to store and shoot multiple bullets at once. It was first delivered to the U.S. army by the government in 1938 as a massive upgrade to finicky and inaccurate weapons from before. Many machine or submachine guns were used by the Japanese forces to storm and invades towns or cities in just hours. These weapons fit the brutal attacking style of the Japanese in WWII.
In the earlier stages of this conflict, both sides deployed weapons such as the 37MM Automatic Air Defense Gun M1939 (61-K), the 85MM Air Defense gun M1939 (52-K), 100MM Air Defense gun KS-19, and the 90MM Gun M1/M2/M3. These systems were developed and deployed during the World War II (WWII) ear, this left them deficient in the
INTRODUCTION: Good morning, my name is your name and my period of instruction is on the M252 81mm Mortar. We will cover some basic mortar knowledge including nomenclatures, rates of fire, and weight. We will also cover the mission of an 81mm mortar platoon and how that platoon is configured. The purpose of this period of instruction is to provide you with basic information and working knowledge of the 81mm mortar.
These kinds of weapons were impractical for military use, but attracted many people to the arms race for weapons that could sweep the battlefield. “They had limitations in practice, among them slow re...
Due to this long free bore, bullets with shorter bearing surfaces will have a period of time where they are free of control. This causes the bullet to hit the rifling off center, resulting in poor accuracy. Some rifles are a little more forgiving producing good accuracy with 162-168 grain bullets, others need either the 175 grain SMK or 180 grain VLD in order to produce optimum accuracy. Unfortunately, neither of those are available as factory loads.