Browning machine gun: description, characteristics, photo

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

The Browning heavy machine gun is one of the few small guns that remains in service with the US Army to this day, having undergone minor modifications. It will be discussed in this article.

Birth of a legend

The start of the development of the heavy machine gun of the John Moses Browning system is considered to be the last years of the First World War, when the question arose of the need to equip the infantry with modern weapons capable of hitting a significant number of targets in a short time.

Installed on both armored vehicles and aircraft. Thunderbolt aircraft are known to be equipped with eight Browning-M2 machine guns.

The installation of a machine gun model under the M2HB marking on the M46 tank is known. The machine gun was used as an anti-aircraft gun and was equipped with a sight. Placed in front or behind the niche of the commander.

The Browning light machine gun can also fire at low altitude aircraft, lightly armored vehicles or no armored vehicles at all. And, of course, the concentrations of enemy infantry.

Easy machine gun Colt-Browning

In 1889John Browning developed an easel machine gun with a barrel cooling system and removal of powder gases. After that, the rights were bought out by the Colt company, which already in 1895 produced the Colt M1895 machine gun. Thanks to serial production, the product was distributed to European countries and to a number of countries in Latin America. At the dawn of the First World War, a modification with a weighted barrel was released. Russia bought this machine gun in huge quantities, the weapon was popular along with the Maxim machine gun.

1917 model machine gun

Adopted by the US Army in 1917, the easel machine gun served faithfully until 1970, after which it was withdrawn from service.

Also known is the Browning machine gun -m1919 - a modernized version with a gun barrel cooling system - appeared after the First World War.

Tactical and technical characteristics

The Browning-m1919 machine gun served until 1970, however, they began to gradually remove this model from service by the end of 1945 due to an analysis of the hostilities in general, which showed that the machine gun was obsolete, and the emerging models (in including in other countries) move the product to the second (or even third) plan in terms of its characteristics.

Browning light machine gun weighed 14 kg, length 1219 millimeters, of which the barrel is 609 mm. Rate of fire from 400 to 600 rounds per minute on the principle of barrel recoil at short stroke with lever locking.

Food was provided by machine-gun belt at 250cartridges at a maximum effective range of 1,369 meters.

Easy machine gun "Browning"-m2

As mentioned above, it is best known for its installation on heavy equipment and use as an anti-aircraft gun. Represents my

But in most cases, it was still used as a means of suppressing enemy manpower. The M46 tank often carried a Browning heavy machine gun mounted on its armor. But when firing from the armor, the crew member had to lean out of the hatch about waist-deep, which made the soldier vulnerable. Therefore, the second machine gun was also mounted, as well as the regular machine gun provided for on the M46, was replaced with a Browning machine gun. Thus, the firepower of the combat vehicle increased significantly.

But such modernization was carried out not at a plant that produces equipment, but directly by the crew of the combat vehicle in combat conditions, which had a very significant impact on the need to replenish ammunition for the Browning machine gun (12.7 mm M2).

The American Browning machine gun (M2) is designed for belt feed, and the 550-round box designed for regular weapons on the M46 was often not enough. Therefore, the crew had to get out on their own to solve this difficult task.

Machine gun sniping

This is the first recorded use of a machine gun in the Korean War. However, the Browning machine gun gained the greatest popularity during the Vietnam War,when one of the US snipers named Carlos Hatchcock hit several times a target no larger than a human figure, located at a distance of about 1700 meters. At first, the rumor about such shooting, flying around the US troops, played into their hands and raised their morale. A commission was even formed that tested this shooter to set and register a world record. Information about Carlos' machine gun sniping has been confirmed.

The machine guns fired from the machine were even provided with a sniper scope after such a case. There is only one nuance. In fact, no one used this sight, and the Browning machine gun itself was used for its intended purpose. Well, there are not so many unique ones in the army who will completely use a machine gun as a sniper rifle.

But the idea of creating a sniper rifle based on the design of a machine gun attracted attention and was developed. But short. As a result, the project to create a sniper rifle was curtailed, and in 1982 the Barett company appeared on the scene with its sniper rifles, which quickly entered service with the US Army and the Browning sniper initiative was safely forgotten.

The myth of machine gun sniping existed until about 2002, gradually acquiring new details and tales. Passing from mouth to mouth, data on the firing range of the "sniper" was constantly changing. In 2002, news was recorded about a firing range of up to 3000 meters, which immediately betrayed the outright delusion of the material presented.

TTX M2

The legendary machine gun weighs 38 kg, and if with the machine, it is already much more - 58 kg.

Product length 1653 mm, of which the barrel is 1143.

Uses 12.7 x 99mm NATO cartridge.

The military version of the machine gun (the one mounted on the tank) has a rate of fire that varies from 483 to 630 rounds per minute. The AN/M2 aviation machine gun has slightly different indicators - from 740 to 845.

The upgraded version of the aircraft gun (AN/M3) has a rate of fire of 1200 rounds per minute.

Sighting range is 1820 meters.

Since the start of mass production in 1921, over 3 million pieces have been produced.

From war to war

Developed back in those years, the Browning machine gun is in service with the US Army (as well as many NATO countries) to this day. It was used during World War II, as well as in Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, and a number of local conflicts. In some the US was directly involved, in others the weapons were used by one or both sides.

Many conflicts have died down a long time ago and have developed into further history. Some are forgotten and some still last.

A kaleidoscope of conflicts

At different times, the machine gun was used by different participants in the conflicts. In some countries, it is still in service, but somewhere it has already been decommissioned and put into storage.

Suez War (October1957 - March 1957) - a war in Egypt that arose due to the uncertainty of the status of the Suez Canal. Also known as "Operation Kadesh".

The Six Day War is a military confrontation in the Middle East that lasted from June 5 to 10, 1967.

Three Indochinese wars, which were fought, according to historians, by European countries against Vietnam for maintaining influence over the Indochinese colonies in the period from 1946 to 1991.

Military confrontation between Great Britain and Argentina for control of the Falkland Islands from April 2 to June 20, 1982.

South African War (or Namibian War of Independence), 1969 to 1989 - an armed clash in Namibia between the Organization of the Independent Peoples of Southwest Africa (SWAPO) with the support of the USSR, Angola and Zambia against South Africa and UNITA (rebels advocating the independence of Angola) with the support of the USA, China and Zaire.

The Gulf War is a large-scale confrontation between the armies of many countries, led by the United States and Iraq, for the independence of Kuwait. Even the Soviet Union, which was on the verge of collapse, eventually supported the United States. The war lasted from August 2, 1990 to February 28, 1991.

The civil war in Somalia, which began in 1988 and continues to this day.

US invasion of Grenada, known as Operation Urgent Fury, carried out between 25 and 27 October 1983.

Invasion of Panama - from December 20, 1989 to January 31, 1990. The official pretext is to protect the rights of US citizens anddemocratic values in Panama.

The wars in Yugoslavia - a series of ethnic and religious conflicts between 1991 and 2001, which led to the collapse of Yugoslavia and the emergence of a number of independent republics. Considered the bloodiest conflict since World War II.

US and NATO military operations in Afghanistan from 2001 to 2014. Considered the longest war in US history. Officially, the hostilities aimed at confronting the Taliban ended in 2014, when the right to maintain order was transferred to local security forces. In fact, the fighting continues to this day.

Iraq war to overthrow Saddam Hussein's regime 2003 – 2011.

The Mexican drug war is an armed conflict between Mexican drug lords and the Mexican police that has been going on since 2006 to this day.

The Cambodian Civil War is an armed confrontation between the US-backed local government and the North Vietnamese-backed Communist Party. The war lasted from 1967 to 1975.

Kampuchean-Vietnamese war - from 1978 to 1991.

Colonial war in Portugal from 1961 to 1974. Also known as Guerra Colonial and Guerra do Ultramar.

Iran-Iraq war from 1980 to 1988