.50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns

E96562

The .50 caliber M2 Browning machine gun is a heavy, belt-fed automatic weapon widely used by U.S. forces in World War II and beyond for aircraft, vehicle, and infantry armament due to its power, reliability, and long effective range.


Statements (50)
Predicate Object
instanceOf aircraft machine gun
belt-fed machine gun
heavy machine gun
infantry support weapon
vehicle-mounted weapon
action short recoil operation
caliber .50 inch
12.7 millimeter
cartridge .50 BMG
12.7×99mm NATO
coolingSystem air-cooled
countryOfOrigin United States
designer John Browning
effectiveRange approximately 1,800 meters
feedSystem belt-fed
inService 1933–present
introduced 1930s
maximumRange over 6,000 meters
mountingOption aircraft wing mount
flexible aircraft mount
tripod mount
turret mount
vehicle pintle mount
muzzleVelocity approximately 2,900 feet per second
approximately 890 meters per second
notableFeature high reliability
high stopping power
long effective range
notableVariant AN/M2
M2HB
M3 aircraft machine gun
primaryRole anti-personnel weapon
rateOfFire approximately 450–600 rounds per minute
secondaryRole anti-aircraft weapon
anti-vehicle weapon
serviceEntry 1933
usedAs coaxial tank machine gun
door gun on helicopters
primary armament on some armored vehicles
usedBy NATO member states
United States Air Force
United States Army
United States Marine Corps
United States Navy
usedInConflict Gulf War
Iraq War
Korean War
Vietnam War
War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)
World War II

Referenced by (4)
Subject (surface form when different) Predicate
B-29 Superfortress
LAV-R (".50 caliber M2 machine gun")
armament
M4 Sherman tank (".50 cal M2 Browning machine gun")
M46 Patton tank (".50 cal M2 Browning machine gun")
secondaryArmament

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