Posted on 03/02/2006 8:07:19 PM PST by fso301
Can someone comment on this picture of this M2 and it's ammo?
I heard where WWII stocks of .50 are being pulled out of storage and used due to a shortage of .50 cal ammo. However, the gun looks to be rusted as well.
Here's the photo.
It is rust
It's not rust, it's a specialized iron oxide coating.
~ Blue Jays ~
Some Gunner's Mate Chief is falling down on his job. I never saw any weapon in that condition in the whole time I was in the Navy.
The belt clips around the cases are steel, and could have left rust dust on the cases. The cases themselves have not rusted.
The rust doesn't look like it will hurt the gun but you never know without being able to actually inspect the piece.
If I was in charge of this crew they would be holding their asses and wondering how they lost a piece of it after I reamed them out!
Thats some gundeckin' gunners mates on that boat.
I've fired them before, but I would'nt wanna shoot that one unless I had to.
Sorry, I fat fingered the previous reply. What I mean to ask was if that is rust I see on the gun, links and ammo (the brass looks corroded).
That's some nasty stuff. The gunner is looking at some brass in his gonads after a misfire. I wonder if he knows how to set headspace and timing.....
Actually I am surprised they released it for publication.
CHINFO is going to get his butt chewed.
Ping. Comments?
As a former operator of one of these, the M2 appears to be fairly clean. I'd say it has too much oil, but maybe that's a navy thing. That much oil would attract a tremendous amount of dirt. It's not uncommon for the metal components to be different shades as they are commonly replaced. As for the ammo, I probably wouldn't have loaded that box of .50API into MY M2, but I can say that as a WWII machine gun design that just doesn't get any better, it will likely still shoot. The rust below the barrel is actually on the gun mount, not the gun.
The Feedtray cover and barrel look good.
The mount... Not being Navy, it it unfamilar. That appears to be a special iron 4 coating.
The ammo: OMG!
Maybe the photographer found it somewhere?
Click on the link to the high-res photo, and you'll change your mind. The brass and the copper(?) jackets on the bullets have that distinctive blue corrosion on them.
The gun itself looks pretty beat up, too.
yeah- i just realized that's probably an army pic- sorry- i saw all the stuff in the background and immediately thought it was on a ship or something. embarrased!
I'm flabbergasted that the weapon could be in such condition. Where are the officers?
Its justa little sand and rust. Spray it full of silicone or graphite grease, set your head space at 2 or 3 (maybe 4)clicks and that MaDuece will ROCK and ROLL!!
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