Posted on 08/06/2007 5:37:38 PM PDT by Renfield
July 31, 2007: Two years ago, field testing of the XM-312, the replacement for the eighty year old, .50 caliber (12.7mm) M-2 ("Ma Deuce") machine-gun, began, in the United States and overseas. Then, nothing. That's because the test results were not encouraging, the biggest shortcoming being the low rate of fire (about 260 rounds per minute). This is about half the rate of the M2, and was believed adequate for the 25mm smart shells the XM312 was originally designed for (as the XM307). But for 12.7mm bullets, it didn't impress the troops. There were some reliability problems, which could be fixed. The rate-of-fire issue, however, has proved to be more difficult. Meanwhile, a new upgrade for the M2 has been fielded, and Ma Deuce still rules the battlefield. The new M2E2 has a quick change barrel, flash hider and lot of small improvements. It is much in demand.
Originally, the M2 replacement was going to be the M-307, which was designed so it could fire either the computer controlled 25mm "smart shell" of the XM-25, or (by changing the barrel and receiver), .50 caliber ammo. But it was felt that a straight replacement for the M-2 was needed quickly. The original plan was for the troops to begin getting the XM312 in 2008, or sooner.
The M-2, nicknamed "Ma Deuce" by the troops, has been around so long because it was very good at what it did. Accurate, reliable, rugged and easy to use, many of the M-2s currently in use are decades old, and finally wearing out. The army doesn't want to build new ones, and wasn't sure it could do without the venerable, and very useful, Ma Deuce. So it ended up going ahead with the plan to build a new .50 caliber machine-gun (the XM312). Actually, the new Ma Deuce is basically the XM307, but without the ability to fire 25mm rounds. The XM312 weighs 36 pounds (compared to 50 for the M-2), even with the addition of the electronic fire control stuff from the XM307.
The fire control system, especially the range finder, makes the XM312 much more accurate with first shot hits, than the M-2. American troops have been testing the XM312 in the United States and Germany, and have also reacted favorably to the lighter weight of the XM-312. The lighter XM312 will be easier for infantry to manhandle into position (along with its tripod mount.) But the lower rate-of-fire on the XM-312 was particularly disappointing to the many troops who had used the M2 in combat recently.
Advertised ROF is 550 rpm. Happened to have needed to know that at work in the past couple of months. But of course it varies from weapon to weapon, and between types and lots of ammunition. One source says 450-600 RPM.
Youch! Had a casing brush my cheek once. Saved on razor blades for quite a while.
Carlos passed a few years back but the Marines set up a shrine so people will never forget. My stint in the Army was all about trying to get into sniper school, but the need for corrective lenses nixed that despite outshooting everyone while wearing them. Nowadays a service person gets lasik surgery upon request. I'm glad for that...snipers make the difference when a commander utilizes them.
As heavy machine guns go, the 550 rpm of the M-2 is considered slow, half that would be glacial. Remember these things are often mounted on vehicles, to be used for suppressive fire, anti-material fire (against light skinned vehicles, like Jihadi car or truck bombs) and even in an anti-aircraft role. In the area suppression role, they are fired in a very short burst, traversed, fired again, and repeat as needed to cover the area of responsiblity.
They were once used as defensive armament for the B-17, B-24, B-29 and even the B-52, in a quad mount in the tail on all but the -H models. They also armed most US fighter aircraft up through the Korean war. The F-86, some models anyway, had 6 of 'em in the nose, to get a high enough rate of fire. (i.e. 3,300 rpm, still only about 1/2 that of the M-61 Vulcan which replaced the M-2 in both the -H model BUFF and many fighters, including today's F-22 and F-35. Although of course the M-2 doesn't throw explosive rounds.
Bless you for your service to our free republic, Sir.
I would gladly stand up next to you and defend her still today.
Does anyone know it there is a powered Gatling type weapon which fires the .50 BMG cartridge?
we tried to mount a momma deuce on a UH1H, developed cracks in the tail boom, offed it quick after that.
Prolly the m60 is what he was hit with. Still, six rounds of 7.62 gotta hurt.
It’s the spring.
Huh! My red lab will not only eat a macdonalds burger, she’ll eat the box and the sack it came in and the salt and catsup packets too. Maybe not the straw wrapper though. Although I’m not positive about that.
All but the current model B-52s were armed with a quad .50. Old Ma flies too. The current model original had an M-62 Vulcan in the same "tail stinger" location. They've taken it off. While MA just keeps on keeping on, the tail gun fire control system didn't fare so well, and was rarely used anyway.
Shortly before I went on active duty with the USAF, the loggies were trying to get rid of the thing, and then some sergeant shot down a Mig over Hanoi with it. SAC wasn't going to let it go after that. Years later I worked on a proposal, peripherally at least, for a replacement for the fire control radar. That went nowhere in the era of Mr. Peanut, it couldn't be done for the peanuts they had allocated to the program.
Finally just a few years ago, the finally took the guns off altogether, about the same time they sent the -G models to the bone yard to be converted into aluminum foil and to satisfy one of the SALT treaties with the old Soviet Union.
The earliest model BUFFs had manually controlled guns, with the gunner in the tail, which got to be a pretty lonely place on long missions or when things went into the toilet.
Just discovered they *are* buying new ones, and a bunch of new receivers and other parts. The new ones and recievers are from SACO Defense.:
July 27/07: A $26 million firm-fixed-price contract for M2 Machine Guns. Work will be performed in Saco, Maine, and is expected to be complete by Feb. 28, 2009. This was a sole source contract initiated on April 11, 2007 (W52H09-07-C-0125).
July 27/07: A $5.1 million modification to a firm-fixed-price contract for M2 Receiver Cartridges. Work will be performed in Saco, Maine, and is expected to be complete by Sept. 30, 2008. There were 2 bids solicited on March 23, 2006, and 2 bids were received (W52H09-06-C-0155).
Jan 18/07: GDATP announces a $6.9 million contract modification from U.S. Army TACOM in Rock Island, IL to produce M2HB Machine Guns. This option modifies a contract originally awarded in October 2006, bringing the total contract value to date to $27.5 million.
Why not? Ammo is kind of expensive I guess, since you have to pay the "Destructive Device" tax on each round. :)
We would have died for Reagan without question because we KNEW he was right about slaying the Soviet bear once and for all - a comfort our modern troops don't have thanks to the MSM and Bush's vagueness regarding radical Islam. Reagan and Casper Weinberger (Secretary of Defense) ditched many appointments to speak to us and it was duly noted and appreciated. These boys and girls asked to "fight terrorism" while being constrained from accomplishing anything tangible for the sake of appearances and political correctness...that's just wrong.
Turn them loose and let them win.
In 1917 Gen. Pershing told Army Ordinance that the Army needed a machine gun capable of penetrating the armored vehicles of the day. The Army went to Browning and gave him the specs for the new cartridge which was a little more powerful than Pershing had asked for.
Browning told them he would have the gun ready before they could get the ammo to him. True to his word, only a couple of months later, Browning had the gun ready. He had to wait to get ammo for it.
There is a picture of him firing the .50 cal. during 1917, in Colt’s Pasture in Hartford, Conn., in the book “John M. Browning, American Gunmaker”.
For whatever reason, the Army didn’t adopt it for maybe 10 or 15 years.
“...Hmmm....over 4 rounds a second is inadequate?
Seems to me like a good idea. If you aren’t hitting it with 4.3 rounds/second, you just aren’t hitting it. And if you are, wouldn’t that be enough?...”
Probably is enough for stationary targets. M2 gets used in the anti-aircraft role occasionally, though, and anyone trying to shoot down a jet or helo wants all the rounds he can spit.
BUMP!
Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang
Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang
Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang
Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang
Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang
Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang Bang
*ping*
Liberty,
You need to link those ammo belts together. You’ll get a lot more “Bangs” that way. LOL
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