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is it the gun, or the cartridge?
mlincoln
Member Posts: 5,039 ✭✭✭
Read an interesting book the other day that said that the spectacular success of the M2 machine gun is really due to the utility of the .50 BMG round, and not necessarily the design of the gun itself. The book pointed out that Browning had trouble designing the gun because he couldn't find the cartridge he needed for it, but once he examined a German anti-tank rifle round, that gave him the inspiration and away he went.
Certainly it's a good design, but the book pointed out that the cartridge serves a very necessary group of purposes (supreme man-stopper, light anti-armor and excellent unarmored vehicle round, anti-aircraft round, anti-fortification, etc.) that few other weapons can and does so relatively cheaply, and that the cartridge, rather than the design of the gun, is what has made it immortal.
Very interesting.
Certainly it's a good design, but the book pointed out that the cartridge serves a very necessary group of purposes (supreme man-stopper, light anti-armor and excellent unarmored vehicle round, anti-aircraft round, anti-fortification, etc.) that few other weapons can and does so relatively cheaply, and that the cartridge, rather than the design of the gun, is what has made it immortal.
Very interesting.
Comments
The design, which began with the M1917 in, well 1917, is eternal. When combined with the .50 caliber BMG cartridge, it is immortal.
Brad Steele
Hard to improve on perfection. Thank you, John M. Browning!
Yep!
When Ma Deuce shows up at the fight somebody is in deep doo doo.
The M2 is pretty much a scaled up 1919, also an excellent weapon that served for 50+ years with the US, and is still in service in other countries to this day.
The design, which began with the M1917 in, well 1917, is eternal. When combined with the .50 caliber BMG cartridge, it is immortal.
Well, maybe yes, and maybe no. While it is a great design, the 1919 is no longer used by our armed forces and hasn't been for years. Even in WWII the military realized that the MG34 and MG42 could do things the 1919 couldn't, and to try to fix the problem they made that weird, cumbersome bipod and shoulder stock 1919 that never really worked that well.
The MG42 is still in use with very minor modifications, and probably will be for the next zillion years. The FN-MAG probably will be as well. The 1919, not so much.
It's a very good design, but I'm not sure it's a great design.