AN-M2 (12.7 mm)
Contents
Description
The 12.7 mm AN-M2 is a version of the M2 Browning machine gun mounted on naval vessels as a primary or anti-aircraft weapon.
Vehicles equipped with this weapon
Vehicles equipped with this weapon | |
---|---|
Motor torpedo boats | |
Elco 77 ft | PT-20 |
Elco 80 ft | PT-109 · PT-103 · PT-174 · PT-314 · Thunderbolt (PT-556) · PT-565 |
Higgins 58 ft | PT-3 |
Higgins 78 ft | PT-71 · PT-200 · PT-658 · MTB-422 |
Higgins 81 ft | PT-6 |
Motor gun boats | HMAS Arrow · HMAS Fremantle · Kim Qui · La Combattante · PT-59 · PTF-7 · USS Cyclone · USS Flagstaff · USS Tucumcari |
Asheville-class | USS Asheville · USS Douglas |
Landing Craft Support | Alano · Asagao (YTE-01) |
Motor torpedo gun boats | Bussard |
Armoured gun boats | LCM(6) Zippo |
BMO | |
Destroyers | USS Porter · USS Somers |
HMS Churchill · HMS Montgomery | |
Besposhchadny · Opytny · Soobrazitelny | |
Light cruisers | USS Brooklyn |
Heavy cruisers | USS Northampton · USS Pensacola |
Battleships | USS Arizona |
General info
The AN-M2 is a heavy machine gun that fires 12.7 mm ammunition. It was primarily used by the United States military during World War II and the Korean War. The AN-M2 was an improvement over the earlier M2 Browning machine gun, with a lighter weight and improved cooling system. The AN-M2 was capable of firing up to 550 rounds per minute and had an effective range of around 2,000 m. It was used in a variety of roles, including as an aircraft gun, a ground-based defensive weapon, and on armoured vehicles such as tanks or even vessels.
Available ammunition
When a belt choice is available, the AN-M2 has 3 belt choices: Universal, .50 AP belt, and .50 APIT belt
- Universal: API-T · AP · I · AP
- .50 AP belt: API-T · AP · AP · AP
- .50 APIT belt: API-T · API-T · API-T · I
Penetration statistics | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Shell | Type of warhead |
Penetration @ 0° Angle of Attack (mm) | |||||||
10 m | 100 m | 500 m | 1,000 m | 1,500 m | 2,000 m | ||||
M20 | API-T | 28 | 27 | 23 | 19 | 15 | 12 | ||
M2 | AP | 29 | 28 | 25 | 20 | 17 | 14 | ||
M1 | I | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Shell details | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ammunition | Type of warhead |
Velocity (m/s) |
Projectile Mass (g) |
Fuse delay (m) |
Fuse sensitivity (mm) |
Explosive Mass (TNT equivalent) (g) |
Ricochet | ||
0% | 50% | 100% | |||||||
M20 | API-T | 887 | 40 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47° | 56° | 65° |
M2 | AP | 856 | 50 | N/A | N/A | N/A | 47° | 56° | 65° |
M1 | I | 944 | 40 | 0.02 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 47° | 56° | 65° |
Comparison with analogues
- DShK (12.7 mm) - The DShK has a higher rate of fire than the AN-M2, but its small belt of 50 rounds means that it will have to reload often
- Vickers Mk.V (12.7 mm) - Very similar to the AN-M2, has slightly lower muzzle velocity but a shorter reload. Has an unusually powerful Incendiary bullet with 1.8 g of explosive
- Type 93 (13.2 mm) - Generally inferior to the AN-M2, has tiny 30 round magazine and lower muzzle velocity, but a slightly more powerful HEI shell
- Breda Model 31 (13.2 mm) - Similar to the Type 93, but with higher rate of fire, has no Incendiary shell and a lower muzzle velocity
Usage in battles
Describe the cannon/machine gun in the game - its distinctive features, tactics of usage against notable opponents. Please don't write a "guide" - do not impose a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought.
Pros and cons
Pros:
- APIT belt is reliable at setting vehicles on fire
- Large belt capacity of 200 rounds per gun allows for long continuous fire
- Good rate of fire
Cons:
- Does little damage against large ships
- Long reload of 12 seconds
History
The Army-Navy-M2 Browning, or AN-M2, is one of the longest-serving machine guns in military service and is still serving with the US Navy. Affectionately called "Ma Deuce" by the Americans that used it, the M2 was developed during World War I by John Moses Browning as an aircraft machine gun. Intended to take down the Junkers J.I, which was the first armoured fighter aircraft, the gun was a scaled-up version of Browning's earlier M1917 water-cooled machine gun developed alongside Fred T. Moore and finished in 1921. In 1932 an improved version of the original M2 Browning was introduced with a lightweight barrel that weighed 60 pounds, which would become the AN-M2. This version was primarily used to arm aircraft, but the gun was also used to arm US Navy PT boats as primary or secondary weapons, anti-boat defense on smaller ships such as frigates or corvettes, and was the original anti-aircraft gun for larger United States Navy ships such as USS Arizona during World War II.
The M2 was used in mounts up to six guns on US Navy ships. The AN-M2 was notably used during the attack on Pearl Harbor by Cook Third Class Doris "Dorie" Miller who shot down multiple D3A1 Val from an AN-M2 gun mount on the USS West Virginia[1]. The AN-M2 would remain the main anti-aircraft naval gun until the adoption of the 20 mm/70 Oerlikon Mk.II due to the more powerful explosive shell. Even after World War II, the AN-M2 has been used to arm a wide variety of smaller navy craft such as the PBR from the Vietnam War and the USS Cyclone and is still used on larger ships such as the littoral combat ships and auxiliary crafts to repel boarders.
Media
Excellent additions to the article would be video guides, screenshots from the game, and photos.
See also
External links
References
- Citations
- ↑ Naval History and Heritage Command 2017
- Bibliography
- Naval History and Heritage Command. 2017. Miller, Doris. Naval History and Heritage Command. Last modified June 06, 2017. Website (Archive)
Naval machine guns | |
---|---|
USA | |
7.62 mm | M73 |
12.7 mm | AN-M2 |
Germany | |
7.62 mm | MG-3 |
7.92 mm | MG08 pattern 1908 · MG15 · MG34 |
13.2 mm | Hotchkiss |
15 mm | MG M38(t) |
USSR | |
7.62 mm | Maxim |
12.7 mm | DShK |
14.5 mm | KPV |
Britain | |
7.62 mm | FN MAG |
7.7 mm | Lewis 1916 · Vickers GO No.5 |
12.7 mm | Vickers Mk.V |
Japan | |
6.5 mm | Maxim · Type 38 pattern 1907 |
7.7 mm | Type 89 · Type 92 |
13.2 mm | Type 93 |
Italy | |
6.5 mm | Breda Mod.30 · Fiat Model 26 |
12.7 mm | Breda-SAFAT |
13.2 mm | Breda Model 31 |
France | |
13.2 mm | Browning · Model 1929 Hotchkiss |