AN-M2 (12.7 mm)

The AN-M2 (12.7 mm) on the PT-6.

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	Kim Qui · PT-59 · PTF-7 · USS Asheville · USS Douglas · USS Cyclone · USS Flagstaff · USS Tucumcari
	HMAS Arrow · Asagao (YTE-01) · Alano · La Combattante
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. 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

• M2 Browning (12.7 mm)
• M2HB (12.7 mm)

External links

References

Citations

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
7.7 mm	Darne M1922
7.92 mm	Hotchkiss pattern 1914
13.2 mm	Browning · Model 1929 Hotchkiss