Akan m/39A (12.7 mm)

Description

The 12.7 mm Akan m/39A is a Swedish aircraft machine gun. It is equipped on some of their early jet fighters.

The Akan m/39A, originally based on the Browning machine gun, was a conversion of the license-produced 13.2 mm Hotchkiss-cartridge chambered Akan m/39A back into the original 12.7x99 mm (or .50 BMG) cartridge.

Vehicles equipped with this weapon

• A21RB
• J21RA

General info

The 12.7 mm Akan m/39A was basically a rebarrelled version of the 13.2 mm Akan m/39A. The gun had all the same proportions and technical details but was rebarrelled to the more common Browning .50 cal (12.7 x 99 mm) ammunition instead of the worldwide less common Hotchkiss calibre of .52 in (13.2 x 99 mm). Since 12.7 mm ammunition was cheaper to buy than the cost to produce new 13.2 mm ammunition, all 13.2 mm weapons were re-chambered during the post-war era, and after 1950 basically all Swedish weapons fired the new cartridge. Other specifications remained unchanged.

Commonly mistaken with the Browning M2 (due to the same calibre) the Akan m/39A featured a modified electrical firing mechanism rating it from 600 rpm to 1,500 rpm. The gun was used as secondary armament for tanks with a reduced rate of fire (720 rpm) as well as standard armament for a variety of Swedish late- and post-WW2 aircraft such as the Saab 18, Saab 21, and the predecessor FFVS J22B with a rate of 1080 rpm.

Available ammunition

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Comparison with analogues

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Usage in battles

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Pros and cons

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Pros:

• Potent gun against air targets
• High rate of fire

Cons:

History

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Media

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See also

• Akan m/39A (13.2 mm)

External links

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• topic on the official game forum;
• other literature.

Aircraft machine guns
USA
7.62 mm	Browning · M134 Minigun
12.7 mm	GAU-19 · M2 Browning · M3 Browning
Germany
7.62 mm	MG3
7.92 mm	MG 15 · MG 17 · MG 81
12.7 mm	FN M3P
13 mm	MG 131
USSR
7.62 mm	DA · GShG-7.62 · PKT · PV-1 · ShKAS
12.7 mm	A-12.7 · Berezin UB · TKB-481 · YaK-B
Britain
7.62 mm	FN 60.30 · L8A1
7.7 mm	Browning · Lewis · Vickers E · Vickers K
Japan
7.7 mm	Te-1 · Type 89 · Type 89 'special' · Type 92 · Type 97 navy
7.92 mm	Type 1 · Type 98
12.7 mm	Ho-103 · Ho-104
13 mm	Type 2
13.2 mm	Type 3
China
12.7 mm	QJK99-12.7-1
Italy
7.7 mm	Breda-SAFAT · Lewis
7.92 mm	FN Browning
12.7 mm	Breda-SAFAT · FN M3M · Scotti
France
7.5 mm	Darne 1933 · Fabrique Nationale Mle 38 · FN Browning · MAC 1934 · MAC 1934T · Mle 33 · Mle 1923
7.62 mm	PKA
7.92 mm	FN-Browning M.36 No.3 · FN-Browning M.36 No.4
Sweden
7.7 mm	FN-Browning M.36 No.3
8 mm	Ksp m/22 · Ksp m/22 Fh · Ksp m/22 Fv · Ksp m/22-37 R
12.7 mm	Akan m/39A · Akan m/40 · Akan m/45 · LKk/42
13.2 mm	Akan m/39 · Akan m/39A