Akan m/39A (12.7 mm)
Contents
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
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 1500 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:
Cons:
History
The 13.2 mm FN Browning was developed by FN as an improved version the Browning .50 in (12.7 mm) air-cooled MG53 aircraft machine gun. Improvements to the original design included: making the weapon lighter, increasing the rate of fire and offering it in not just 12.7×99mm Browning, but also 13.2×99mm Hotchkiss,[10] the latter cartridge effectively being a 12.7×99mm Browning cartridge but with a caliber of 13.2 mm (0.52 in).[11] The 13.2×99mm Hotchkiss cartridge was the initial cartridge developed for the 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun, being replaced by the 13.2×96mm Hotchkiss cartridge in 1935,[11] and was thus used and produced by a wide variety of countries in Europe. To further improve on the design, FN developed a high-explosive shell against air targets for the 13.2×99mm Hotchkiss cartridge, purpose built for the 13.2 mm FN Browning.
Media
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See also
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External links
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| 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 |
