What is the longest-serving firearm in the history of firearms? Many people will think of it as the AK-47 automatic rifle, after all, its total production exceeded 100 million after calculating various variants, and it is still active in various war zones today. However, the AK-47 has been withdrawn from the Russian army early after all, so it is difficult to be counted as the longest-serving weapon. The longest-serving firearm in the true sense is actually the U.S. military's M2 large-caliber machine gun, which was born in 1921 and has been around for a hundred years today. So, what's so special about this century-old gun?
Time back to the end of the First World War, when the U.S. Expeditionary Force under the leadership of General Pershing entered Europe, the U.S. army at this time is not as good as the later U.S. army, the equipment is far from the word sophisticated, the U.S. military just arrived in France when the equipment still has to rely on France to provide, although the back of the emergency equipped with a number of American equipment, but in terms of performance is also the general standard. And the thing perpending is the most angry thing every day is that the German J. Pershing is flying above his head. I attack aircraft, this thick skin attack aircraft is simply not the M1917 machine gun equipped with the U.S. military can deal with, 0.30-06 Springfield bullet hit on it has no effect.
An angry Pershing demanded that the U.S. Army Ordnance Department develop new machine guns to deal with the German J. Bush. I attack aircraft, and the indicator given by Pershing is also very simple, requiring the new machine gun caliber of 12.7 mm, the initial speed of ammunition must not be less than 820 meters per second. This requirement was high for the U.S. Army Ordnance Department at the time, and the Method of the Army Ordnance Department was very simple, directly throwing the problem to winchester and Colt, the former making bullets and the latter making machine guns. Leaving aside the Colt machine gun design, Winchester could not solve the bullet problem. Because the experimental bullets they made themselves had extremely high performance, the initial speed of only about 700 meters per second could not meet Pershing's indicators.
Fortunately, pershing gave a god assist at this time, and his captured German 13.2 mm anti-tank rifle shell was sent back to the United States. The Winchester Company used this anti-tank rifle cartridge as a reference to design the United States' own large-caliber machine gun cartridge - 12.7×99 mm machine gun cartridge, which is the so-called .50 ammunition. After the ammunition was guaranteed, Colt quickly completed the design of the large-caliber machine gun, the M1921 large-caliber machine gun. It was basically an improvement on the M1917 heavy machine gun, and there was nothing special about it.
It is worth mentioning that the M1921 large-caliber machine gun is actually an early model of the M2 large-caliber machine gun, which was still a water-cooled heat dissipation structure at that time, and it was necessary to place a huge water-cooled sleeve. In addition, the M1921 large-caliber machine gun was already in 1921 when it was finalized, so this machine gun did not catch up with the First World War. Fortunately, the M1921 machine gun has good performance, not only can be used as an anti-aircraft machine gun, but also has a strong destructive effect on light armored targets, so the M1921 large-caliber machine gun also began to be produced in 1923 and equipped with American troops.
However, this M1921 large-caliber machine gun is a water-cooled machine gun after all, and it weighs about 54 kilograms after adding water, which is obviously not very convenient in actual combat. So in the period from 1927 to 1932, the U.S. Army continued to improve the M1921 heavy machine gun, changing the water-cooled heat dissipation to air-cooled heat dissipation, and this improved large-caliber machine gun was named the M2 large-caliber machine gun by the U.S. Army. However, this improved version is not conducive to continuous shooting because the barrel is too light, so it is changed to a heavy barrel, this model is called "M2HB", and the barrel can be quickly replaced is the "M2QCB", we are familiar with the M2 large-caliber machine gun, in fact, these two models are composed.
It can be said that the "M2 old dry mother" known to the majority of military fans has been formed at this time, its principle is not complicated, the barrel short recoil working principle, the carcass rise and fall lock, the structure is unique and practical. At the same time, the M2 large-caliber machine gun has a hydraulic cushioning mechanism in the design, which can reduce recoil and have many guarantees for accuracy. As for the use of the M2 large-caliber machine gun, it can only be said that in the U.S. Army and Navy during World War II (the Air Force did not exist at this time), the use of the M2 large-caliber machine gun is extremely extensive, the infantry will be M2 to set it on the position as a fire fulcrum, all kinds of vehicles can also see its figure, and the American fighter is a loyal user of the M2 large-caliber machine gun.
During the Second World War, the importance of the M2 large-caliber machine gun to the U.S. Army is self-evident, as far as the U.S. Army's machine gun equipment at that time, the M1917 heavy machine gun is still used as a water-cooled machine gun, the M1919A6 medium machine gun is the infantry's firepower amplifier, the BAR automatic rifle is used as a light machine gun, and the M2 large-caliber machine gun is actually the fire fulcrum of the infantry in defense, in the case of its effective range of up to 1800 meters, It is effective in suppressing the attacking side in static defensive warfare and dealing effective damage to weakly defended armored vehicles.
It is worth mentioning that on all kinds of vehicles and tanks in the United States, the M2 large-caliber machine gun is very common, because its own suppression ability is excellent, and it can effectively suppress the field fortifications and machine gun fire on the enemy's defensive positions in the process of attacking the armored forces, so that the gunner can focus on destroying those more threatening targets, such as the enemy's anti-tank gun. Ordinary field fortifications are impossible to block the attack of M2 large-caliber machine guns, and .50 ammunition can easily penetrate field fortifications made of wood and sandbags.
At that time, the more common tactic of the US military was to form a rapid detachment of several Willis Jeeps equipped with M2 large-caliber machine guns and carry a platoon of troops to quickly reinforce the hot spot. Generally speaking, this infantry platoon with M2 large-caliber machine guns was able to quickly suppress enemy infantry attacks after arriving in the theater, which was common in operation Cobra in 1944 when the US army broke through the Normandy region. The rapid detachments of the American Army were able to rely on their own mobility and powerful firepower to maneuver back and forth between hedges to repel attacks and counterattacks by German infantry detachments.
Of course, the US military's dependence on the M2 large-caliber machine gun is difficult to imagine, and their close-range air defense is also handed over to the M2 large-caliber machine gun to complete. After placing four M2 large-caliber machine guns in a single electric turret, the U.S. Army obtained the M45 anti-aircraft machine gun turret, which had a certain effect on dispersing the German dive bombers, and the four M2 large-caliber machine guns fired at the same time, even the Stuka dive bombers would be shot down. However, this weapon is often used to attack ground targets, especially when suppressing enemy infantry, and once it is used to attack ground targets, the enemy infantry will usher in a massacre.
Since the end of World War II, the status of the M2 large-caliber machine gun in the US military has been unshakable, and the equipment that once stood side by side with it has been stubble after stubble, but it has always been the evergreen tree of the US military. Just as widely used during World War II, today's M2 large-caliber machine gun is still the standard equipment of the US Army and is widely used in various vehicles of the US Military. It is rumored that the U.S. military has considered replacing it, but in the end the M2 large-caliber machine gun continues to serve, perhaps it is expected to serve for another hundred years?