.50 BMG

The cartridge of 12,7 X 99 mm NATO (also called: .50 BMG; Browning Machine Gun ) is a ammunition of heavy Mitrailleuse and Fusil of precision used by the forces of NATO.

Introduction

The .50 BMG presents a capacity of penetration, a range and a precision higher than the ammunition of the average and light machine-guns. Primarily drawn since worthy the Browning m2, it was preserved like standard ammunition for the armies of NATO. Many versions were developed, standard armor-plated ball, perforating, tracing, flamer, and even under gauged with a detachable shoe.

Russia and the countries of the ex Warsaw Pact have as for them DShK and NSV in gauge 12,7mm whose performances are comparable and the KPV barrack room in 14,5mm which presents a power definitely higher than the .50 BMG.

history

The ammunition was designed during the First World War by John Browning for a project of anti-aircraft weapon. The ammunition in itself is an increased version of the .30-06 Springfield, the machine-gun intended to draw it is as for it a scaling of the M1919/M1917 also conceived by Browning at the beginning of the 20th century and names m2.

The development of the .50 BMG is sometimes regarded as depend on the 13,2 mm Tuff German. This ammunition was developed by Germany to be barrack room in anti-tank rifles intended to counter the British tanks of the First World War. The development of the .50 BMG however began before the German project arrives in its term and when this one was discovered, the question was posed to know if it had to be copied. After analysis, it appeared that its performances were lower than those of the .50BMG and that its semi-annular starter was appropriate badly for an employment in an automatic weapon.

Service entrance in 1921, the .50 BMG employed in the machine-gun m2 offered an advantage sensitive to allied during the Second world war, it was sufficiently powerful to demolish many German light armoured tanks which them were equipped with average machine-guns and more powerful guns automatic certainly but much rarer and much more expensive. Contrary as regards aerial combat, the .50 BMG which was almost exclusively employed in the American fighters of the second world war missed power for the aerial combat of the end of the conflict. Whereas the other nations generally implemented at least one or more automatic guns on board their hunters, the United States almost exclusively deployed the .50 BMG for reasons Logistique S.

Modernized versions of the machine-gun m2 are always used today, they in particular are still used on board certain helicopters and know an important diffusion on the ground as arms embarked in the vehicles or to defend of the fixed positions. M2 is more rarely implemented by the infantry alone. The ammunition flamers are particularly effective against the air targets and the against perforating ammunition of the infantry with cover in the slightly armor-plated buildings or vehicles. She nevertheless lost her versatility since half of the Années 1950, because certain transport of troop armor-plated and other light armoured tanks is conceived to resist to him.

Although initially developed for the machine-guns, the .50 BMG is also barrack room in rifles of precision of fort Caliber and deployed in the Années 1980 for missions of destruction of not armor-plated objectives (Radar S, aircraft on the ground…). The range and the power of the .50 BMG also made it possible to counter the unfavourable gunners equipped with less powerful weapons or to engage of the targets with long range. A Canadian corporal thus killed a combatant taliban in Afghanistan at a distance of 2.430 meters in 2002. The standard cartouche of .50 BMG is however too not very precise for the anti-personnel missions which require the use of a specific cartridge of precision.

Characteristics

The characteristics can vary according to the type of ammunition and the weapon which draws it. One can however consider that a drawn ball armor-plated since m2 will have the following significant characteristics:

Gauge: 12,7 mm
Mass of the cartridge: 115 G
Mass of the ball: 42 G
initial Speed: 930 m/s

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