The M2 Machine Gun, or Browning .50 Caliber Machine Gun is a heavy machine gun designed towards the end of World War I by John Browning. It was nicknamed Ma Deuce by US troops or simply called "fifty-cal." in reference to its caliber. The design has had many specific designations; the official designation for the current infantry type is Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, HB, Flexible. It is effective against infantry, unarmored or lightly-armored vehicles and boats, light fortifications, and low-flying aircraft.
The Browning .50 caliber machine gun has been used extensively as a vehicle weapon and for aircraft armament by the United States from the 1920s to the present day. It was heavily used during World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, as well as during operations in Iraq in the 1990s and 2000s. It is the primary heavy machine gun of NATO countries, and has been used by many other countries as well. It is still in use today, with only a few modern improvements. The M2 has been in use longer than any other small arm in U.S. inventory. It was very similar in design to the smaller Browning Model 1919 machine gun.
A quadruple mount of four .50 M2HB guns with a single gunner situated behind an armored pod was used by U.S. AA battalions in either a towed trailer or mounted in a half-track carrier (M16 AA half-track). With 200 rounds per gun in a powered tracking mount, the guns proved very effective against low-flying aircraft. Towards the end of the war, as Luftwaffe attacks grew more infrequent, the quad .50 (nicknamed the Meat Chopper) was increasingly used in an anti-personnel role. Snipers firing from trees were engaged by the quad gunner at trunk level - the weapon would cut down and destroy the entire tree, and the sniper with it.
