Before the Browning M2, there was a series of Colt commercial .50 caliber machine guns. The .50 BMG (12.7x99mm) cartridge began development in 1918, and after the end of the war Colt and John Browning finalized a water-cooled machine gun to use it. While military experimentation and development continued, Colt introduced the gun as the Model 1924, and sold it in both water-cooled and air-cooled varieties. The names were changed in 1932/3 to become the MG52 (water cooled) and MG53 (air cooled) to keep the guns sounding modern. In addition, they introduced the MG52-A, which was a water cooled model with interchangeable feed to accommodate vehicle and dual mounts.
The Model 1924/MG52 has a number of early features that would be changed when the M2 become the standard model. These have simple straight-line charging handles, instead of the camel system of the M2. They have rear sights like the early M1917 .30 caliber guns, manual safeties, and are built on dedicated water-cooled receivers (the M2 would introduce a universal receiver). Only a few thousand of these were made by World War Two, and their production did not resume after the war.
Water-cooled guns were still employed on airfields and aboard ships, as the likelihood of huge formation air strikes would make for long periods of shooting without rest and very little chance of changing an air-cooled barrel. I could be wrong.
Water-cooled machine guns were also used in some cases as armoured vehicles armaments. Some examples are:
– Polish 7TP (single-turret) tanks have water-cooled wz. 30 mounted in turret, see
http://derela.pl/weap.htm#30
– Union of South Africa’s Marmon-Herrington Mk.I has water-cooled Vickers machine gun as main armament, see https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/south_africa/Marmon-Herrington_MkII.php
– Swedish SKPF sported twin ksp m/36 apparently as late as 1963 see https://tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/sweden/Terrangbil_m-42D_SKP.php
British light tanks in the late 1930s / early WWII used water cooled Vickers guns, both in .303 and .50 (Vickers). The tanks would generally have one of each calibre. The water cooling system was apparently connected into the vehicle’s radiator somehow for cooling.
Later versions of these light tanks used 7.92mm and 15mm Besa guns, both air cooled. The 15mm Besa was also used in British armoured cars and was comparable in size and power to the later 14.5mm Soviet machine guns.
If anyone cares, the video on the “Howard’s Thunderbolt” carbine never posted here, it’s only on YouTube, dated three days ago. Is there any way for management to get it posted here in its correct calendar spot? The regular visitors to this site should be able to see it on this site, yes?
Just as a side note; I seem to remember seeing this gun, or one similar in an old war movie. It was notable for the two chargeing handles and the belts of ammo going in the gun. Sorry I can’t remember which movie.
Too bad Ian did not put on the table the M2 standing behind. It would have been an interresting to compare both.
But perhaps two .50 MG were too much for the poor table?
Jeffrey, There were three versions of the M2,using a common receiver
Anti-Aircraft
M2 – Light barreled, water cooled. Used on a variety of heavy mounts, some shielded. Most rebuilt to M2HB by end of WW2
https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/pacific/guadalcanal/guadalcanal-marine-at-50-cal-anti-aircraft-mg-1942/
https://en.rcamuseum.com/m2-50-cal-browning-anti-aircraft-gun/
(Note dual mount)
Naval, using forced water circulation from heat exchanger mounted near keel (replaced by 20 mm Oerlikon)
https://www.worldwarphotos.info/gallery/usa/us-navy/enterprise/anti-aircraft-battery-on-enterprise-1942/
AN-M2 – Air cooled, short, light barrel (36 inch vs 45 inch) aircraft gun, fixed or flexible mounting, Barrel jacket to muzzle
https://www.liberatorcrew.com/15_Gunnery/01_50cal.htm
M2HB – Air Cooled ground gun, heavy barrel, short barrel jacket-support – still in production after SEVENTY years !
http://www.lonesentry.com/images/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/browning-machine-gun-m2.jpg
My nomination for greatest gun ever made
“(…)My nomination for greatest gun ever made”
And after bit of updating it is serving as helicopter-mounted machine gun in form of GAU-21 http://navweaps.com/Weapons/WNUS_50cal-M3M_MG.php
No. That is an FN M3M, which is improved M3, which is related to the M2, but distinctly different. For one it shoots from open bolt and normally comes with a solenoid trigger for aircraft installation. There are other options offered of course.
Why does a US Navy machine gun have a USAF designation?
During WW2 (when there still was no separate USAF) Army and Navy agreed upon a common designation system for common items, starting with an AN prefix. So apart from AN-M3 machine gun there was a AN-M2 cal. .30 cartridge.
This common system was and is still mainly in use for communications and electronic equipment like, for example, AN/FLR-9.
“(…)Why does a US Navy machine gun have a USAF designation?”
GAU- (for Guns, Aircraft Unit) designations are actually Department of Defense induced, refer to MIL-STD-875A, MILITARY STANDARD: TYPE DESIGNATION SYSTEM FOR AERONAUTICAL AND SUPPORT EQUIPMENT for more information http://everyspec.com/MIL-STD/MIL-STD-0800-0899/MIL_STD_875A_988/
“Domestic commercial sales.” I’d like to see that customer list.
Domestic may also mean some US state’s national guards have baughtsome? I would like to know the foreign buyers as well.
These, which were manually guided, were relatively of little use.
Quad units have proven themselves well. Especially on mobile platforms.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Danzigm17.jpg
If I am not mistaken, the water cooling system can function in the same way from steam.
But water cooling didn’t make much sense. If only in the Pacific and the tropics.
And in the water-cooled 0.5 Vickers, in North Africa, another liquid was poured.
Yes, the old “use the cooling jacket as a lavatory” joke.