Why The M2 Is The Gold Standard Heavy Machine Gun | Weapons That Changed The World | War Stories
Could the mighty M2 be the greatest machine gun in history? Nicknamed the "Ma Deuce", this fifty caliber American machine gun has been rocking the battlefield for over eighty years. Host Wil Willis puts this legendary weapon to the ultimate test.
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just shows how smart john moses browning was M1911 served with the us forces for over 100 years, and the legendary MA Duece. What this doesn't tell us is that browning designed the 50 BMG round ( Browning Machine Gun)
John Moses Browning is the greatest gunsmith of all time, from sporting firearms to weapons of war. He was a true innovator.
I often marvel at its longevity when I see the weapon featured in current affairs on TV.
@@rob5944He isn't smart for creating weapons. A smart person would never create something to kill people.
They literally said JMB designed the caliber first.
A 😅😢
John Browning lives on. Just the 1911 and the Ma Deuce have saved SOOOOOOOO many servicemen and won so many battles. So amazing that this weapon is still in active service.
It’s also killed soooooo many Not hating just saying it’s done both
7@@alexanderkidonakis9185
@alexanderkidonakis9185 does exactly as intended, kills people in front of it, to keep safe those behind it. Its a wonderful piece of equipment, also browning himself said the browning hi power was superior to the 1911 XD
Carlos Hathcock even mounted a scope to an M2 and used it for taking out targets at over 2000YDS. It is capable of more accuracy than many believe. Getting good ammo was frequently the limiting factor.
Three words- Simple (To build, operate, maintain), Effective, and Reliable. Just because something is 'Old' doesn't mean it is ineffective/worthless. Many firearms designed nearly a century ago (And even older), are just as lethal now as they were then.
Ak 47 falls in those 3 factors as well
Some old firearms are better than their modern counterparts.
@@c.antoniojohnson7114 Also heartily agree! I'm a huge fan of the K.I.S.S. principle (Keep It Simple Stupid). Iron sights and the LESS 'Furniture' the better (In most instances). ;-)
M1911A1 for example.
Good enough is the enemy of perfect.
M2 - If it ain't broke don't fix it.
Let's not forget that the White Feather used the M2 as a sniper with a scope attached on it.
And showed the world that the.50 BMG round can be a very lethal sniper round.
Carlos Hathcock, from Guyre Springs Arkansas! Great man, great Marine and great book
I read a story about a trooper in 'Nam that was huge and carried a .50 into combat and hit targets at 300m. I've always wondered about that story.
Thank you War Stories for posting this series! It´s a personal highlight every time you upload a new session of Wil Willis awesomeness in this production. More please!
As an Infantryman(11B) turned logistician/armorer(92Y) I had a love/hate relationship with this weapon but one thing's for sure everyone of them I issued out or used on my own vehicles never failed to perform their primary function.
2:43 A short man from Texas a Man of the wild Thrown into combat where bodies lied piled Hides his emotions his blood's running cold Just like his victories the story unfolds
Bright, a white light...
If there be, Any glory in waaar.
This was a fantastic series for the time. Very cool vid, for sure.
A wonderful documentary introduced about M2 A1 and its previously designed heavy machine gun ...what was securities Global US dominant is US superiority of atomic Arsenals and its superiority of USA atomic weapons delivery systems )...yes this US designed heavy machine gun its the best comparably to other heavy machine guns of other countries ...reliably, firepower, senstanably, and accuracy....thank you ( war stories) channel ....for sharing
Just think, the P-47 Thunderbolt had 8 of these. Talk about firepower!
Browning museum, Ogden, Utah, very cool. If you like guns, gotta go👍
Been there. Not big but good exhibition of various weapons he designed and the developmental stages of each.
Ma Deuce is a beast, no doubt.
that barrel change upgrade is sweet
The M2 truly is an example of if it ain't broke don't fix it
Fantastic, lots of room to grow with an M2 series. Please give us the sniper M1 Abrams, and the training, victories,and failures that the gunner, TC and crew. Theseweremean killing machines, and with that much love
In the M2HB you have to headspace and time your M2 every time before you fire or after you change the barrel. You can risk that a round can go off inside the gun. I guess this was the largest motivation behind the M2A1
Perfect home defense weapon.
Designed to counter aircraft and tanks in WWI but was delivered after the war ended. By WWII it couldn't do either one of those tasks from the ground. It morphed into the ideal weapon for airplanes to use against one another. It was also the weapon of choice for "Reconnaissance by fire". A term coined to describe the practice of American armored columns to be led by jeeps and trucks hosing down structures and facilities with .50 BMG fire to see if anyone wanted to fight. Jets changed its use from planes to helicopters. Its versatility and reliability guaranteed its reputation.
I love these weapon videos with Will Willis!! Awesome
8:00 a few Ma Deuces on full auto would’ve made that opening scene on Dog Green in Saving Private Ryan quite a bit shorter. To compare recall the hedgerows skirmish after Carentan in Episode 3 of Band of Brothers. When those Sherman’s hit the scene toward the end we see the 50’s cutting trees in half. I’ve read that certain urban combat tactics call for cutting through walls with a few dozen rounds to the point where the entire roof of a building essentially collapses and crushes the defenders
Now I thought General Dynamics was working on and had at least prototype a three-barrel rotary minigun style 50 caliber
The US put the M2 on everything and its cousin. The Soviets did not. The Soviets also put forward the 14,5x114 that also were not put on very much.
Which gun do you recommend for home defense and protection😊😊😊😊
Is incredible what Mr.Browning invented without computer and all made on wooden drawing board. Today inventors can't see often real problems trough computer itself.
Ranger AND a PJ?!? WHOA.
The Browning M2 was also the armament for the B-17 Flying Fortress, Each one would have 4 to 6 .50 cal machine guns on board with AA sights
Some B-17 had 10 to 14
@@paul85039 True
Mine was the M85 tank version. When I had a sorry E-6 named ALModena I snook up from my gunner's seat to fire the M85 just so we could qualify.
Jams,over heats,barrels have a bad habit of droup, better have lots of spare s.The update did help some.All that said the M2 is about the best light armor weapon around.All in all had a love/hate thing with the Ma Duece
Just shows how good of a weapon it is.
50 caliber sniper 😊😊😊😊
Audie Murphy was a beast with that weapon, but did you see what John Rambo did with it in Myanmar in 2008?
cinder blocks are weak a water....try filling them with cement or at least dried compacted earth.
Make sure you drench it in clp if you don't have the correct lubricant.
Love the Dskh adjustable seat, so unexpected 😂
My all time favourite episode of triggers!!!!!!
The Ma Deuce. 'Nough said.
Topgun - M2 👍
Impresionante acá le decimos la 12.7 🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷🇦🇷
20mm Vulcan
I think it would be better if there are less open cuts on the sides (for better reiliability and reduced demand of maintaince
I own a ma deuce and boy its a monster of a gun
Pick a different car to explode. Not the vintage 70s lincoln mark V 😭😭😭
Note that a sniper is trained to aim for the center of mass, mainly the torso, not the head. At that caliber, both are lethal, but the torso hit is more likely.
About the only thing I didn't like about that gun was carrying it from the armory to my track! The main assembly has nothing but sharp corners that dig into your shoulders, and brother(!), it is heavy! So is the barrel! I was scrawny though... Other than the great fun of firing it, I liked that I could light my smokes off the barrel after a couple of hundred rounds! ;-) I never had one of these go into cookoff mode even with the barrel glowing, but I did have that happen with M-60s.
a 7.62x39 ball round goes through cinder blocks too, but a full mag costs less than one 50 bmg round. If you are planning to show penetration cast a true 8" steel reinforced concrete wall, keep in mind we know the bunkers are much thicker. Not to mention a much better grouping can be achieved with the 7.62 39. The 50 has its purpose, but you didn't show it
Missed a key part of the development history… it was first designed and adopted for the Navy coastal air defense as a static mount water cooled HMG and the heavy barrel variant came later.
Nice.
Weapon/history documentaries these days are mostly made for entertainment, shooting at stuff with rock music in the background sprinkled with a bit of history. Old weapon documentaries like Tales of the Gun may seem boring to some and a bit dated in their presentation but packed with more information about the weapons history and development.
Not long after this episode aired, the light weight machine gun program was cancelled and Browning instead did a lot of quality of life improvements to the legendary machine gun.
You guys cheated using an MG-08 instead of a true maxim.. the maxim was produced in the late 19th century, the MG-08 was put out in 1908.. they are similar designs when it comes to the barrel and water jacket, but the receivers and trigger assemblies are COMPLETELY different
😱😱😱 Holtzwihr isn't in the mountains or surrounded by forest at all, it's a small village of sauerkraut growers on the Rhin plain.
I don't believe Audie Murphy disabled or destroyed any German armor with a .50 cal. I'm pretty sure it was all soldiers on foot. An M2 for all it's power, isn't a tank destroying weapon, even with AP rounds.
Halftracks
Shotgun episode please
Wow
The Browning M2 is still shredding Russian troops in Ukraine. And also on the same battlefield used by both side can be found the Soviet era DShK or Dushka dating from the 1930s and the Maxim PM M1910 dating from 1910.
LOVE THAT "DISHKA" SEAT❗❗👍👍😁😁
Paint cans do not fight back - Bruce Lee
$60 a round for dishka ammo - WOW
The Mk 19 grenade launcher is also the same mechanism invented by Browning
The British Bren gun had a barrel change system like that 80+ years ago
Hilarious how they described such minimal and obvious changes. Like a handle for quick swapping the barrel, oh wow. So revolutionary. Lmao
.... it got rid of having to do head space and timing
Can you do a sniper rifle next plz
Watch the m1 garand episode of this series. They cover snipers heavily.
This was originally a documentary on cable television that aired 12 episodes from 2011 to 2013. There is no "next"
No wonder Grant Reynolds is not with Kevin in What Could Possibly Go Wrong
33:55
John Moses Browning. Peace be upon him.
Wouldn't it have been better if the US military had chosen a 20mm auto cannon instead of the .50 caliber as it's heavy machine gun? It seems like the consensus the US Army Air Corps reached after pouring over all the data after the war was that even with all those .50 caliber machine guns on the B-17s, it turned out to be completely under gunned when coming up against attacking Axis fighters like the BF-109.
They were about equal. If you actually managed to make contact with a cannon round it was for sure gonna be sending the plane down but that was also the limiting factor. You couldn't carry as much ammo, and cannons of the time especially for example the 20mm hispano were new. It wasn't uncommon for those cannons to jam, rendering them useless until the plane landed. They also required a more complicated firing system and ammo delivery. Overall from what I've read is that .50 vs 20mm cannon they were very close in actual performance. At least as far as downing enemy aircraft goes.
Because in Ukraine warfare has reverted back to entrenched troops and mass assaults on fortified positions both sides like and use old Maxim guns made during WW2. Noting Eugene Stoner early on in the 1960s demonstrated his 5.56mm could also easily destroy the same kind of concrete cinder block wall and the .30-06 from a Browning 1919 had also been doing so for decades, perhaps a better demonstration of M2 firepower would be to either fill the voids in the blocks with concrete using a thicker wall and show a comparison, or just put up a wall 5 or 10 layers thick and see which caliber can walk through first.
Why'd he wreck perfectly good pickles!?
This show is awesome 🤙
Is that the gun Rambo used in Burma?
Is it an effective drone killer?
If the drones were low-flying and didn’t have that small of a profile. The Ma Deuce usually is supposed to be used against most ground threats like lightly armored vehicles, but it can still tackle threats like helicopters and some larger drones if they flew low enough. Then again, I have yet to see footage of a Ma Deuce gunner taking down drones.
I love the Ma Deuce, but of all vehicle mounted or crew served weapons, I prefer the Mk 19.
Is that a kick stand on the tripod or is he just putting his feet there
Using them to help stabilize the rifle. Something they figured out.
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Not even close there are many heavy MGs that are equal or better
But the Russian Kord is lighter, easier to carry
But will it keeel?
Huh Wil were you for real ?????? Huh really hmmmmmmmmmmm okay yeah it's a 50 , it's going to go through a cinder block wall
Definitely would NOT want to get hit with a .50 cal bullet
Recommend you watch the final battle in Rambo 2008. Realistic portrayal of the 50 cal
I see them used in ukraine alot they seem to jam after every 4th or 5th round
I still dont understand we stand why the army replaced the M1911 with a 9mm.
More ammo and less recoil. Personally I prefer the 1911. Better trigger, more accuracy. Also for the same reason it was adopted in the first place. The effectiveness of the 45 bullet on drugged up enemies
What was it will, were you a seal , a ranger or a green beret, sof-d
Hahaha. What a misrepresentation of the location of Holtzwihr, France in the Murphy story. It's right outside of the city of Colmar. Looks nothing like that terrain.
I appreciate they got a real life hero to host 👍🇺🇸
3d printer.
Ffs, a strong breeze would have destroyed that sandbag structure.
I take you never worked with sandbags.
@@robertheinkel6225 I have four bars to my Accumulated Campaign Service Medal, (you probably don't know what that is but you might be able to Google it) so I filled one or two.
@@robertheinkel6225 Stick to call of duty sonny, I have four bars to my Accumulated Campaign Service Medal so to answer your question, I have filled a few sandbags. You might need to Google ACSM, I doubt if you'd know what that is.
stop calling it Ma Duece clown, its called the M2
Nobody uses sand bags like that for defensive use except Iraqi police...
When push comes to shove and your life is on the line along with that of your friends, the ends justify the means,
🤌
Weapon system weapon system weapon system weapon system.....damn tired of heating buzz words cause u think u sound cool lol.
🇬🇧 🇺🇸 🫂
what a peice of propaganda
I DIDN'T KNOW "AUDIE" WAS ON THAT TANK FOR NEARLY HOUR👍👍 YOU ARE RIGHT, LOOKING AT THE SLOMO SHOTS I CAN'T SEE ANY RECOIL🤔🤔
Sorry browning fans, it was simple, and built in simply huge numbers , is the reason it's not in the memories bin. Ever see the German 13mm MG ? It was better in every way, but the Germans moved on to machine cannons, which took awhile for the US to do, because....there wer sooooooo many Brownings everywhere, on everything.
How topical the topic.. The reason for the entry of the USA was also Israel at that time. And, of course, England's debt, which was only guaranteed by a victory A Brilliant Reason for Millions of Deaths
Because it's used the most and has killed more innocent civilians than any other MG?😂