A similar HMG capacity was later fielded by the Soviets in the form of Vasily Degtyaryov's DShK in 12.7×108mm. This class of machine gun came into widespread use during World War II, when the M2 was used widely in fortifications, on vehicles and in aircraft by American forces. In this sense, the "heavy" aspect of the weapon refers to its superior power and range over light and medium caliber weapons, in addition to its weight. Pioneered by the German Empire's 13.2×92mmSR caliber MG 18 TuF ( Maschinengewehr 18 Tank und Flieger, 'Machinegun 18 Tank and Aircraft') during World War I, these weapons are designed to provide increased range, penetration and destructive power against vehicles, buildings, aircraft and light fortifications beyond the standard rifle calibers used in medium or general-purpose machine gun, or the intermediate cartridges used in light machine guns. The modern definition refers to a class of machine guns chambered in "heavy caliber" ammunition, generally with a minimum bullet diameter of 12mm, a minimum cartridge case length of 80mm and a minimum bullet weight of 500 grain, but below a bullet diameter of 20mm which are considered "medium caliber" ammunition for autocannons. The Maxim was the most ubiquitous machine gun of World War I, variants of which were fielded in large simultaneously by three separate warring nations-Germany with the MG 08, Britain with the Vickers, and Russia with the PM M1910).Ī Ukrainian Ground Forcessoldier firing the DShKM in heavy role. This class of weapons was best exemplified by the Maxim gun, invented by the American inventor Hiram Maxim. Thus, in this sense, the "heavy" aspect of the weapon referred to the weapon's bulk and ability to sustain fire, not the cartridge caliber. However, these advantages came at the cost of being too cumbersome to move and required a crew of several soldiers to operate them. These fired standard full-power rifle cartridges such as the 7.92×57mm Mauser, 7.7×56mmR (.303 British) or 7.62×54mmR, but featured heavy construction, elaborate mountings and water-cooling mechanisms that enabled long-range sustained automatic fire with excellent accuracy. The term originally referred to the generation of machine guns which came to prominence in the lead up to and during World War I.
Popular HMG rounds today are the 12.7×99mm, 12.7×108mm and 14.5×114mm cartridges. HMGs also have more felt recoil than its lighter counterparts. They are designed to provide increased effective range, penetration and stopping power against vehicles, aircraft and light fortifications beyond the full-power cartridges used in battle rifles and medium or general-purpose machine guns, and far beyond the intermediate cartridges used in assault rifles, light machine guns and squad automatic weapons. The modern definition refers to "heavy caliber" machine guns, pioneered by the German Empire's MG 18 TuF which was a Maxim derivative chambered in 13.2×92mmSR fielded near the end of World War I.Examples include the Maxim machine gun and M1917 Browning machine gun. The historical definition refers to machine guns, typically chambered in standard full-power cartridges, that are identified as being "heavy" due to their weight and cumbersomeness, which prevents infantrymen from transporting them on foot.There are two classes of weapons generally defined as HMGs: HMGs are typically too heavy to be man-portable (carried by one person) and require mounting onto a weapons platform to be operably stable or tactically mobile, have more formidable firepower, and generally require a team of personnel for operation and maintenance. The M2 Browning machine gun with a tripod weighs 58 kg (128 lb).Ī heavy machine gun ( HMG) is significantly larger than light, medium or general-purpose machine guns.
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