- For the Steel Division II unit see SD2:M2HB HMG
M2HB HMG is a United States Infantry unit. The M2 Browning 50. Cal heavy machine gun is a devastatingly effective weapon in longstanding service with the US military, from the 1930s up to the present day, having participated in major conflicts such as the Korean war, the Vietnam war and the Falklands War. It was widely used in the Second World War as a heavy machine gun, an anti-aircraft weapon and it also saw use while mounted on vehicles. It lays effective and damaging suppressive fire against enemy infantry and can also damage lightly armoured vehicles. Vehicles mounted with this weapon, such as the CMD Stuart, can also effectively engage enemy aircraft.
Overview[ | ]
A machine-gun emplacement, using the powerful Browning M2 .50 BMG machinegun.The origins of the M2 Browning lay in the First World War, where the introduction of the machine gun led to terrible losses amongst all nations as battlefield commanders had to come to grips with the reality of this new kind of warfare. Demands went out for a more powerful version of the M1917 machine gun, then the dominant US MG in service. This would go on to become the M2 Browning MG and production of it started in 1933. The HB (heavy barrel) denotation means it used the air-cooled barrel.
It was used to great effect on airplanes, vehicles and as an infantry gun. The weapon was particularly hated by the Germans, whose attacks and ambushes against otherwise helpless stalled motor convoys were frequently broken up by .50 caliber machine gun fire. Its service extended beyond the Second World War and it still is in use today. The Weapon Platoon Headquarters in the Rifle Company of a Infantry Battalion has one M2 along with Machine Gun Section and Mortar Section.
Strategy[ | ]
The M2HB HMG enjoys a great 800m firing range, on par with the German S.MG42. It can reliably pin down enemy infantry and destroy lightly armoured vehicles. It is also crewed by five men, giving it more survivability than most other machine gun squads. However, it pays for this: the M2 Browning HMG is the most expensive MG unit in the game with a 45 point price tag. While the infantry MG is unable to engage enemy aircraft, vehicles using the M2 50. Cal (such as the M10A1 Tank destroyer) can fire at planes, making vehicles equipped with the M2HB suitable for very light anti-aircraft fire.
Gallery[ | ]
Old icon
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