50 Caliber Meat Chopper
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 8 сен 2024
- The 50 Caliber M2 Browning Machine Gun has been the workhorse of the United States Military since 1933. But during World War Two, someone had the bright idea of fixing four of these machine guns together in a quadmount. This known as the M45 Quadmount or Quad 50 was originally intended for use against aircraft but would see use against infantry and armour during World War 2, The Korean and Vietnam Wars. In this video we look at the Quad 50 which has the nickname 'The Meat Chopper'.
At Premier History we want to take you on a journey through time and grow your knowledge to see what it was actually like to be in some of the pivotal points in World History.
Make sure to leave a Like 👍 and a Comment 📜 down below or share this video with your friends.
- - -
🔴 Subscribe to the channel: bit.ly/3pLtnXf
- - -
#PremierHistory #Quad50 #MeatChopper
- - -
Follow Premier History on socials:
🐦 Twitter: / historypremier
📸Instagram: / premierhistory
- - -
Almost in F - Tranquillity by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommon...
Source: incompetech.com...
Artist: incompetech.com/
How effective do you think the quad 50s were and do you think it was right they were used against infantry?
Welcome back! If you are new here make sure to hit subscribe to expand your knowledge on Military History and join the growing Premier History Community!
"By the way, would the World,🗺 War,💥 Two,2⃣ ✌ American,🇺🇸 built,🏢 quad 50 caliber M2. Browning machine guns,🔫 anti-aircraft gun, 🔫 placement mounted on an American, 🇺🇸 built,🏢 M3 halftrack shoot down,👇 World,🗺 War,💥 Two, 2⃣ ✌ Imperial japanese 🏯 🗾 🇯🇵 built,🏢 Mitsubishi A6M zero,0⃣ fighter planes,✈ in the jungles,🌴 or Guadalcanal in the year of nineteen forty-two, during the island,🏝 hopping campaign of the pacific,🌏 theater, 🎭 during the second world,🗺 war,💥?"
No, technically the M-2 should have been reserved for aircraft and vehicles. The Germans had a comparable weapon called the Wirblewind that was 20 mm. They used it primarily for anti aircraft and soft shinned vehicles. They also used it in an anti personel role
@@joelex7966 kind of a weak reason since the weapon is very effective against infantry and light vehicles...so why not use it when it works very well?
Absolutely right to use against infantry
they hardly ever used all four barrels at once during firing
I had a M2 .50 on my humvee in Iraq. It was manufactured by General Motors in 1943. Few modern weapons have had staying power like that.
MG42…known now as the MG3, still got staying power…not comparing it with the .50, just saying
The M240B that the US uses heavily borrows from the MG42, so your right about that!
John Browning is a legend
@@meht43-BringitBadger was that mg3 manufactured in 1943? thats not what he meant by stayingpower.
@@dkreeg1964 Considering MG3's were rebuilt from older models, there is very likely many out there using parts manufactured in 1943.
My Grandfather operated the M-16 Gunbucket (quad .50 on half-track) in conjunction with M-15 and other M-16's in 5th Armored DIV, 387th AAA (SP) in WW2. They were used against enemy aircraft and also very effective in The Huertgen Forrest when fighting German Infantry&Armor. His unit was also effective at the Bulge and ' chopped' things up in the hedgerows. He never talked about WW2, I had to hear about it after his death from the surviving vets of his Company. Awesome guys!
One of my uncles (83rd Infantry Division) was also in Huertgen Forest as well as in the Battle of the Bulge (a 19 year old kid during those battles).. He also never talked about the war; maybe that's how he stayed sane. I never learned about which battles he had been in until his wake 12 years ago. Those guys went through hell, and most of them came back to live productive lives.
My father-in-law fought with the RCAF (Royal Canadian Air Force) in India against the Japanese. They did some pretty intense stuff, like skipping bombs into the sides of Jap ships from 50 feet off the deck in B-24 Liberators. Hairy stuff.
I married the youngest of his 5 daughters and was very priviledged to have him pen up just a little bit about some of his experiences.
As a Canadian combat veteran he was a volunteer - I think that he viewed his combat time as "doing his duty" and not something to be bragged about.
My dad was in Korea and never wanted to speak about it. He tried to forget the death and destruction!
I doubt there were any hedge rows in the buldge.If their were,they were frozen over.
Even Frank Sheeran of "The Irishman" refused to talk about Sicily and Anzio until his last year. The guys who come back from war to tell heroic stories were in the rear; bored to death. Maintenance and supply takes up 2/3 of all Army personnel. That's a lot of shit talk to make up for the 1/3 that refuse to talk about truth.
I once worked with a couple Korea vets who talked glowingly about the quad 50. Late in the war, the lines were relatively stable in mountainous country. The crews were trained to look for muzzle flashed on the opposite mountain, then cut loose with lethal fire laced with tracers. Very effective.
I met a janitor at the local college who was a gunner on one of those in Korean War. He said it would pile the enemy up and then knock the top layers off for more. Savage.
yikes. dying by becoming a part of a pile of human slop.
My Dad was with the US 318th Infantry in Germany during WWII. One of his major battles was taking the city of Kassel. The Germans had a group of 88s that were making life hell for the Americans, but they had a company of half tracks mounting quad 50s. The group of half tracks opened up on the 88s, reducing everything to so much scrap metal.
My father worked for General Motors during WW2 and made the M2. I was always mad he didn’t bring one home one piece at a time.
Listen to Johnny Cash's song about how he got a Cadillac!
@@timengineman2nd714🤣🤣! Never heard that song before😀
@@CelestialLites It is about a worker at Cadillac smuggling parts out and he ended up with (something like) a 1955 thru 1967 car! "With one side having 2 headlights and the other only 1."
@@timengineman2nd714 Frankenlac!
Calypso Straws in Brookvale Sydney were taken over by a Canadian Company, their first rule was ALL the permanents were to be sacked and rehired as casuals. Well, that went down well, so as each permanent quit they took a part of the machinery that made the straws knowing the parts had to come from China and everybody knew how long that took, lol
My father was in an armored anti-aircraft unit during WWII which used Quad-50's mounted on Greyhound armored cars. He was at Remagen in March, 1945, and I'm proud to say that the photo of the Quad-50 with the Ludendorff Bridge in the background in this video, is of his vehicle! He recognized the soldier manning the guns.
The Luftwaffe lost many aircraft to Anti-Aircraft fire trying to destroy the Ludendorff bridge, including jet bombers like the arado 234 and Messerschmitt 262 !!!
Ma-duece is a terrifying weapon. One 50 cal is horrifically lethal, but 4?!?
I remember reading an account from Utah Beach, two of these tracks moved just off the beach and concentrated their fire against a bunker with an anti-tank gun and silenced it.
The ROKAF had a few Quad 50s mounted on deuce and a half trucks stationed around the perimeter of the base. 😉
We had one in our National Guard unit in the mess (kitchen) section that I was a member. We fired it at our 2 week training at camp in the summer and winter. I thought the M60 was heavy with the mount. Can't remember if the 60 used a bi-pod or tri-pod like the 50 caliber. The 50 was heavy as heck without the tri-pod. If you want hearing damage, go fire a 50 without PPE. Being young and foolish and others non-concern is a sure thing.
@@williamhesprich9040 could be either or , with a T&E mount you can do very accurate long range fire with a M60 or M2.
The M2 .50 was the Best MG by a country mile !!!
It did it all on Land, Air & Sea and still is !!!! Semper Fi
They always yell for a "Truce", after they hear the Ma Duce.
Semper Fi
@@daveb.4268 Lol Semper Fi
It was used against Chinese human wave attacks in Korea too.
I had a patient who fought in the Philippines - ' I did Manilla " he said. Hated McArthur for not letting heavy artillery until later. He was called up in Korea and his team operated that. Said they killed thousands of Chinese and to they hated that gun. Would shoot and scoot, he said. They would dial mortars on them and lots of small arms. Can rake a whole hill side w that. On a half-track he said.
Had a friend who was on quad 50s in Korea.
my dad told me all about it ...
My dad crewed the M-16 halftrack (M3 variant) during the Korean War. Due to the barrel’s heating up during night combat they only utilized 2 of the 50 caliber MGs at a time. Said they would turn red hot and would have to alternate.
The Flak Vierling 20 mm was used the same way. Two firing, two cooling.
There's the m13 which only uses 2 m2 brownings
Not to mention the amount of ammo they'd burn through with all 4 firing!
Vulcan gunner here (16R), my boss had nothing but great things to say about the quad 50.
Haven't seen one of those in years. I think the last ones I saw were the towed ones over 30 years ago when I was stationed with the 25th in Hawaii.
@@petehaack5228 Hi, I was there 84-88, J-Quad, A 1/62 ADA. You sir?
@bradriley1783 Hi, I was stationed there after flight school, 90-93, on Wheeler. I think our Battalion headquarters and barracks were in B quad, if I remember correctly, but I was married and lived off post, so I didn't go over there very often. I remember watching you guys fire the Vulcans over on the Big Island at PTA. Seemed pretty impressive to me.
@@petehaack5228 I deployed to the Big Island 7-8 times, Kuai 14 times for gunnery, and three Team Spirits.
Same here brother, did AIT in Ft. BLISS in 89.
The M2 rate of fire was adjusted to max for aircraft use just because! My dad went to Vietnam in 1966 and he had a NCO who fought in Korea. He told them stories about combat in Korea. One battle was defense of a ridge line in the winter. There were two lines of defense intrenched in front of the mainline. This battalion had 2 M16s and they were spaced apart barrels traversed to be level at 200 yards. The Sgt was attached to a gun crew and said that morning they charged us and the battle began with bugles screaming yelling hundreds of men charging at any given time without stopping. Only one out of four had a weapon. Most only had a grenade and were told to pick up a gun from the dead. The first line of defense were guys with Garands and BARs. The second line had M1919s and it wasn't long before the first line retreated then the second with some leaving the guns in place. He said the half track had three feet of brass and links all about and they stopped changing cans and were linking the belts together to keep firing. As panic set in and the barrels were getting hot and receivers and barrels started to glow. He said they knew that the guns were failing. Out in the field the PLA had formed a ramp 6-7' high. It was made of heads, torsos, arms legs, chunks, piss shit guts hats clothing and blood all mixed together. The smell of blood was in the air along with fuel powder chemical odor piss shit all mixed together. He was saying I'll never forget that as he was talking. When it all seemed lost USN Panther jets dropped napalm stopping their advance and ending the battle. He said without air power they would have been overrun. The Chinese would reach the top of the ramp they formed and explode without stopping. Pure madness to witness. I have listened to Forward Observers describe catching Chinese with artillery and killing thousands of them as they watched from a safe elevated position. Colonel Weber described catching a column of Chinese marching down the road 6 abreast opening up on them with a quad .50 and after some time passed some of his men stopped firing because of what they were witnessing, they just kept marching forward.
geez this makes my stomach turn
This sounds like it was written by a 13 year old.
A ramp of human heads? Lol
That would have given them trouble sleeping
My father was trained on the 40MM Bofers AA unit under Patton in NC prior to deployment to Europe in 1942--however, as his convoy left NY for England on the Queen Mary, his National guard force unit was redirected to Australia and wound up in Port Morsby, New Guiney--and they unpacked and first fired their new quad mount .50's onboard ship en-route to same. I went to Vietnam in 1967 and we were still using the "meat chopper" there!
I was trained as a gun commander on the 40mm Bofors L-70 when I did my national service here in Norway in '90 :-)
Each gun had a pair of M45 .50 quads ('firlings') as companions against low-flying aircraft and for close ground support against vehicles (but not against personnel, for Christ's sake! Have mercy). They could all be aimed by radar and the L-70 had proximity fused shells. To see those 4 rods of lead sweep and converge in the distance was both impressive and terrifying, to be honest. They scrapped this equipment in the early 90's I believe. They should've given it to me -- I would've looked after it !
The Bofors and Quad .50's were mounted on EVERYTHING throughout WW2, Korea and Vietnam! I visited the Nat'l Museum of Military Vehicles in WY and saw many examples of each.
Great ground defense weapon. We had both quad 50's and twin 40's on our fire base perimiter defense in Nam.
Yes, "Dusters" were often seen on camp perimeters in the RVN.
-- BR (RVN, 1969-70)
Read that in the battle of the bulge one of these turned back an entire German tank column who thought the hail of fire was from a US tank batallion that was waiting for them around the bend, but it was only a single meat chopper and 2 bazookas at the GI roadblock.
Funny the Germans were overly impressed since quad 20mm (Flakwierling) was a weapon commonly used by them.
@@teller1290 The German tanks assumed that the 50 cals, were mounted one per each American tanks guarding the junction. If the Germans had poked further to see there was really nothing more, they would surely have driven straight thru. But even just one American tank (had there been one) could box them in and knock them out one at a time in the tight space corridor.
In fact the Germans actually had similar luck elsewhere,, with one Panzer capturing 12 Shermans locked in a town gridlock. That's why the Krauts were wary of the situation amd also thought the fire from the quad 50 was bait to draw them into an engagement, in short a trap.
My father was a US Navy pilot in the Pacific during WW2, and he absolutely loved the M2 .50 cal guns on his plane. Those rounds were so powerful that they could penetrate most wooden, earthen, or even brick fortifications, and still blow a human body into pieces. The Marines for whom he flew close air support loved them also. The M2 is a big reason why so many more of our guys survived, while their guys (Japanese) died. ABSOLUTELY it was correct to use against infantry.
Bombs and artillery are used on infantry, so I have no problem with a .50 being used on them. Dillon has a quad mount of M134D minguns. It is gloriously insane.
We still had these in my unit when i got out of the Army in 2020. The fact that the "ma duece" is still in use after a century is a testament to its effectiveness & reliability.
The Browning 50 cal is a superb weapon which is why it has been in service for so long. You're have to be behind some serious armour or reinforced concrete to be safe from this gun.
At 220 yards it could penetrate 25 mm of homogeneous steel armor plating or 356 mm of sand (numbers are rounded and stats refer to AP round being fired from 45 inch barrel).
I don't remember the name of the book but I do remember a story in the book. It was about a WW2 tank maintenance battalion that was moving around behind our lines. They were being harrassed by a german sniper that was somewhere in the forest on the other side of the road. They didn't have the manpower to go after the sniper they only knew he must be up in the trees. After some time on the radio I think it was they still had no relief. Finally a halftrack came down the road which they cautiously flagged down. They told them of their plight , suddenly the small turret of the the quad 50's turned toward the woods and opened up. It ripped up all the tops of the trees where they had told them of, cleared it right out. The crew replied, "that outta do it!" Then continued on their way down the road. They went over there and found the sniper dead.
We had a quad in service in South Viet Nam. I have to say it BEAT EVERYTHING down!! One time we used one to burn out an entire valley! After the smoke, fires and other general damage settled down the NVA never came at us from that sector again. This was in the I Corp, a step over the border between north and south Vietnams.
It is war, absolutely. The quad 50 keeps a position from being over run.
unfortunately that did not happen in WWII
@@michaelpielorz9283Not always, but it made them pay a HUGE price for overrunning that position. Especially in the later days of the war when the axis we’re having manpower shortages.
My father was in a light anti-aircraft unit during WW2 in Europe. His unit consisted of several half tracks with quad .50 mounts and range finding equipment. Interestingly, his job was maintaining and manning the mechanical range computer that linked to the quads when the unit was stationary defending an airfield. When used that way the computer took control of the movement of the mount to direct it against enemy aircraft.
I saw the quad 50 used in Vietnam! Very effective!
Two quad .50's were landed at Dien Bien Phu in 1954. While not used in the AA role, they did sterling service as anti-personnel weapons, carving up Viet Minh human wave attacks. The method was to use two barrels one after the other, and keeping the other two barrels in reserve. In the defence of Eliane 2, the Viet Minh threw two regiments at the hillock, comprising of nearly 4000 troops, taking close to 50% losses estimated, largely from advancing through converging .50 cal fire. Once on the position, the guns were firing onto the defences, as Eliane 2 had the remnants of a stone church on it, with a sizeable basement that the defenders sheltered in.
I flew Hueys for the 1st Cav out of Bong Son in early 67. Sometime that spring we were tasked to go north and operate out of Quang Nhai (at the southern end of I Corp), for a couple of weeks. There was one hill, that was very prominent in that AO, that had a Quad 50 on top of it. We loved flying missions near that bad boy.
During the Battle of the Bulge a battalion of green German soldiers charged over open ground attacking a US position that had a quad .50 cal mounted on a half track. It was worse that the charge of the Light Brigade in the Crimea war. Almost the entire German unit was wiped out, mowned down on the snow covered field. Audie Murphy won a MOH single-handly defending his position shooting a Ma Deuce from atop a burning tank destroyer. He cut down dozens of Germans while calling artillery fire upon his own position. The GI's used them in Korea, along with the 40mm AA guns mounted on tank chassis, to great effect against massive Chinese human wave attacks.
My dad served as crewman on the halftrack mounted quad .50s at the outbreak of the Korean war. After the war truce they were sold to the newly formed Israely army and replaced in my dad's unit with the double barreled 40mm bofors mouned on the old Chaffee tank chassis.
Great home defense weapon!😊
When it comes to the .50 cal, I often think of the P-47 Thunderbolt which carried eight as its main armament. As an enemy pilot, or just a simple locomotive driver during WW2. Could you imagine being on the receiving end of such monstrous firepower!
I remember seeing an interview with a P-47 pilot who said the plane would slow down by 50 or 60 mph when you opened up all 8. And this is when you're moving at about 300 mph to start with. That's a big freaking hammer to get clobbered by!
B-25J has just entered the chat.
@@billygraham2132 Yep, 14 forward firing if I recall.
The .50 BMG was supposed to be only used for equipment. Like water canteens, uniforms, belts, backpacks, buttons, etc.
I remember being told that at AOBC in 1988
Buttons....😂
Glasses
I guess the point is if we bring it out, they got to figure out a way to get past it 🤷🏽♂️
That's the humanitarian thing. LOL 😂
Quad .50 for home defense 👍
Right on. Police officer, Where's the Perp? Over there, over there, and up there.😂😂😂😂😂
Saw one fire before Covid at West Point ky. Unbelievable, the ground was shaking
There is(was) a quad 50 sitting outside the Buffalo Bill Museum in Le Claire, IA, back in the 70’s.
Had a picture of me in it, but was lost over time.
Sitting in it, I can only think how quickly the gunner went deaf from 4 Ma Deuces going off at once only inches from his ears.
Still, glad it was ours!🇺🇸
The ma-deuce is a beast! Its longevity says it all!
In 1970 while serving with the paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne Division I had a first sergeant tell me a story about a gun truck he oversaw during the Korean war. He watched a Chinese infinitary division overrun a ROK division and they they saw the gun truck and tried to attack it. When he told me they killed over 5,000 Chinese troops, I found it difficult to believe but I watched him review the event in his mind's eye and then he exclaimed "there had to be over 5,000 dead because they only stopped attacking because they couldn't climb over the piles of their own dead." He further clarified the attack by saying "they were screaming like "smashed cats," and finally as he reflected, he said their were arms and legs flying everywhere as the bullets tore their bodies apart. I had no reason to disbelieve that story as he was one of the most honest and forthright people I have ever known. I thank God that we had people like him at that time in our military history.
"The crowd mower". That's awesome!
Kraut Mower... referring to German soldiers being referred to as "Krauts"
Yeah real awesome. 🙄
The m2 is a classic but that 20mm Vulcan Cannon is an absolute monster.
The twin .50 with a 37mmautocannon was very common in Europe until the end of the war. Very common on the same vehicles as mounts
my fathers cousin was in the 36th Armored Infantry Division attached to 3rd Armored ww2 ,,his service picture shows an AA on his sleeve and another shows hin in front of his 1/2 track.
I'm not sure if he was a gunner ,loader or what as he was KIA near the wars end but reading some of the books and hearing the men talk the quad 4 was very effective,,not just for aircraft but also for soldiers in thick cover or behind vehicles,buildings and such,,it penetrated very well.
Come to think of it he may have been on a flak gun ..I'm just not sure...I think they used flak guns on more than aircraft too
One of your clips shows the Sherman firing its coax which you state was a .50. The coax was .30. The .50 on the Sherman was on a mount on top of the tank. Otherwise this is an excellent clip
I saw it to, but to be fair, he mentions that it was mounted on tanks, not that it was firing in that clip, would be helpfull if he told that .50 on armour were meant fot anti air dutyb
My dad was part of the crew of a Half-Track in WWII, Battle of the Bulge, 11th Armored Division, 575th AAA. He was trained to identify aircraft by their silhouette. By the time the Bulge started in Dec 1944 the Luftwaffe was much diminished and they frequently use their 0.50 cals as anti-personnel weapons. War is war.
Troops in Vietnam used the quad 50 mount on trucks to escort convoys. The VC learned quickly to not attack those convoys.
My ex (late) grandfather in law served on a halftrack crew in WW2 that had a quad 50. He said it was extremely effective against any target you engaged. According to everyone in the family grandpa never spoke of his time over there but he told me a few things while at deer camp the last year he went up with us. Just he and I sitting on the tailgate of the truck, sipping coffee with blackberry brandy in it. As soon as the other guys started coming back in from the morning hunt he stopped talking about his experiences. I felt honored that he was telling me his experiences but couldn't understand why me other than I too was in the Army. Little did I know at the time that his advice for combat ops from 1944/45 still proved effective in 2005.
My cousin was in Korea and was the reloader on a quad 50 gun mounted on a White Half Track,they usually did suppression fire for advancing Army or Marines.
He told me that on 2 occasions they were part of a convoy going thru a wide valley and at night waves of chinese would pour out of the treeline several rows deep and about a quarter long the rifle companies were having trouble stopping the massed attacks and asked for air strikes,none could be sent so somebody ordered 6 half tracks to deployd on the roaf and open up all the quad 50s on the chinese,He said after about an hour and shifting positions 3 times they finally stopped the attacks..he says they counted around 2,000 dead or dying chinese after the shooting stopped..he said it was terrifying because it seemed that no matter how much lead they threw at the wall of chinese running at them,it seemed there were unlimited targets that showed no signs of stopping
Fired these a lot in the Navy.
Hauling one on your shoulder required padding.
Bad ass gun.
To be on the receiving end of this amount of firepower must have been truly horrendous.
In the Persian Gulf while stationed aboard a destroyer and a sonartech…which wasn’t powered up in the gulf, I was a .50 cal gunner. Headspace and timing. That is a wicked weapon and a joy to fire. 😀
My father, who commanded an infantry company during the Battle of Okinawa, seldom spoke of his war experiences. He did, however, one time his fondness for the work accomplished by the Quad 50.
My father served in a mobile anti-aircraft unit during WWII, and they did use it against troops and vehicles, including at the river crossings to keep the enemy's heads down on the other side of the river. They had a very good record against aircraft as well, but likely mostly with the 40 mm guns.
I was in the USAF , stationed at Camp Casey Korea from 1977-1980. I was in a Tactical Air Control Party (TACP), attached to the Army for close air support. We spent a lot of time in the field, but like the Army, lots of time in between. We would hop in a jeep, (MRC-108) and go explore the country side, to become familiar with the terrain. I went up to the South Korean air defense post, near the DMZ a lot. Several quad 50 sites! I would trade can of starter fluid for the engine, to let me sit and aim it around! Sometimes, take them a case of C-rations!!😏
I have always been a fan of the 50 cal but that quad arrangement is awesome..... as a good old clay shooting friend would say 'get as much lead in the air as possible'
And don't forget the M45's most famous use.... on the bow of the Smokers 'Hellfire' gunboat in the movie Waterworld.
Hear, hear!
I think that film is great, even though it is widely considered to be rubbish. It is very fun, the more times I see it the more I think it was supposed to be a comedy.
@@ericconnor8419 I feel the same way & think the criticism is just 'Costner Bashing'.
We'll have this atoll in no time.
R.I.P. Dennis Hopper 😔
The quad 50 is a fuck around and find out weapon system!
The Greek Air Force had one of these outside the gate of the special weapons site I served at in the mid 70’s. Saw it in use but it was one impressive weapon.
My time in the service allowed me to work w/ this weapon a lot. As far as implimentation goes. We had it "Drilled" into us that our M2s were for vehicle & Anti material destruction not personnel. We joked 'bout going after personnel equipment carried by troops. Not sure but there was some UN treaty issue reguarding use against troops. Ballistically, a .50 BMG round can past an inch or so w/o touching a body & still deliver a devastating wound by sheer Atomsphereric pressure.
Officer: "The .50 caliber is to be used against vehicles and equipment."
Gunner: "I did use it against equipment, sir. The enemy's web gear. I couldn't help it if he was wearing it at the time!"
Extremely effective. All is fair in Love and War
"What's that cousin's name?" "Chuck" "Hey Chuck".........Dennis Hopper WATERWORLD
At an arm's fair I got to fire a quod orlicon. When I think back, it still puts a smile on my face. What a blast.❤
wow that is so unbelieveably and totally not at all interesting... you really think people came here hoing to find out if Philip has ever fired one of these? You think this video is all about you?
@@slowery43 That's really not called for, Hoagers. It's a discussion about heavy firepower. The quad Oerlikon is definitely heavy firepower.
They were used to surround multistory buildings, shoot out the bottom floor and collapse the structure on the German infantry.
Having a remote control that was wire operated it allowed the operator to fire the weapon while not sitting on the weapon. The individual barrels could be bore sighted. Cross wires were placed on the barrels for sighting. all the barrels could be canted toward a pinpoint down range. The barrels could be locked onto a target. Enemy daylight positions could be fired upon at night. The weapon could be placed behind a berm created by a bulldozer. 4 fifty caliber guns.
When I enlisted in the USN in 1968, my first ship was USS Okinawa, LPH 3. She had (If I remember correctly) two twin 5"x38 gun turrets, and about 8-10 quad 50 mounts. scattered around. While I was onboard in 1969, the quads were replaced with 8 Sea Sparrow launchers.
I saw them used in Vietnam, they were awesome. They were scary to watch, but sure put a stop to trouble. Can't imagine what it would be like to see it firing towards you.
My first exposure to the Quad Mounted 50 Cal. Was in the Atoll Attack scene in the movie Waterworld. Meat chopper indeed !!! 😃👍
the quad mount is what NASA used for their very long range camera system in tracking the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle launches.
i used to work with a pipefitter who manned one in Korea on a half-track (M16). he didnt have any feelings towards either way
It was probably responsible for a lot of hearing loss to soldiers without hearing protection.
Partly responsible for mine!
What?
We always had security gun trucks, mostly quad 50s, on convoy in Nam. As the last vehicle, wrecker, in the convoy I was really glad they were behind me.
Just when you thought you were already aware of every horrific thing that happened during WW2, this video drops. It got that name for a reason. Looks neat on the half tracks.
The very first M-16, our quad-50 mounted on an M-3 halftrack..
A bit of trivia here for you. While serving with the paratroopers in the 82nd Airborne Division in 1970, I was sent to a battalion armorers course and learned how to service, disassemble and reassemble all weapons used by the battalion. One of those was the M2 50 Cal Machine Gun. I learned they were manufactured by many companies during WWII including Singer Sewing Machine Company, Coca-Cola, and Kluge Machine and Gear Company as well.
I saw (and felt) one of these fired from a half track while standing about 10 feet away. There was a guy standing on the hood and when the gunner opened up the half track shook so violently that the guy on the hood almost fell off. I think that the electric drive system for the swing and azimuth used spinning flywheels cause you could hear them whirring away and they would slow down when the gunner moved the mount. This was at the Knob Creek Gun Range military gun show and machine gun shoot many years ago. I don’t go anymore because it has gotten so big that you just about have to camp out there in order to attend. I just watch the videos.
I was there also and stood near the quad 50. When they started up the Briggs and Stratten motor and all 4 guns went off, I got away from that thing. It was scary and demonic. Haven't been to the Creek in ages. Sorry to hear it's gotten over-crowded
@@clevlandblock Yup. I figure that I attended twice, had a great time both times, bucket list item crossed off my list.
I was in a class at Cape May and the instructor held up a .50 round and said it was generally considered poor military ethics to use such a thing against a human being. Guess he didn't get out much.
His thoughts on artie rounds dropping on personnel?
misplaced economy concerns.
Kraut mower ! perfect
My unit in Viet Nam was Dusters Quad 50’s and infrared/white light searchlights We did convoy security, sweeps and blocking operations and base camp and FSB security We operated the 25th the 9th and once airlifted a searchlight out to a fire base in the Plain of Reeds to work with both the 9th Inf artillery a couple of air cushion vehicles with the brown water Navy
The Duster Quad searchlights unit could turn a battle to our favor or end one quickly
One M 50 is REAL loud, but I can't imagine the noise of four of those monters. And the P 47 Thunderbolt had EIGHT!
5:15 Yes, the quad 50 cal was effective, but not nearly as effective as the German quad 20mm auto-cannon (2 cm Flakvierling 38 which had more range, penetration and explosive ammo.
👍
That's why it's still in service lol
Actually, the main issue with the German 20mm was that it had only a limited number of rounds in each (detachable) box magazine! Unlike the Allied 20mm which used drums or belts....
@@timengineman2nd714 Actually... 😅 The quad .50 referenced in the video also used box magazines. 200 rounds each, replaced every 6-9 seconds of firing.
@@mbryson2899 The quad .50 used belted ammunition (200 rounds) placed in cans. The German 20 mm used box magazines (20 rounds) like modern rifles. The rate of fire for the M2 given in the video though is way overstated. The cyclic rate for an M2 is about 500 rpm. The aircraft version (AN/M2) has a cyclic of about 800 rpm.
My dad fought in Korea and while I was reading a book to try and track his time there I read about 4 of those half track mounted 50's fought off 13 battalions of Chinese over a two day period at one point they had to turn one around because they were surrounded it said they fired over a million rounds but what they did about the barrels over heating was they had asbestos gloves and they would change the barrels out this was in the battle of Christmas hill or hill 1220 also called outpost queen it was in the book Christmas in July.
The predaseor of the quad mini gun, still awesome 😎👍
Used mainly in Korea, especially against the Chinese .
The quads were absolutely devastating
There is only one rule in war. Make sure the only people to bleed are the enemy. Use what is needed to accomplish that task.
watched a veterans interview from Korea , he talked about being hit with wave after wave of hundreds of Chinese soldiers and how they would just charge the American lines and get mowed down by the hundreds by the quad 50cal turrets
My late uncle manned one in Europe WWII. RIP UNK. ❤🙏😪🦅
Back in 1970 I was getting my parent's new Mercury Cougar serviced at the dealer. A young mechanic rode with me to check something out. He said he had recently come back from Viet Nam. I asked what he did over there and he said he operated a quad 50. I asked if there was much anti-aircraft action there and he said no, but they used them against infantry. I was a naive 18 year-old and said, "You used 50 cal against people?" He went quiet for the rest of the ride.
I flew OH58D(R) most of 30 years as Army Scout Pilot. $6mil acft rock'n a weapon build before my dad was born😂😂😂. The system(just one) was mounted so close, you could stick your leg out and touch barrel. The muzzle bast on burst was intoxicating....watching API ammo go through just about anything, priceless. Ma Deuce!!!!
The MG-42/MG-3 is the best light machine gun ever produced. The M-2 is the best GP gun loved firing it in the Cavalry.
Very effective Weapons system to be used as needed.
My Uncle Leo Piersall served aboard PT532 launched in October 1943 with Ensign Stephens from Moline Illinois in command. He operated a dual 50 caliber gun mount with an electric motor and foot pedals left and right. These were used against Japanese planes, shipping, as well as Japanese on land.
In November 1944 in Borneo campaign they received 5" rockets launched from 4 x 4 tube launcher. The five boat squadron arrived just as the grey of dawn appeared at a forward Japanese supply base with a small air strip and a handful of planes that had been harassing allied units in the area. There were a bunch of thatched huts and a couple bigger ones. He was impressed with the timing of their arrival and the fine navigation.
They let off 80 of these five inch artillery shells mounted on rockets and the whole place exploded in flames and he said it was not really fair, it was a holocaust. It was the first time he ever considered the humanity of the Japanese.
There was a sharp bang and they felt a rush of hot air pass over them and a dark mushroom cloud lifted up into the air. They had hit their ammunition dump. Then there was a loud boom and a film of dark smoke went into the air and they understood the fuel depot had been successfully struck. Each boat had two dual 50s, a 20 mm Oerlikon, and a 40 mm bofors; they opened up with everything they had, then turn out to sea at top speed with their smoke machines on.
To combat armoured barges the Captain's boat had a discarded 37 mm auto-cannon from an Army airplane and another had an English recoilless rifle. They were also issued armour piercing 50 caliber ammunition.
The term 'Devil boats' began to used for PT boats. This was due to the presence of the rockets which gave them a punch these plywood boats previously lacked.
The 37 mm auto-cannon had been put in planes for use against German armoured bombers and ground armour. However against unarmored agile Japanese aircraft a smaller caliber higher rate of fire gun was more effective. So as Oerlikon 20 mm became available the ground crews replaced them, making these 37 mm auto-cannon available to PT boats.
These quad meat choppers were useful at road intersections in Europe. Real traffic stoppers.
That’s a fantastic story of an unknown action. Well, unknown to most of us. Thanks for recounting it.
The weight is for a M2 heavy barrel, we had one as a squad weapon, it was carried by 4 men, 2 for the body, 1 for each barrel. Then I don’t count the poor fellows with the ammo.
I would Love to have Quad 50s, that would be awesome but very costly.🤩
Are you a psychopath?
I think it's funny people are saying (probably tongue in cheek) that the ma duece isn't/wasn't used against troops but against their "equipment" i.e. belts, canteens etc. The thing is, no excuse is necessary. It's not against the Geneva convention or any other laws as is so often believed. In the rules of land warfare troops are advised to save their 50 cal. for aircraft, trucks, light armored vehicals (BMPs, BTR60s) etc. But when necessary, like say when range or heavy cover is a factor, light 'em up with 50. One example was during Desert Storm. I was a gunner on an M60A1. Several times I used the coax (M60E3 7.62mm) to supress crunchies (infantry) in trenches and on "troops in the open". But on one engagement, the crunchies were beyond tracer burn-out of the coax so the TC opened up with the M85 (cupola mounted .50 cal). You see, my hopper held 2,000 rounds of 7.63 but the M85 held only 185 rounds which didn't last long. Especially if set on high rate of fire for aircraft. And reloading the M85 hopper was a pain.
Just for those interested, the M85 was shorter, lighter, easier to disassemble and had high and low rates of fire. The barrel changed out quicker than the M2s and didn't need to be head spaced, but was more prone to stoppages.
I love dude at the end sitting there with his head between 4 50 cals and zero hearing protection 😮
My high school principal was a Marine in Vietnam. He said they used the quad 50s to cut down foliage
Might believe someone else said it best, All is fair in Love and War except for Ma deuce
I've fired 50's as a Helo door gunner.
They're really fully automatic light artillery.
The M15 carried 2× .50 cals and a 37mm. Something of a surprise to any pilot expecting 'jusr' .50 cals.
I don't think anyone has overlooked the M2, contrary to what Premier history said.
I saw one of these at the knob creek machine gun shoot in KY. 4 .50 cals with blue stripes on the barrels. It fired plastic ammunition. Bullet, case and all blue. The rim was metal though. I have an empty case and a fired bullet.