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M45 Quadmount | |
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Type | Anti-aircraft gun Heavy machine gun |
Place of origin | United States |
Service history | |
Wars | World War II First Indochina War Korean War Vietnam War Portuguese Colonial War Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Nicaraguan Revolution |
Specifications | |
Mass | 2,396 lb (1,087 kg) |
Barrel length | 5 ft 3 in (1.6 m) L/50[1] |
Shell | .50 BMG (12.7×99mm NATO) |
Shell weight | 21 oz (.6 kg) |
Caliber | 0.50 in (12.7 mm) |
Action | Short recoil-operated |
Elevation | -5° to +90° |
Traverse | 360°[1] |
Rate of fire | 575 x 4 = 2,300 rpm |
Muzzle velocity | 2,900 ft/s (890 m/s) |
Effective firing range | 4,900 ft (1.5 km) (effective AA) 15,000 ft (4.5 km) (maximum AA) |
Maximum firing range | 1.1 mi (1.8 km) (horizontal) 1.6 mi (2.5 km) (maximum) |
Feed system | Belt-fed (M2 or M9 links)[1] |
The M45 Quadmount was a towed anti-aircraft gun consisting of four .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns mounted in pairs on either side of an armored open-top gunner's compartment with electrical laying. It was developed by the W. L. Maxson Corporation to replace the earlier M33 twin mount (also from Maxson).[2] Although designed as an anti-aircraft weapon, it was also used against ground targets, where it earned the nicknames "meat chopper" and "Krautmower".[2] Introduced in 1944, it saw service as late as the Vietnam War.