Browning M2HB
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Barrel
- 1143 mm
- Weight, empty
- 38.00 kg
- Introduced
- 1933
About
What it is, and why it matters
The Browning M2HB is an American .50 caliber heavy machine gun designed by John Moses Browning at the end of World War I. The 'HB' designation denotes its heavy, air-cooled barrel, which replaced the water-cooling jacket of the earlier M2 water-cooled variant. A short-recoil, belt-fed weapon firing the 12.7x99mm NATO cartridge, it has served continuously since 1933 in roles ranging from infantry support and anti-aircraft defense to vehicle and aircraft armament. Nicknamed 'Ma Deuce,' it remains the NATO standard heavy machine gun and one of the longest-serving weapons in military history.
John Browning developed the .50 caliber machine gun at the request of General John Pershing during World War I, after American troops encountered armored aircraft and vehicles. Browning died in 1926, but his design entered standardized service as the M2 and has outlasted nearly every weapon of its era, earning the affectionate nickname 'Ma Deuce.'
The M2A1 and M2HB-QCB variants add a fixed-headspace quick-change barrel, eliminating the need to manually set headspace and timing during barrel swaps. Effective on aircraft, light armor, watercraft, fortifications and personnel.
Specification
Everything measured
IdentityWhat it is, who built it and when.
- Manufacturer
- Browning Arms Company
- Category
- Machine Gun
- Country
- United States
- Status
- In production
- Produced
- 1933
DimensionsAs issued, without a magazine or an optic.
- Barrel
- 1143 mm
- Overall length
- 1654 mm
- Weight, empty
- 38.00 kg
ActionHow it cycles, what trips it, and what feeds it.
- Action
- Short recoil
- Firing mechanism
- Hammer fired
- Magazine
- Belt
MaterialsEach swatch is the material itself, not a colour chosen to stand for it.
- Frame
- Steel
- Barrel
- Steel
- Finish
- Parkerized
BallisticsFrom the service cartridge, not a handload.
- Muzzle velocity
- 887 m/s
- Muzzle energy
- 16370 J
- Effective range
- 1800 m
- Maximum range
- 6800 m
- Rate of fire
- 550 rpm
Trajectory
What the round does downrange
Solved from the muzzle figures and the bullet. The dashed rule is the effective range on the record, and the crosses are the steps the solver returned.
Features
What it has
What the record lists as fitted, drawn from the catalogue.
Heavy air cooled barrel
Belt fed
Dual feed- Adjustable headspace
Spade grips
Butterfly trigger
Standing
How it compares
Each figure against the firearms of the same type and cartridge that record it, or of the same type where that cartridge has too few. Positions are read to the nearest tenth.
| Measurement | This firearm | Median | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| Empty weightAmong 261 machine guns | 38.00 kg | 10.50 kg | Heavier than about 90% |
| Overall lengthAmong 260 machine guns | 1654 mm | 1156 mm | Longer than about 90% |
| Barrel lengthAmong 257 machine guns | 1143 mm | 605 mm | Longer than about 90% |
Answers
Questions about the Browning M2HB
How much does the Browning M2HB weigh?
The Browning M2HB weighs 38.00 kg (83.78 lb) empty.
What caliber is the Browning M2HB?
The Browning M2HB is chambered in .50 BMG.
How long is the Browning M2HB?
The Browning M2HB is 1654 mm (65.1 in) long overall, with a 1143 mm (45.0 in) barrel.
Who makes the Browning M2HB?
The Browning M2HB is made by Browning Arms Company (United States). It was designed by John Moses Browning.
When was the Browning M2HB introduced?
The Browning M2HB was introduced in 1933.
How does the Browning M2HB operate?
The Browning M2HB uses a short recoil action, and its firing mechanism is hammer fired.
Compatibility
Which parts fit this firearm
Studio
Every part that mounts on this, resolved
Not a list the maker typed out: the answer comes from the mounts this firearm exposes and the interface each part needs, so it stays right when either one changes.
- Every part that mounts on any firearm in the catalogue
- Interface standards, platforms and fit overrides
- The same answers through the API and the MCP server
Requires a signed-in GunSpec account on the Studio plan. The answer is computed per part, so it is not part of the public record.
Provenance
What the record holds
Every figure above was taken from one of these pages. The confidence reflects how much of the record came from a page a claim can be checked against.
In service
- United States Armed Forces
- 1933
- British Armed Forces
- United Kingdom
- Israel Defense Forces
- Israel
Provenance
Confidence in this record
90%
Stockists
Where to buy
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The same record, reached the way a person asks for it rather than the way a program does.
Ask GunSpec
Works with
Point an MCP client at GunSpec and it answers from the catalogue rather than from memory. A free key covers the read tools.
API
The call that returns this record
The same fields, in the same units, from the same endpoint the page reads.
curl --request GET \ --url 'https://api.gunspec.io/v1/firearms/browning-m2hb' \ --header 'X-API-Key: your_key'{ "id": "browning-m2hb", "name": "Browning M2HB", "manufacturer": { "id": "browning", "name": "Browning Arms Company", "countryCode": "US", "foundedYear": 1878, "website": "https://www.browning.com", "logoUrl": null, "description": null, "status": null, "defunctYear": null, "stateOwned": null, "makesFirearms": null, "parentId": null, "predecessorId": null, "createdAt": "2026-02-11 23:44:38", "updatedAt": "2026-02-18 03:43:43", "version": "5d8cf4fb4b938ebaed9e76da3c57ad4cd9f27d22ee35d8b2265942435fbb875c" }, "category": { "id": "machine-gun", "name": "Machine Gun", "description": "Fully automatic firearms for sustained fire" }, "country_of_origin": "US", "year_introduced": 1933, "barrel_length_mm": 1143, "weight_empty_g": 38000, "action_type": "short_recoil"}