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The M2 Tripod is a U.S.
machine gun A machine gun is a fully automatic, rifled autoloading firearm designed for sustained direct fire with rifle cartridges. Other automatic firearms such as automatic shotguns and automatic rifles (including assault rifles and battle rifl ...
tripod A tripod is a portable three-legged frame or stand, used as a platform for supporting the weight and maintaining the stability of some other object. The three-legged (triangular stance) design provides good stability against gravitational loads ...
originally used with the Browning M1919 infantry machine gun. Since then, it has seen several redesigns, but remained largely the same. In this fashion, the M2 tripod has seen combat service in every conflict that the U.S. Army and
Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...
has been involved in since
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. It has also been widely used by numerous other nations, such as U.S. Allies in various wars, especially those countries that used the same machine guns as the United States military. Modern U.S. machine guns, such as the M60, M249 and
M240 The M240 – officially the Machine Gun, 7.62 mm, M240 – is the U.S. military designation for the FN MAG, a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns that chamber the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge. The M240 has been used by t ...
series machine guns, use slightly updated versions of the M2, designated the ''M122 tripod''. The M60 was originally going to be used on an experimental M91 tripod, but the M122 was selected over it in the 1950s. The M122 weighs 16 pounds (7.3 kilograms). The differences between the M2 and M122 are found in the types of mounting pintles and the traverse & elevation mechanisms. The actual tripod is referred to as the "tripod leg assembly" and is essentially identical among all models. Many current issue M122 tripods in fact were originally M2 tripods, and had new markings applied when refurbished and matched with mounting pintles for M60, M240 or M249 machineguns. The M122 tripod has started to be replaced by the M192 Lightweight Ground Mount, an advanced lightweight tripod fielded in the early 2000s.


See also

* M3 tripod * M63 ground mount * M192 Lightweight Ground Mount


References

*https://web.archive.org/web/20070625010459/https://peosoldier.army.mil/portfolio/sw/csw/M192LGMforMGuns.pdf (PDF) *http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics/m249/m122-tripod.shtml ;Notes {{reflist, 2


External links

*http://www.armystudyguide.com/content/army_board_study_guide_topics/m249/m122-tripod.shtml *https://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ground/m2-50cal-specs.htm Firearm components United States Marine Corps equipment