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LOT 367
Desirable Ramo M2 Browning Heavy Machine
Gun, Class III/NFA Fully Transferable Machine
Gun, with M39 Anti-Aircraft Pedestal Mount -
Serial no. 003476, 50 BMG cal., 45 inch round bbl.,
matte gray finish. Manufactured by Ramo of Nashville,
Tennessee, the M2 Browning Machine Gun is the
definitive Western heavy machine gun of the 20th
century. A descendant of Browning’s 1917 HMG, the
development of the M2 was first prompted by the
emergence of armored aircraft among German forces
in World War I, calling for a greater level of firepower
to bring down enemy aircraft. Development continued after
Browning’s passing in 1926, and in 1933 it was adopted by the
U.S. armed forces. In service to this day, the air-cooled “HB”
variant of the M2 has been used in a wide spectrum of
roles on sea, air, and land, from as fundamental as
an infantry heavy machine gun, as rarified as the
main armament of top of the line fighter aircraft,
to as oddball as being used as a sniper rifle; the
famed Carlos Hathcock used a scoped M2 to set
a confirmed kill record in Vietnam that wouldn’t
be beaten until the War on Terror, and still holds a
spot on the top 10 as of this writing.