AA-52
| AA-52 | |
|---|---|
|
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| general information | |
| Military designation: | AA-52 |
| Country of operation: | France |
| Development year: | 1952 |
| Manufacturer country: | France |
| Model variants: | NF1 |
| Furnishing | |
| Overall length: | 1,080 mm |
| Weight: (unloaded) | 9.75 kg |
| Barrel length : | 600 mm |
| Technical specifications | |
| Caliber : |
7.5 × 54 mm , 7.62 × 51 mm NATO |
| Ammunition supply : | Ammunition belt |
| Cadence : | 900 rounds / min |
| Fire types: | Continuous fire |
| Number of trains : | 4th |
| Twist : | right |
| Closure : | Delayed mass closure |
| Charging principle: | Recoil loader |
| Lists on the subject | |
The AA-52 ( A rme A utomatique Transformable Modèle 19 52, also AAT-52 or AANF1 ) is one of the first machine guns produced in France in the post-war era. It is also called "Cinquante-Deux" (French for "52").
history
The AA-52 machine gun was developed after the military experience of the French army in Indochina in early 1950. At that time the French army was armed with weapons from English and American stocks as well as German weapons from World War II .
Simply replenishing ammunition and spare parts was an almost impossible task. The army decided to introduce a standard machine gun. The result was the AA-52, developed for the simplest possible production. The structure consisted of simple welded and stamped sheet steel.
Technology and commitment
The AA-52 is an exception among modern machine guns with its semi-rigid locking recoil system; the force generated when the cartridge is ignited is used to send the breech back and insert a new cartridge. This system works well with pistol cartridges in submachine guns , but rifle cartridges required a more complicated mechanism for safety reasons. Continuous fire with rifle cartridges made from ammunition belts must not be uncontrollably fast, otherwise the barrel will overheat.
The AA-52 uses a delayed recoil lever lock and a two-piece breech block. Grooves milled into the front of the chamber allow gas to penetrate between the chamber and the cartridge case and create a pressure equalization in order to prevent the case from tearing and to make it easier to pull out. Since the residual pressure in the case is high during the extraction process, a cartridge fired by an AA-52 can easily be recognized by the bulge it causes.
The AA-52 can be fired from the hip, bipod, or tripod. When used with a tripod for sustained fire, the rifle is used with a heavier barrel. In the light configuration, the AA-52 is a relatively heavy weapon to carry. An unusual detail of the AA-52 is the presence of a ground spur under the butt to better distribute the weight of the weapon. Another significant difference is the change of barrel - for many weapons this is an easy and quick task, but the AA-52 has a fixed connection between the barrel and bipod, which makes it more difficult to switch.
Models
The AA was originally developed for the use of the 7.5 millimeter cartridges used by the French Army ( machine gun model 1929 ). Based on the assumption that the lack of support for the 7.62 × 51-millimeter NATO cartridge would reduce sales and exports, the rifle was adapted to the 7.62-millimeter caliber. The AA-52 and the AAT-52 differ in that the AA-52 can be used as a light machine gun, the AAT-52 as a heavy machine gun with a heavier barrel on the mount.
literature
- Günter Wollert, Reiner Lidschun, Wilfried Copenhagen : small arms . (1945-1985). In: Illustrated encyclopedia of rifles from around the world . 5th edition. tape 1 + 2 . Brandenburgisches Verlagshaus, Berlin 1988, ISBN 3-89488-057-0 , weapons, p. 224-226 .
