M41 Vulcan: Difference between revisions

 

{{Weapon

| image=[[File:HReach-M41LAAGSideLeft.png|300px]]

| manufacturer=

| model=M41  

| type=Light Anti-Aircraft Gun

| cost=

| size=

| damage per hit=Medium

| magazine=Unlimited

| maxammo= Although magazine is unlimited, can heat up

| fire=Automatic

| ammotype=[[12.7x99mm Armor-Piercing|12.7x99mm armor penetrating rounds]]

| operation=Electrically-powered

| rate of fire=450-500 rounds per minute<ref>'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'''</ref>, approx. 900 rounds per minute<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', '''[[Halo 3]]'''</ref>

| accuracy=Medium to High

| range=Long

The '''M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun''', nicknamed the "'''Vulcan'''",<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]'''</ref> is a [[UNSC]] [[UNSC Defense Force|Defense Force]] [[vehicle]]-mounted machine gun. It is used as the primary armament on the standard [[M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle]].

The M41 LAAG is the standard weaponry of the M12 Warthog, although similar turrets can be found on the [[M313 Heavy Recovery Vehicle]]s, the Elephants fire rate is slightly faster. It is a triple-barreled, electric-powered, linkless, belt-fed weapon. It fires 450 to 550 [[12.7x99mm]] armor penetrating rounds per minute.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', ''page 72''</ref> Turret traverse rate is 100 degrees per second and weapon elevation rate is 60 degrees per second. Recoil from sustained fire is prodigious and negatively impacts accuracy at long range. It also works quite well for taking out [[Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft|Banshees]] and other lightly-armored [[vehicles]].The [[M41 Extended Light Anti-Aircraft Gun]], a four-barreled variant that fires [[depleted uranium]] containing pressurized atmosphere, is mounted on the back of the [[Open Frame 92/Extra-Vehicular Activity|OF92/EVA Booster Frame]].<ref>'''[[Halo Waypoint]]''', ''Booster Frame article''</ref>

As stated above, the M41 uses 12.7x99mm rounds, also known as the .50 BMG round, or .50 caliber. The name BMG comes from the 20th-century [[wikipedia:M2 Browning Machine Gun|M2 Browning Machine Gun]] the cartridge was designed for. It is well known for its legendary stopping power. It is normally considered an anti-materiel round, as it can take out both light armor and infantry at great range. The bullet is even capable of stopping a car dead in its tracks, shooting a round right through its engine block.

 

The 12.7x99mm rounds is capable of exerting upwards of five times as much damage as the 7.62x51mm rounds used in the MA5 series of assault rifles, and the M41 is a relatively accurate example of its power compared to the smaller 7.62mm round. This was only evident in ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', as damage per-hit in ''[[Halo 2]]'' was dramatically less powerful. To balance this out, the rate of fire on the M41 was increased to roughly 900 rounds per-minute, and accuracy was increased significantly from the ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' version.