M41 Vulcan

Template:Weapon Infobox The M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun, nicknamed the "Vulcan",^[1] is a UNSC vehicle-mounted machine gun. It is used as the primary armament of a standard M12 Warthog.

Design details

The M41 LAAG is a triple-barreled, electric-powered, linkless, belt-fed weapon, capable of firing 500 12.7x99mm armor-piercing rounds per minute.^[2] 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.

Its extended variant, the M41 Extended Light Anti-Aircraft Gun, is a four-barreled machine gun capable of firing depleted uranium containing pressurized atmosphere. This variant is mounted on the aft of the OF92/EVA Booster Frame.^[3]

Ammunition

Main article: 12.7x99mm Armor-Piercing

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.^{[note 1]}

Trivia

Before this weapon was named the M41 Vulcan, the name for this weapon was the "M1100-Mk II Vehicle Mounted Support Weapon".^[4]
This weapon bears a close resemblance to the GAU-19/A machine gun used by the United States military. In addition to other superficial similarities, both are triple-barreled Gatling-style machine guns, and both weapons also fire the 12.7×99 mm round.
Vulcan is the Roman name for the Greek god Hephaestus, God of fire and forgery, and the name of several current-day high-caliber Gatling-style guns.
The armor plating can be shot or beaten off in Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo: Reach.
Halo 3 MythBusters proved that one can perform a Superbounce in Halo 3 using a detached Warthog turret from a destroyed Warthog.
A stationary version of the M41 LAAG, as well as the M68 Gauss Cannon, appears in Halo 3: ODST.
In Halo Wars trailers, renders, and cutscenes, the M41 is shown with four barrels. It is unknown if this is a graphical change or a different weapon altogether.
In Halo: Reach, the M41 LAAG takes a few seconds to spin up, whereas in previous games the spin-up was instantaneous. Also, like all other turret weapons in the game, the M41 LAAG will overheat after continuous fire. This was implemented as a balancing change, preventing the "turret spam" prevalent in previous games.
In Halo 2: Anniversary, the M41 LAAG is replaced by M46 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun, indicating that the two weapons saw combined service during the late stages of the Human-Covenant War.
In Halo: Spartan Assault, the stationary turret is the M41 LAAG. The weapon can overheat with excessive continuous fire, forcing a cooldown period of approximately 5 seconds before it is able to fire again. Additionally, the weapon has a health bar; if the this health bar completely depletes, the weapon is destroyed. If the player is using the turret when it is destroyed, they will be instantly killed. In the sequel Halo: Spartan Strike the weapon no longer overheats and the player is not killed if it is destroyed while they are using it.

Gallery

The M41 LAAG on the Warthog in Halo: Combat Evolved.
HUD of the M41 in Halo: Combat Evolved.
The M41 LAAG in Halo: Combat Evolved.
The M41 LAAG's reticule in the HUD of Halo: Combat Evolved.
The M41 LAAG in Halo 2.
HUD of the M41 in Halo 2.
The LAAG on the Warthog in Halo 2.
The 12.7x99mm Armor-Piercing Round the M41 fires from The Art of Halo 3.
The LAAG on the Warthog in the Halo 3 Beta.
HUD of the M41 in Halo 3.
The M41 LAAG in Halo 3.
H3 Snow Warthog.jpg

The LAAG as seen on the snow camo Warthog from the Halo 3 multiplayer map Avalanche.
The four-barreled LAAG on a Warthog in Halo Wars.
The LAAG mounted on a stationary turret in Halo 3: ODST.
An overheating LAAG on the Warthog in Halo: Reach.
Master Chief firing the M41 LAAG in Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.

List of appearances

Halo: The Fall of Reach (First appearance)
Halo: Combat Evolved
Halo: The Flood
Halo: First Strike
Halo 2
Halo Graphic Novel
Halo: Ghosts of Onyx
Halo: Uprising
Halo 3
Halo: Contact Harvest
Halo Wars
Halo 3: ODST
Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
Halo Legends
- Homecoming
- Prototype
- Origins
Halo: Reach
Halo: Fall of Reach
- Boot Camp
- Covenant
- Invasion
Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn
Halo: Spartan Assault
Halo: Spartan Strike
Halo: Last Light
Halo: Ground Command
Halo Mythos
Halo Wars 2
Halo: Rise of Atriox

Note

^ 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.

Sources

^ Halo Encyclopedia
^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flood
^ Halo Waypoint, Booster Frame article
^ Joyride Halo CE Warthog description

[4] 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.

[1] Halo Encyclopedia

[flood-2] Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named flood

[3] Halo Waypoint, Booster Frame article

[5] Joyride Halo CE Warthog description

[1]

[2]

[3]

[note 1]

[4]