List of Heavy Machine Guns

The heavy machine gun or HMG is a larger class of machine gun generally recognized to refer to two separate stages of machine gun development. The term was originally used to refer to the early generation of machine guns which came into widespread use in World War I. These fired the standard (~.30 or 7.62mm) rifle cartridge but featured heavy construction, elaborate mountings, and water cooling mechanisms that enabled heavy and sustained defensive fire with excellent accuracy, but with the cost of being too cumbersome to move quickly. Thus, in this sense, the "heavy" aspect of the weapon referred to the weapon's bulk and ability to sustain fire, not the cartridge caliber. This class of weapons is best exemplified by the Maxim gun, invented by American Hiram Maxim. The Maxim was the most ubiquitous machine gun of World War I, regional variants of which were fielded simultaneously by three separate warring nations (Germany with the MG08 in 8mm Mauser, Britain with the Vickers in .303 British, and Russia with the Pulemyot M1910 in 7.62x54R).

The more modern definition of heavy machine gun refers to a class of large-caliber (generally ~.50 or 12.7mm) machine guns pioneered by John Moses Browning with the M2 machine gun and designed to provide an increased degree of range, penetration and destructive power against vehicles, buildings, aircraft and light fortifications over the standard rifle calibers used in medium or general purpose machine guns. In this sense, the "heavy" aspect of the weapon refers to its superior power and range over light and medium caliber weapons. This class came into widespread use during World War II, when the M2 was used widely in fortifications, on vehicles and in the air by the American forces. A similar HMG capacity was fielded by the Soviets in the form of the DShK in 12.7x108mm. The ubiquitous German MG42, though well suited against infantry, lacked the M2's anti-fortification and anti-vehicle capability, a fact that was noted and lamented by the Germans after the D-Day invasion. The continued need for a longer range machine gun with anti-materiel capability to bridge the gap between exclusively anti-infantry weapons and exclusively anti-materiel weapons has led to the widespread adoption and modernization of the class; the M2 is now the oldest serving weapon in the US arsenal, and most nations are equipped with some type of HMG.

Currently, firearms with calibers smaller than 12.7 mm are generally considered medium machine guns, while those larger than 15 mm are generally thought of as auto-cannons instead of heavy machine guns.
List of Heavy Machine Guns:

HMG	Specifications	Country	Year
Rheinmetall RMG.50	Cartridge: .50 BMG Weight: 25 kg	Germany	2010
Zastava M02 Coyote	Cartridge: 12.7x108mm Rate of Fire: 700/minute Muzzle velocity: 820 m/s Effective Range: 2 kmWeight: 25 kg	Serbia	2005
QJG-02 heavy machine gun	Cartridge: 14.5x114mm M41	China	2005
Kord-12.7 mm	Cartridge: 12.7x108mm Rate of Fire: 750/minute Muzzle velocity: 860 m/s Effective Range: 2 kmWeight: 25 kg	Russia	1990
CIS 50MG	Cartridge: .50 BMG Rate of Fire: 600/minute Muzzle velocity: 884 m/s Weight: 30 kg	Singapore	1988
W85	12.7x108mm	China	1985
FN BRG-15	15x115mm & 15.5x106mm	Belgium	1983
Type 77	12.7x108mm	China	1977
NSV machine gun	12.7x108mm	Russia	1971
MAC-58	.50 BMG	France	1956
KPV-14.5	14.5x114mm M41	Russia	1944
Vickers .50 machine gun	.50 BMG	UK	1940
Berezin UB	12.7x108mm	Russia/Soviet	1939
MG 131	13mm APT	Germany	1938
DShK	12.7x108mm	Russia/Soviet	1938
Breda M37	8x59mm RB Breda	Italy	1937
Fiat-Revelli Modello 1935	8x59mm RB Breda	Italy	1935
ZB-50	7.92x57mm Mauser	Czechoslovakia	1932
Ckm wz.30	7.92x57mm Mauser	Poland	1930
M2 Browning	.50 BMG	US	1921
M1917 Browning machine gun	.30-06 Springfield	US	1917
Skoda M1909	8x50mmR Mannlicher	Austro Hungary	1909
Schwarzlose MG M.07/12	8x50mmR Mannlicher	Austro Hungary	1907
Salvator-Dormus M1893	8x50mmR Mannlicher	Austro Hungary	1893