Posted on 03/02/2006 8:07:19 PM PST by fso301
well I believe that the ammo itself is still vaccum-sealed.
That is certainly rust on the weapon and I believe that's rust on the clips as well.
The rust is on the mount. The heat shroud for the barrel looks ok.
I looked at the hi-res and the M2 actually looks okay. I was always pretty anal about keeping the M2's on my Abrams tanks clean. This one is allright. Probably never even been shot.
Dunno... but I am willing to bet dollars to donuts right now that that weapon is no-longer in that condition.
Someone up the chain of command has seen that pic by now and started the s**t rolling downhill.
That squidly on the gun is not going to be smiling for a few days to come.
Bank on that.
well, the ammo is stored in metal cans with a rubber gasket to seal the lid. But we all know that a rubber seal from WWII won't keep that ammo air tight.
All are corroded. The corrosion on the steel portions is commonly called rust. The bluish colored powdering corrosion on the casing and projectile is typical of copper alloys (brass) corroding.
3 basic oxides of iron (rust)
Ferric oxide Fe2 O3 (red)
Ferrous oxide FeO (black)
Iron oxide Fe3 O4 (black)
We used that corroded ammo problem (salt water spray environment) as a nifty excuse to test fire the guns every day. We broke out clean ammo every day. We'd use up the old stuff on fun "mad minutes."
If you look closely, you will see that the weapon itself if very nicely oiled.
I'm afraid to say, this is a navy problem, not the young marine standing there!
051012-N-2984R-005 Norfolk, Va. (Oct. 12, 2005) - Draftsman 2nd Class Arturo Chavez stands a force security watch with a .50 caliber machine gun on the fantail of the Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) as the ship prepares to get underway from Naval Station Norfolk. Truman will be conducting carrier qualifications and sustainment training with embarked Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3) off the East Coast of the United States. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate Airman Ricardo J. Reyes (RELEASED)
It looks as if this ammo has been outdoors for quite awhile. Really poor condition. Other than that, it's a party mix. Some crunchy, some sweet.
I can't tell by the exact scale of the photo, but unless there's some severe distortion of perspective, that ammo looks bigger than .50 caliber to me. How do we verify the age and accuracy of the photo and news reporting? Do news reporters actually know what a real .50 cal. looks like. Maybe that's a .25 mm or .40 mm cannon shell.
blue or green corrosion is typical on copper and brass, especially if its been exposed to salt water. The rust I was refering to appears to be rust dust that came off the beltand was left on the casing
I'm sorry, but those rounds look much larger than 50 caliber.
it's a .50
Great minds think alike! I just said the same thing.
Imagine putting a round that size into a Barrett. Doesn't compute.
you have a Barrett? there's obviously a wide angle lens here.
Not rust on the weapon itself. On the mount, yes.
But they have corroded. You can see the green patina that corroded develops after some time exposed to the elements.
The gunner should be on a least an article 15 for have corroded ammo and links rusted and brass corrode. In combat that weapon would probably have a malfunction within the first or second burst of ten rounds each.
Where are the officers in charge of this idiot maning that BMG?
It's a squid, not a Jarhead, manning the gun. Still, lousy shape for the mount to be in and the ammo looks damn scary.
No GMC worth his salt would ever let a mount deteriorate into that state.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.