[Mr Rogers]

Hmmm....over 4 rounds a second is inadequate?

Seems to me like a good idea. If you aren’t hitting it with 4.3 rounds/second, you just aren’t hitting it. And if you are, wouldn’t that be enough?

[JasonC]

Yes, it is inadequate. Often one has only a snapshot for a second or two at most, and frequently at range, as in up to 1000 yards away. Half the bullets fired in the brief time window when an enemy is exposed means half the likelihood of hitting, pretty nearly. Halving the ROF is not acceptable. (If the gunner wants it, he just uses short bursts).

[El Gato]

Seems to me like a good idea. If you aren’t hitting it with 4.3 rounds/second, you just aren’t hitting it. And if you are, wouldn’t that be enough? Fine for the anti-material role or other discrete target situation. But the M-2 is often used , perhaps most often, for the area suppression role. For that you want lots of metal downrange, fast.

[El Gato]

over 4 rounds a second is inadequate?

As heavy machine guns go, the 550 rpm of the M-2 is considered slow, half that would be glacial. Remember these things are often mounted on vehicles, to be used for suppressive fire, anti-material fire (against light skinned vehicles, like Jihadi car or truck bombs) and even in an anti-aircraft role. In the area suppression role, they are fired in a very short burst, traversed, fired again, and repeat as needed to cover the area of responsiblity.

They were once used as defensive armament for the B-17, B-24, B-29 and even the B-52, in a quad mount in the tail on all but the -H models. They also armed most US fighter aircraft up through the Korean war. The F-86, some models anyway, had 6 of 'em in the nose, to get a high enough rate of fire. (i.e. 3,300 rpm, still only about 1/2 that of the M-61 Vulcan which replaced the M-2 in both the -H model BUFF and many fighters, including today's F-22 and F-35. Although of course the M-2 doesn't throw explosive rounds.

[Renfield]

“...Hmmm....over 4 rounds a second is inadequate?

Seems to me like a good idea. If you aren’t hitting it with 4.3 rounds/second, you just aren’t hitting it. And if you are, wouldn’t that be enough?...”

Probably is enough for stationary targets. M2 gets used in the anti-aircraft role occasionally, though, and anyone trying to shoot down a jet or helo wants all the rounds he can spit.