M45 Quadmount

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M45 Quadmount
M45 on an M20 trailer in the Musée des Blindés
Type	Anti-aircraft gun Heavy machine gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
Wars	World War II First Indochina War Korean War Vietnam War Portuguese Colonial War Indo-Pakistani War of 1965 Nicaraguan Revolution
Specifications
Mass	2,396 lb (1,087 kg)
Barrel length	5 ft 3 in (1.6 m) L/50[1]
Shell	.50 BMG (12.7×99mm NATO)
Shell weight	21 oz (.6 kg)
Caliber	0.50 in (12.7 mm)
Action	Short recoil-operated
Elevation	-5° to +90°
Traverse	360°[1]
Rate of fire	575 x 4 = 2,300 rpm
Muzzle velocity	2,900 ft/s (890 m/s)
Effective firing range	4,900 ft (1.5 km) (effective AA) 15,000 ft (4.5 km) (maximum AA)
Maximum firing range	1.1 mi (1.8 km) (horizontal) 1.6 mi (2.5 km) (maximum)
Feed system	Belt-fed (M2 or M9 links)[1]

The M45 Quadmount was a towed anti-aircraft gun consisting of four .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns mounted in pairs on either side of an armored open-top gunner's compartment with electrical laying. It was developed by the W. L. Maxson Corporation to replace the earlier M33 twin mount (also from Maxson).^[2] Although designed as an anti-aircraft weapon, it was also used against ground targets, where it earned the nicknames "meat chopper" and "Krautmower".^[2] Introduced in 1944, it saw service as late as the Vietnam War.