Weapons That Changed the World

S02:É01 - S02:E01 - The Ma Deuce

Could the mighty M2 be the greatest machine gun in history? Nicknamed the “Ma Deuce”, this American machine gun has been rocking the battlefield for over eighty years. No machine gun has made a greater impact on the world than the M2, the big fifty caliber created by legendary weapons designer John Browning. Capable of firing 600 devastating rounds a minute, host Wil Willis puts this legendary weapon to the ultimate series of tests and recreates Audi Murphy’s famous Medal of Honor moment from World War Two. Wil Willis also examines this monster of war’s evolutionary trail, firing the German Maxim at the National Firearms Museum. The Maxim was the gun that forced the Allies into trench warfare and, ultimately changing battle tactics forever. Will then travels to Oklahoma to tests out the American thirty caliber M1917 water-cooled MG and the M1919 air cooled version. Then, see the M2 in a head-to-head contest against international rival the Soviet DShK firing against an SUV packed with explosives. But the M2 isn’t just a combat sledgehammer, its long effective range also makes it a deadly sniper weapon. Wil joins former Marine firearms instructor Grant Reynolds in a long-range competition. Finally, Wil compares the classic M2 against its 21st Century version the XM806 in an ultimate shootout. Using 3D animations of each weapon system, military service men in live fire tests against explosive targets and human-like ballistic gel torsos, we discover why the M2 heavy machine is a weapon that changed the world.