Placeoforigin / France
Usedby / France, Former colonies
Designed / 1952
Variants / NF-1
Length / 1080 mm
Barrellength / 600 mm
Cartridge / 7.5x54 French
Caliber / 7.5 mm
Action / Lever-Delayed Blowback
Rateoffire / 900 round/min
Muzzlevelocity / 830 m/s
Feedsystem / Belt
AA-52 GPMG
WEAPON / ROF / DAM / PEN / BLK / MAG / SS/BRST / RNG10 / 4 / 2-3-nil / 7 / Various belts / 2/6 / 65m
ROUND
MAG
WEIGHT / 9.75kg
PRICE
OTHER
The AA-52 (Arme Automatique Transformable Modèle 1952, "Transformable automatic weapon model 1952") is one of the first French produced guns of the post World War II era. Also called "Cinquante-Deux" (French for "52").
The weapon is still used today as a vehicle-mounted weapon; however, it has been phased out for infantry use in favour of the lighter Minimi.
History
The AA-52 machine gun was conceived and developed following the French military's experiences in Indochina during the early 1950s. At that time, the French army was equipped with an assortment of weapons from English and American arsenals, as well as some German weapons from the Second World War.
Effective supply of ammunition and replacement parts was an almost insoluble task and the army decided to adopt a standard machine gun. The result was the AA-52, conceived for easy production. The construction was of simple welded stamped sheet steel.
Overview
The AA-52 was an exception among modern machine guns by its blowback system of operation; the force applied to the cartridge at the time of firing is used to send back the breech and introduce a new cartridge. This system works well with pistol cartridges in submachine guns, but for rifle cartridges a more complex mechanism was required for safety reasons. The AA-52 uses Lever-Delayed Blowback a two part breech-block: a control lever amplifier maintains the part before the block while the back part begins to move. When the cam crosses a certain distance, the block is sent to the rear. To facilitate the ejection of the cartridges, the chamber has grooves allowing some gas to be dissipated between the chamber wall and the cartridge. A cartridge fired by an AA-52 can be easily identified by the damage caused during this process.
The AA-52 can be fired from the hip/a bipod or a tripod. When used with a tripod for continuous fire, the gun is fitted with a heavier barrel. In the portable configuration, the AA-52 is a relatively heavy weapon to carry. An unusual detail of the AA-52 is the presence of a strut under the butt to take the weight of the weapon. Another significant difference is in barrel changes, for many weapons this is a simple and quick task but on the AA-52 the bipod is a permanent fixture to the barrel making the process more difficult, Another problem is the AA-52 lacking a front handguard making the weapon more clumbersome.
Variants
NF-1
The AA-52 was conceived originally to use 7.5 mm cartridges that were used in the French FM-24/29. The general adoption of the 7.62mm NATO cartridge reduced the opportunity for export sales, and the gun was adapted for the 7.62 mm calibre.
An AA-52 mounted on top of a Leclerc heavy tank / / /