After a Century of Service, This Gun Still Calls the Shots

This time on Battle Factory. After almost a century of service, this big gun still calls the shots. The perfect make-up for a disappearing act. And over land or underwater, this is the only way to go. Battle Factory steps beyond the front lines into top secret factories, where combat gear is built for battle. These dull grey steel rods and plain metal plates will be machined into a deadly arms weapon that's been the U.S. military's go-to big gun for almost a hundred years. The M2 machine gun is a .50 caliber belt-fed air-cooled heavy machine gun that's considered one of the most effective and destructive weapons of all time. The first gun capable of firing continuous rounds was the Gatling gun, invented in 1862 by Richard Gatling and employed by the Union Army during the Civil War. It was a rapid-fire machine gun, but still needed a person to hand-crank the barrels. By World War I, machine guns made use of the bullet's recoil force to reload the next bullet and became the first truly automatic weapon. The M2 was first designed by legendary gunmaker John Browning at the end of World War I. It has since been in production longer than any other machine gun. Today, the M2 machine gun is even used as a heavy weapon mounted on board armored vehicles and battleships and is still the top choice for anti-aircraft and infantry supports. The M2 breaks down into the receiver and the barrel. The barrel of the M2 starts as a one-meter-long blank made of cryo-treated weapons-grade steel, which means it's been cooled to minus 185 degrees Celsius to harden and strengthen the metal. It is tough enough to handle 600 rounds of ammo per minute and is tested to well over 15,000 rounds. First, the barrel blanks are heated in an oven to keep the barrel from warping during machining. Then, the blanks are mounted on a lathe where the center of the barrel is bored out. A drill bit creates the initial hole in the center of the barrel, which is then widened and honed. Once complete, the barrel is ready to be rifled. Rifling is a process that etches grooves into the interior walls that cause the bullet to spin as it flies, which improves aim and accuracy. While the barrel rotates counterclockwise, a drill bit turns clockwise to rifle the inside, creating helical grooves on the interior walls. When the bullet leaves the barrel, it'll be traveling at 840 meters per second. Next, a lathe scrapes off additional debris from the outside of the barrel. Once the barrel is complete, the work starts on the receiver. The M2's receiver is the part of the gun that makes it an automatic weapon. It houses all the operating parts, and it's built to receive the ammunition belt, and it can fire 10 rounds every second. The M2 is a recoil-operated machine gun, which means that the energy provided by the recoil powers the loading of the next round. Used cartridges are rejected from the bottom of the gun. Side plates make up the outer walls of the M2's receiver. The plates are magnetically held in place, and then cut on a computer-controlled cutting machine. The feed bracket, which feeds the belt and ammo into the receiver, is installed on the right side plate. Next, an orbital riveter rounds out the metal to secure the rivets. It is so powerful that it can manipulate the tough metal as easily as if it were clay. Heat is used to expand the rivets for a tight fit. Then the excess material is ground away. Next, the top plate is installed, followed by the bottom plate and the breech assembly. The M2 can be set up to fire a single shot or pinpoint accuracy up to 2,000 meters away, and then switch easily back over to sustained automatic firing mode, firing for as long as the trigger is held. The M2 hasn't changed much in the last century since Browning first designed it. In January 1945, in the north of France, the M2 lived up to its full potential. An American infantry company led by Lieutenant Audie Murphy was attacked by a German tank unit. Murphy ordered his men to scatter into nearby woods. He got behind his M2 machine gun to take on an entire German tank platoon. After an hour, the brave soldier and his machine gun held off six advancing heavy tanks. He foiled the counterattack and secured the American key position. After the war, Audie Murphy's art reflected his life. He starred in countless adventure films, many of them World War II movies. Murphy went from a machine gun-wielding hero to an icon of the silver screen. Next, the assembled receiver is sandblasted to scrape off a thin layer of steel. This is in preparation for exposing the receiver to chemical baths. First, the receiver is dipped in a chemical bath that makes it rust-resistant. Then, it's neutralized in a water bath and finally coated with chrome sealant. Then, the receiver is baked in an oven for four hours at 80 degrees Celsius to dry out every crack and crevice and prevent the internal rusting that could weaken the gun. Now, the M2 is ready for assembly. The barrel support is attached with holes that help vent the heat created by semi-automatic fire. Then, the final attachments are added and it's ready for testing. Once the M2 is built, it's taken out to the firing range. A hundred rounds are cycled through it so that every moving part is tested for functionality and accuracy. Once the M2 is ready, it's sent out for active duty. Coming up on Battle Factory. Camouflage cover-up that really covers up. And the driving, climbing, go-anywhere amphibian. They're just globs of color now. But when applied to a soldier's face, they could paint him right out of the picture. Maybe save his life. Camouflage make-up is designed to make a soldier disappear. This military-grade compound is a long way from department store concealer. It's sweat-proof, infrared-resistant, and stays on in a drenching downpour. In the early 20th century, combat became more covert. And by World War II, soldiers were applying camouflage make-up to hide in plain sight. In the jungles of Vietnam, Navy SEALs always wore make-up during their operations, and became known to the Vietnamese as the Men with Green Faces. Camo make-up breaks down into the case and three different shades of paint. The base of the camo paint is solidified vegetable oil. It's basically the same stuff you'd use to make French fries. It's sectioned out into blocks in preparation for heating and set aside. Then, colored powder is measured out. The pigments are shades of green and brown that can be adjusted for jungle operations and nighttime raids. The secret anti-infrared ingredient makes the wearer less visible to thermal imaging scopes. Exposed skin reflects light and attracts attention, so camouflage is often applied in two colors in an irregular pattern. Shiny areas are painted with a dark color and shadow areas are colored with a light color. Next, a polysorbate is weighed out. This emulsifier allows the ingredients to bind together. It also makes the paint creamy so it's easy to apply and remove. A preservative ensures that the paint won't spoil in the field. Finally, a thickener is added to make the paint sweat-proof. Then the ingredients are blended together. Each color has its own mixing vat. Like a chef's recipe, the ingredients are added in a prescribed order, starting with the vegetable oil bricks. First, the oil bricks are heated to 90 degrees Celsius to melt them into a thick fluid. Then, the powdered pigment is poured in, followed by the rest of the ingredients. The concoction is mixed for two hours until the blend is smooth and creamy. When the paint is complete, it will not only be long-lasting and sweat-proof, but perfectly safe to wear. In the days before the D-Day invasion of Normandy, a legendary paratrooper unit were the first soldiers known to use camo paint. Not as camouflage, but to strike fear into the hearts of the enemy. The demolition squad shaved their heads down to mohawks, covered their faces in war paint, and earned the nickname the Filthy Thirteen when they refused to wash their uniforms until victory was theirs. Their daring exploits were mythologized in the 60's war movie, The Dirty Dozen. Once the paint is ready, mirror cases are placed on a rotating carousel. Each of the three colors is injected into a separate compartment. The case is then fed down the line onto a vibrating conveyor. The vibrations settle the paint into its compartments. Each compact is then tapped to settle the paint further, checked for flaws, and sent to packaging. Every compact is labeled with the ingredients and expiry date. Then they're boxed for shipping to soldiers in the field. In the combat zone, soldiers will often work in pairs to apply the camo paint. Soldiers, especially special ops and snipers, wear camouflage uniforms to blend into the background. Camo paint completes their covert coverage, so they can get to their target before they become one. Coming up on Battle Factory. Wheels turn to paddles when this road warrior hits the surf. Once these eight wheels are locked on, this all-terrain vehicle won't just roll, it'll swim. The Argo Amphibious ATV is a nimble personnel carrier that can handle rocky roads or muddy swamps, plunging into rushing rivers and paddling through deep water. Light enough to drop out of a helicopter, the Argo is the go-to ATV for special ops units, border patrollers, and first responders. Amphibious vehicles were first developed for the military in the years leading up to World War II. They combined elements of cars and boats to access places that neither alone could get to. By 1944, when the Allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy, larger amphibious vehicles were a critical part of the arsenal. Today, the lightweight and versatile Argo is the evolution of these first-generation amphibians. The Argo breaks down into the engine, the transmission, the wheels, and the body. Part of what makes the Argo amphibious is its lightweight, waterproof body. Unlike a car, the ATV's outer body is made of two pieces of polyethylene joined together in a watertight seal. In a large thermal-forming machine, a sheet of specially designed plastic is heated to 177 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes. The machine inflates the softened poly, forming a kind of plastic balloon. As it rises, the metal dye rises up against the plastic surface, and the air is sucked back into the machine. This negative pressure molds the plastic against the dye to form the shape of the ATV's upper section. Once it's cooled and hardened, a tech drops a jig onto the molded plastic. The jig lines up with the body shape and guides where to punch out holes for wiring and throttle controls. Then, the engine hood and waterproof battery compartment are removed from the mold and trimmed of excess plastic. The bottom half of the body looks and performs like the hull of a boat. Holes are routed for axles and water drainage. The next step is to make the chassis. The lightweight frame of the ATV is made of high-tensile-strength steel alloy, cut and welded into shape, which will support the body, the engine, and suspension system. Then, the chassis is set aside until assembly. The key to Argo's go-anywhere capability is its state-of-the-art Admiral transmission system. Almost 40 different gears will go into this revolutionary transmission, fully engineered and manufactured on-site. The gears are constructed on a computer-controlled machine that cuts each gear out of high-strength steel alloy. Jets of coolant keep temperature and friction down. When a gear is finished, an automated rotary arm extracts it from the machine and picks up another piece of steel for milling. The Admiral eight-wheel drive transmission means every wheel is getting power from the engine simultaneously and rolling independently. This gives the Argo incredible mobility. It can pull 360 turns with ease and ride over just about any surface. After the ATV played a critical role on the beaches of Normandy, it would help to make inroads in the liberation of German-occupied Europe. In 1945, as the Nazis were retreating through Holland, they flooded the landscape to try and bog their Allied pursuers in the mud. In their attempt to escape capture, they also put the occupied Dutch beyond help. If the Allied forces couldn't traverse the terrain to reach the Dutch people in time, it wasn't just delaying their liberation. It also meant death by starvation. Coming up on Battlefactory… The Allies send help by getting on board a buffalo. In the final days of World War II, the German army was on the run in what was once occupied Holland. They tried to create distance between them and their Allied pursuers by flooding the landscape, which stranded the starving Dutch citizens. But the amphibious vehicle of the day, the buffalo, was able to get troops and supplies through the water and over the mud. The amphibious vehicle foiled the Germans' plans and became instrumental in the liberation of Holland. Once construction of the Argo amphibious vehicle is complete, components are assembled. First, the transmission is dropped into the chassis and secured. Then, the chassis is lowered into the bottom section of the molded body. The transmission and drive chains are cabled and connected. The frame is secured and the engine, mechanics and electronics are installed. A self-adhesive waterproof gasket is applied to the edges of the bottom section of the body. The upper body is lowered onto the bottom and the sections are clamped together to make sure the watertight adhesive bonds. The two halves of the ATV are riveted together to keep it watertight. With the body complete, the wheel assemblies are bolted in. Gaskets surround the axles to keep the water out. The tires have a raised tread enabling the Argo to swim in deep water. When the wheels spin in the water, it acts like a paddle so that the Argo is propelled forward. Rough edges are trimmed of excess plastic. Dust is blown clear and the ATV gets a function check. The battery is sparked and the engine gets a good rev to make sure the Argo is alive and kicking. Now that it's field ready, the Argo is put to the test. The Argo tears through the course, swimming through deep water and skimming over rough terrain. Steep curves and sharp turns are child's play for this agile ATV. But on military assignments around the world, the Argo is all business. Explore.VA.gov