This is an excellent example of a current production, full automatic M2 "MA-Deuce" 50 cal Browning machine gun, as manufactured by the RAMO company of Nashville, Tennessee. Any one that has been in the military or watched a good war movie lately will readily recognize this as the infamous "MA-Deuce" M2 HB MG. This model was originally developed by John Browning in the late 1920s and has been used in every major battle by all U.S. Forces and countless allies throughout the post WWI time frame. It has been mounted and used on both vehicles, tanks and even aircraft and is still in use today in the Middle East conflict. This example was manufactured using newly made RAMO commercial parts to include one of their new RAMO receivers. The right side receiver plate is marked SER. NO.003798/ MACHINE GUN CAL. 50 M-2/MANUFACTURED BY/RAMO MANUFACTURING INC./NASHVILLE, TN. /USA" over their "Elephant" logo. This is a fully automatic, M2 50 cal, machine gun with heavy barrel. It comes with a M39 pedestal mount, steel construction finished in green and gold paint, overall height (oriented with gun horizontal) 70 inches, with a 30 inch wide base, a steel ballistic shield measuring 24 inches wide and 50 inches tall, a set of rubber padded shoulder rests and a rubberized canvas sling seat for high-angle fire. The base is marked "LUKENS FLANGE/COALSVILLE, PA. In operation, this mount would be equipped with a drum-style belt carrier and "spider-web" anti-aircraft sight (not included), for use in close-in defense against enemy aircraft, either with a conventional air-cooled Browning M2 (as seen here) or with an anti-aircraft particular water-cooled variant of the M2. A typical armament of U.S. Navy ships going into World War II, several of the ships parked on "Battleship Row" during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor are noted as contributing to the defense of the American base with weapons of this type. Though both the mount and the M2 were well designed machines, the raw intensity of Japanese naval air attacks would lead to a progressive shift to heavier A-A screens; larger caliber guns, more guns, powered mounts, and more sophisticated sights would be the order of the day, though many smaller American vessels would continue to use mounts of this type.