Abstract
The M2 machine gun has a Stellite-lined barrel. When Saboted-Light-Armor-Penetrator (SLAP) ammunition is fired in M2 barrels, the bore often constricts below the minimum diameter in less than 2,500 rounds. The requirement is 10,000 rounds. When fired with ball ammunition, the M2 barrel exceeds that requirement. Although SLAP ammunition is not widely used, solving the wear issue with SLAP may improve the barrel life with ball ammunition. The following work is presented: a literature search, an analysis of the wear phenomenon and manufacturing process, as well as recommendations to improve M2 barrel life. Brief mention will be made of prototype small caliber gun barrels being fabricated and tested. Previous work and testing conducted herein find that the bore constriction is most likely caused by inadequate shrink fit during the barrel assembly process. That is, test results find some correlation between barrels with low round count and non-conforming barrel assembly.
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