Французский универсальный пулемет AA-52

French general purpose machine gun

The AA 52 (full designation in French: 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. It was manufactured by the French government owned Manufacture d'armes de Saint Étienne (MAS) company. The AA 52 is still used today as a vehicle mounted weapon due to large quantities in service, but has been replaced in the helicopter role by the Belgian FN MAG, starting with the EC 725 Caracal of the special operations units and the Air Force search and rescue teams. The AA 52 had been largely phased out for infantry use in favour of the lighter FN Minimi but remains in use.

The AA 52 general purpose machine gun was conceived and developed following the French military's experiences in the First Indochina War during the early 1950s. At that time, the French army was equipped with an assortment of weapons from British and American sources, 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 ease of production. The construction is of simple welded stamped sheet steel. The AA 52 was partially withdrawn from the service of the French army in 2008. It was replaced in the 2010s by 10,881 FN MAG general purpose machine guns.

The AA 52 is a peculiar weapon among modern machine guns because it uses lever delayed blowback operation, also seen in the FAMAS rifle, manufactured at the same factory. When firing, the pressure pushing the case head rearward initiates an impulse on a cam that sends the bolt carrier rearward. After a certain distance, a link (in this case the firing pin) pulls the bolt head, hence extracting the spent case. Since there is no primary extraction, the chamber is fluted to allow powder gases to flow back, unsticking the case from the chamber wall as with Heckler & Koch–type roller delayed blowback weapons. The feed and trigger mechanisms are derived from the MG 42. The AA 52 can be used as a light machine gun with a bipod or as a heavy machine gun with a tripod. When used with a tripod for continuous fire, the gun is fitted with a heavier barrel. In the light machine gun configuration, the AA 52 is a relatively light weapon to carry. The AA 52 can be fired from the shoulder, but this is slightly awkward because of the position of the handle; however, the bipod can be used as a handguard when not in use. The barrel is changed by pressing a latch and rotating it a quarter of a turn. The APX(SOM) telescopic sight used on the MAS 49 and the FR F1 sniper rifle can be mounted on the AA 52 as well as an infrared night sight.

The AA 52 originally used the standard 7.5×54mm French cartridge. The general adoption of the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge reduced the opportunity for export sales, and the gun was adapted for this standard NATO calibre. The new, adapted gun was designated AANF 1 (also ANF 1 or NF 1).

The MAC 58 was a version of the AA 52 chambered in .50 BMG. A few prototypes were tested and one retained for preserial production, but it never reached production due to the large quantity of US M2 Browning machine guns already in service with the French armed forces.