13.2×99mm Hotchkiss Long

The 13.2 × 99 mm Hotchkiss Long (also known as: 13.2 Mle. 1930, 13.2 Breda, 13.2 Japanese, etc), is a heavy machine gun cartridge developed by France during the interwar period for the Hotchkiss 13.2 mm machine gun.[1] It saw major use as a heavy machine gun cartridge from the 1930s throughout WWII by a variety of nations due to the export success of the 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun, but was eventually superseded in popularity by the 12.7 × 99 mm Browning (.50 BMG) after the war and eventually disappeared once the Browning cartridge became NATO standard.[2]

13.2×99mm Hotchkiss Long
From left: 13.2 × 99 mm Hotchkiss Long, 13.2 × 96 mm Hotchkiss Short, 13.2 × 92 mm SR Mauser
TypeMachine gun cartridge
Place of originFrance[1]
Service history
In service1926–1949
Used bySee Users
WarsWorld War II
Production history
DesignerHotchkiss et Cie / Société Française des Munitions[1]
Designed1925[1]
Variants13.2×96mm Hotchkiss[2]
Specifications
Bullet diameter13.5 mm (0.53 in)
Neck diameter14.48 mm (0.570 in)
Shoulder diameter18.5 mm (0.73 in)
Base diameter20.2 mm (0.80 in)
Rim diameter20.3 mm (0.80 in)
Rim thickness2 mm (0.079 in)
Case length99.2 mm (3.91 in)
Overall length136.6 mm (5.38 in)
Ballistic performance
Bullet mass/type Velocity Energy
52 g (802 gr) solid 790 m/s (2,600 ft/s) 16,319 J (12,036 ft⋅lbf)

History

The 13.2 × 99 mm Hotchkiss cartridge was developed in 1925 by the company Hotchkiss et Cie and the French Society of Ammunition "Société Française des Munitions" (SFM) as part of a longer development period to produce a modern heavy machine gun cartridge for the in-development 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine gun.[1] By 1926 the new weapon entered production and quickly gained popularity.[1] By 1935 the weapon and a license to produce it had been purchased by both Italy and Imperial Japan, becoming the Breda Model 1931 machine gun and Type 93 Heavy Machine Gun in each respective country.

Even though the cartridge saw massive success on the export market, the French military found it to wear out gun barrels too quickly and launched a project to revamp the cartridge. This eventually lead to Hotchkiss replacing the design with a slightly shortened version in 1935, becoming the 13.2 × 96 mm Hotchkiss "Short". This shortened version featured the same overall dimensions as the original cartridge but featured a slightly shortened neck and a reworked projectile shape, resulting in less wear on the gun barrel when firing.[1] The introduction of this new design didn't however stop continued use and production of the 13.2×99mm Hotchkiss "Long" cartridge by countries whom had already adopted it and in 1939 the cartridge saw new interest on the export market due to the newly developed 13.2 mm FN Browning aircraft machine gun, which was offered in both 12.7 × 99 mm Browning and 13.2 × 99 mm Hotchkiss "Long".

During WWII the 13.2 × 99 mm Hotchkiss cartridge saw major use in combat by both Allied and Axis forces, mainly being used in 13.2 mm Hotchkiss machine guns and its license produced derivatives. By the end of the war however the cartridge started being superseded by the very similar 12.7 × 99 mm Browning cartridge as used in the spreading American .50 M2 Browning heavy machine gun, eventually leading to the death of both 13.2 mm Hotchkiss cartridges post war.[2]

Cartridge types
Combat ammunition
Cartridge Origin Type Source
Balle de service  France Ball Full metal jacket [3]
Balle perforante  France AP Armour-piercing [3]
Balle traçante  France T Tracer [3]
Balle perforante traçante  France AP-T Armour-piercing tracer [3]
Balle incendiaire  France I Incendiary [3]
Balle explosive traçante  Belgium HEF-T High-explosive fragmentation tracer [3]
13,2 mm granat m/44  Sweden AP-HEI Armour-piercing high-explosive incendiary [4]

Users

Weapons in 13.2×99mm

See also

References
  1. "13.2 x 99 Hotchkiss municion". reibert.info. Archived from the original on 2021-02-22. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  2. "13.2 x 96.25 Hotchkiss municion". municion.org. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  3. "XII. Les munitions F.N. calibre 13,2 mm". La mitrailleuse Browning FN (in French). Belgium: Fabrique Nationale Herstal. 1939. pp. 24, 25.
  4. Sahlberg, Christian. "13,2x99". amkat.se. Retrieved 2023-01-17.
  5. "13.2 x 99 Hotchkiss municion". municion.org. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2022-01-10.
  6. Amregister Fl, Ammunitionsregister för flottan, 1947 års upplaga. Stockholm: Ammunitionssektionen vid marinförvaltningens artilleribyrå. 1947.
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