A MG by any other name

Burn the heretic!

Ty folks for the support. I will also note that the British gun is the "Vickers-MG", different weapon as was based on the Maxim but made to be lighter with improvements. Thus, the USA MG squad moves at 4" and the BEF moves at 6" - the Brits always more nimble than their USA counterparts it seems. Yes, I've seen the whole thing on the MG-34 as I was a gamer for several decades before AQ. And a player of Avalon Hills 'Squad Leader'. Good stuff.

Since the tank mounted gun is stable and has an almost unlimited supply of ammo (in game terms), it more closely resembles a HMG in its function. Again, the MG34 was mounted on tanks as secondary weapon and AA.

Then there is a problem with the definition. All of the "heavy machineguns" of the era fired rifle cartridges, 30 cal more or less, just lots of them.

Of course, the Germans were relatively unsportsmanlike and fielded tungsten-cored armor piercing bullets, but they were still rifle caliber rounds.

That is true.

It is equally true that the real world definition of "heavy" changes depending on the timeframe being studied.

As gamers, we are blessed with being able to define HMG for the scenario and go with it for gameplay. And the figures do not necessarily have to match perfectly as long as everybody knows what is being represented. (This prevents the GW syndrome from setting in.)

The M2H2, "Ma Deuce" .50 caliber machine gun was designed in 1918 as an anti-tank weapon, but not "issued" in WWI as the allies were afraid of the Germans copying it. The BAR was also available for use in WWI but not released. The Allies felt they had the weapons they needed and that desperate Germans would get more of an advantage than they would. Browning's weapons proved highly valuable in WWII. I'd much rather carry a BAR than an M16 or a SAW. A heavy fast bullet is more accurate than a light fast bullet.

Firing an H2M2 is quite a rush. There was a range I went to that would let you shoot one at the cost of $5.00 per round. A 50 round belt would be $250.00 and too much for me, but every time I went there I heard the unmistakeable sound of "Ma Deuce" doing her deeds. My Uncle Sam paid for me to shoot the M2H2.

Some authorities assign the value of heavy, medium and light MG to the number of crew needed to operate and carry the gun, the stand, the water jacket and tank (if used) and the ammo. I cannot stress enough that what makes a machine gun effective is the ammunition supply, and ammunition is heavy.
A bigger crew means a more stable platform: tripod vs. bipod vs. hand held. A bigger crew means a higher SUSTAINED rate of fire with the ability to change barrels etc. and fire thousands of rounds without jamming.

Scott has persuaded me that the MG in AQMF is a .50, as a rifle caliber weapon would not get a +1, no matter how fast it fired.

I'm pretty tolerant of spelling errors in this day and age. Autocorrect is my enema.

Perhaps we need to remember this is a game, and that in Reality Mars never invaded.