Oldest serving vet finally retires!

After 94 years!!!

World War/Cold War/Gulf War Veteran to Retire After 94 Years Of Service - Bearing Arms

M2HB Machine Gun #324 entered service with the US Army in 1921.
Photo from Bearing Arms.com

"Ma Deuce" number 324 was returned to Anniston Army Depot for it's first ever overhaul and upgrade.

First.

Ever.

And the reason it's being retired?

From (U.S. Army Found an M2 .50 caliber Machine-Gun Still Shooting Perfectly After 90 Years of Service | RealClearDefense) the original article:

Modifications made to the weapon in the field mean part of the receiver would have to be removed through welding and replaced with new metal, a process which usually means the receiver is scrap. 

“I’d rather put this one on display than send it to the scrap yard,” said Clark, adding the weapon’s age makes it appealing as a historical artifact. 

Currently, the 389th M2 is on display in the Small Arms Repair Facility. There is an approval process the older weapon would have to go through in order to be similarly displayed. Clark and Jeff Bonner, the Weapons Division chief, are researching and beginning that process.

So there's hope.

For the vets reading this, the replacement M2A1 will  have has* fixed headspace and timing, so they don't need to be adjusted every time the barrel is changed.

For those who have no experience with this, take my word for it that this is a major improvement.

Also, the fact that the "A1" model of a weapon is only being introduced after 94 years...!

Yet another bit of proof, if proof were needed, that John Moses browning (pbuh) was the greatest firearms designer ever.


*Updated to reflect the fact that upgrades have already begun.