The Becker Type M2 is an early German autocannon developed during World War I.
History[]
Originally based on the 19mm Becker cannon designed by the Conder brothers, development for the M2 commenced and was already in full swing when the German War Ministry called for a request for a cannon under 37mm in caliber that could fire in a 10-round burst that weighed less than 70 kilograms (150 pounds). Shortly after, tests commenced with this weapon mounted in a Gotha G.I bomber, but these proved unsatisfactory.
Despite unsatisfactory results, some potential of the M2 was seen, so the Spandau arsenal helped to refine the design even further; due to this, an order for 120 of these weapons to be produced by Becker was placed by the German War Ministry. In addition to the 120 produced, an unknown number were also produced by MAN and the Spandau arsenal. Spandau later decided to refine the design even further again and produced the Spandau Type 3.
During World War I, the Becker was used in bombers such as the Friedrichshafen G.III and AEG G.IVk. The Becker was also tested in smaller engined planes, but this wasn't as successful, as the M2 could not be synchronized due to its operating principles. To combat this, many improvements to the M2 were attempted, such as fitting the gun to a fighter plane with a pusher configuration as tested on the Albatros D.VI. The M2 also was intended to be installed on the AGO S.I and Hansa V.I fighters, but these could not be completed before the Armistice.
After the war, the M2's patent was bought by Seebach Maschinenbau Aktiengesellschaft (SEMAG), and redesigned into a 25mm cannon known as the SEMAG L in 1921. However, SEMAG itself collapsed in 1924 and was taken over by Oerlikon, who used the M2 and SEMAG L as the basis for their famed 20mm L70 cannon.
At least 539 M2s were produced by Becker, the Spandau arsenal and MAN; only two or three are known to exist today.
Design Details[]
This slimline autocannon used API blowback for an action. The M2 used a rather strange curved box magazine mounted on top of the weapon that weighed 5 kg (11 lb), and could hold either 10, 12 or 15 rounds. The weapon was fully automatic and fired at a rate of 325 rounds per minute; the older Spandau Type 3 fired at 250 rounds per minute.
It had a muzzle velocity of 490 metres per second (1,600 feet per second), which was considered low compared to the rifle caliber machine guns in use at the time; however, its performance was regarded as respectable when compared to autocannons of the time like the QF 1-pounder.
Variants[]
- Spandau Type 3
Refined version of the Becker M2.
- SEMAG L
25mm version of the Becker M2 that was heavier and fired slower.