AA-52 machine gun

AA-52
AA-52 mounted on a Leclerc main battle tank
Type	General-purpose machine gun
Place of origin	France
Service history
In service	1952–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	First Indochina War Algerian war Suez Crisis Lebanese Civil War Gulf War Bosnian War War in Afghanistan 2011 Libyan uprising Operation Serval
Production history
Designed	1952
Manufacturer	Manufacture d'armes de Saint-Étienne (MAS)
Variants	NF-1 M.A.C. 58
Specifications
Weight	9.970 kg
Length	1080 mm
Barrel length	600 mm
Cartridge	7.5×54mm French 7.62×51mm NATO
Calibre	7.5 mm 7.62 mm
Action	Lever-delayed blowback
Rate of fire	900 round/min
Muzzle velocity	830 m/s
Effective firing range	600 metres
Maximum firing range	3,200 metres
Feed system	Belt
Sights	Iron Removable APX (SOM) telescopic sights IR scope

The AA-52 (full designation in French: Arme Automatique Transformable Modèle 1952, "Transformable automatic weapon model 1952"), also known as "La Nana", 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. The AA-52 is still in use in Afghanistan.

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The AA-52 was partially withdrawn from the service of the French army in 2008.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 2010's 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 wall chamber as with Heckler & Koch–type roller-delayed blowback weapons.