Soviet 12.7mm vs Ma Deuce

[Juha]

Hello Tony

Yes, it was installed in some MS 406s. I don't know how well it worked, my source, Jukka Raunio's Lentäjän näkökulma II (1993), mentioned only the problems with UBs and mentioned that 12,7 mm Colt was installed in some Ms 406s without commenting how well it worked. (Finns called .50 Brownings as 12,7mm Colts). Also in combat reports from year 1944 there are sometimes mentioned that Berezin malfunctioned during combat, more often pilots just noted that the middle gun malfunctioned, the problem with the central gun of MS were rather common which was critical because the central gun was the only effective weapon in MS late in war, the 2 or 4 7,5mm wing mgs were by then rather ineffective against well protected Soviet a/c.

Nothing definite, I'm afraid. MS 406 isn't my speciality.
Juha

Ps. Fiins also installed Berezins to their Curtiss Hawk 75As (the export versions of P-36) as fuselage gun/guns in place of the 2 light mgs but from 43 onwards they substituted 12,7mm Colts and LKK 42s (Finnish copy of .50 Browning) for Berezins, because latter's unreliability under G-forces, partly because of weak belts.