The M45 Quadmount (nicknamed the "meat chopper" and "Krautmower" for its high rate of fire) was a weapon mounting consisting of four M2 Browning machine guns mounted in pairs on each side of an electrically powered turret. It was built by the Maxon Manufacturing Co. of New York to replace the earlier M33 twin mount.
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The Quad-50 was the principal weapon, along with the 40mm Bofors gun, of the many hundreds of highly mobile anti-aircraft artillery battalions deployed in the European Theater of Operations during World War II. These battalions provided invaluable air defense to much larger units, particularly field artillery. The Quad-50 units served as a very strong deterrent to strafing runs by enemy warplanes as, in addition to their gross firepower, the four 50 caliber barrels were capable of being "tuned" to converge upon a single point at distances which could be reset 'on the fly'.
The M45 found use throughout the war as a land-based weapon, particularly during the Battle of the Bulge. But contrary to popular belief the Germans maintained a viable air presence until and even after the Allies entered Germany, albeit only for the most critical missions, such as the massive Operation Bodenplatte New Year's Day 1945 attack. At Oppenheim, when the Allies were gathering to make a massive push after crossing the River Rhine, 248 German warplanes were used in an effort to destroy the bridge first. U.S. Army anti-aircraft artillery battalions massed, shot down 30% of the attacking force mainly with Quad-50s and prevented the bridge from being touched before Patton led the U.S. Third Army into Germany.
The TCM-20 was a postwar Israeli development of the M45 mount, equipped with two 20mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon in lieu of machine guns. In frontline Israeli service, it was replaced by the M163 Vulcan Air Defense System in the 1970s, but some reserve units still had TCM-20s in the 1980s. The weapon was also exported to several third-world countries.
The M45 can be combined with a variety of towed or self-propelled mounts. It can be combined with the M20 trailer, a light single axle trailer, or with the M17 trailer, a heavier tandem axle trailer based on a searchlight platform. When combined with the M17 trailer it was called the M51 Multiple Machine Gun Carriage, and when combined with the M20 trailer it was called the M55 Machine Gun Trailer Mount.
It can also be combined with the M3 Halftrack for greater mobility, in which it was called the M16 Multiple Gun Motor Carriage.
The M45 is operated by two loaders and one gunner. The mount is capable of traversing a full 360 degrees around, with an angle elevation between -10 and +90 degrees. Traverse, and elevation are electrically driven, powered by two 6 volt batteries that can be recharged by a generator.
The "tombstone" ammunition cans hold 200 rounds apiece.
M20 trailer
M17 trailer