M247H machine gun

The M247H Heavy Machine Gun is the most widely used turreted machine gun in service with the UNSC Defense Force. It is manufactured by Misriah Armory.

Overview
The M247H is an air-cooled, gas-operated, electrically fired, linkless-fed weapon that fires 12.7mm High Velocity, Explosive rounds. It is generally used to provide suppressing fire, point-to-point cover fire, and, predominantly, direct fire in an anti-personnel role, though it is also capable of destroying light vehicles with relative ease.

Due to its light weight and ease of use, it is used at most UNSC bases and high-priority sites. Reports indicate that personnel have been seen firing the M247H from the hip to pursue enemies beyond the fixed weapon's range, though such situations are unlikely unless performed by a Spartan. Even so, such reports remain unsubstantiated.

Design details
The standard configuration of the M247H is affixed to a tripod turret base, similar to the older AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun. Like many other UNSCDF support weapons, the M247H is fitted with a metal shield near the rear of its barrel to protect the user, though some versions, including the one mounted on the UH-144S Falcon, lack this feature. The ammunition box is located behind this shield; the standard box contains 200 rounds, though this capacity varies. The firing mechanism and trigger are located at the rear of the weapon and are accompanied by a pair of handles, allowing the operator to rotate it 180 degrees.

Variants

 * M247T Medium Machine Gun - The M247T is the most ubiquitous variant of the M247H. It is coaxially mounted on the M808B Scorpion and M850 Grizzly main battle tanks, and is pintle mounted on the standard M808 Scorpion.
 * M247 General Purpose Machine Gun - The M247 GPMG is a scaled-down version of the standard M247H Heavy Machine Gun that is chambered for the smaller 7.62mm cartridge. Due to its lighter weight and decreased bulk, it is more portable than the standard model.

Gameplay
The weapon itself is excellent against enemy infantry in large numbers, but proves a major disadvantage in the fact that the player is entirely exposed, as well as the fact that walking with the turret heavily slows down mobility, leaving the player extremely vulnerable.

Trivia

 * Chief Warrant Officer Jorge-052, a SPARTAN-II commando, utilized this weapon throughout the Human-Covenant War. His customized M247H lacked the shield plate, which was replaced by a heat cover over the barrel and was colored differently from the standard version. He also modified the handles of the gun to be easier on the wrist.
 * The M247H is erroneously labeled as the AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun in Bungie.net game stats. The weapon's description on the official Halo: Reach website erroneously claims that the M247H uses 7.62mm cartridges, which are actually used by the M247 GPMG.
 * When firing, the weapon makes the same sound as the AIE-486H HMG, including the sound of the gun spooling up.
 * Like the AIE-486H HMG featured in Halo 3, if the Infinite Ammo setting is active, the detached turret will not have unlimited ammunition. However, if the Bottomless Clip setting is enabled, detached turrets will have infinite ammunition.
 * In the level Lone Wolf, Sangheili will use these turrets, although Sangheili would generally rather die than use human weaponry.
 * Early concept art by Isaac Hannaford for the Falcon's side-door guns closely resembles the AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun from Halo 3, but was later changed to the M247H Heavy Machine Gun.
 * The M247H tends to overheat after extensive use, forcing the user to wait for the gun to cool down.

List of appearances

 * Deliver Hope
 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo 4