Editing M2 Browning (section)

==Myths regarding M2 Browning use against personnel==
It is often stated in military circles that the use of the M2 Browning against human targets is prohibited under the [[Geneva Conventions]]. This is false; the Geneva Convention, contrary to popular belief, does not regulate the use of any weapon of war. It only regulates the treatment and protection of prisoners of war and non-combatants.<ref name="ABA Journal">{{cite journal |last1=Keeva |first1=Steven |date=December 1991 |title=Lawyers in the War Room |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AmTKRXXaeOUC&pg=PA55 |journal=[[ABA Journal]] |page=55 |issn=0747-0088 |access-date=12 April 2016}}</ref><ref name="Killing a Myth">{{cite web |last=Parks |first=Maj. W. Hays |date=January 1988 |title=Killing a Myth |url=https://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/killing-myth |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307164434/https://www.mca-marines.org/gazette/killing-myth |archive-date=7 March 2016 |access-date=12 April 2016 |website=[[Marine Corps Association]]}}</ref> There has been controversy surrounding the use of .50 caliber ammunition against enemy personnel, due to the explosive and incendiary [[Raufoss Mk 211]] ammunition. The [[Saint Petersburg Declaration of 1868]] states that the "military or naval" use of explosive or incendiary projectiles with a mass of under {{convert|400|g|abbr=on}} is forbidden by its signatory parties.<ref>{{cite web |title=St Petersburg Declaration 1868 |url=http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/130-60001?OpenDocument |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090929224205/http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/WebART/130-60001?OpenDocument |archive-date=2009-09-29 |accessdate=2010-08-27 |work=International Humanitarian Law |publisher=[[International Committee of the Red Cross]]}}</ref>

The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907, which are the international treaties that do regulate the use of weaponry, do not prohibit the use of .50 caliber weapons like the M2 against personnel. The US Army's own field manual concerning the employment of the M2 actually describes enemy personnel as an intended target.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Training Circular 3-22.50 - Heavy Machine Gun M2 Series |publisher=Headquarters, Department of the Army |year=2017 |location=Washington, DC |pages=2–1}}</ref> The origin of these myths is likely due to military commanders instructing their troops to conserve ammunition for targets that other lighter machine guns were not well suited to engage, such as aircraft or ground vehicles. One possible source of the misconception is from World War II, when American [[half-track]] units in Germany were told to stop firing their M2s at ground targets, to conserve ammunition in case of a [[Luftwaffe]] attack.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Rottman |first=Gordon |title=The Big Book of Gun Trivia: Everything You Want to Know, Don't Want to Know, and Don't Know You Need to Know |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing |year=2013 |pages=317}}</ref> Also, U.S. troops were told to use their M2s only against enemy equipment due to shortages of ammunition during the [[Korean War|Korean]] or [[Vietnam War]].<ref name="Stars and Stripes">{{cite news |last=Schogol |first=Jeff |date=9 February 2011 |title=Can you use the .50-caliber on human targets? |newspaper=[[Stars and Stripes (newspaper)|Stars and Stripes]] |url=http://www.stripes.com/blogs/the-rumor-doctor/the-rumor-doctor-1.104348/can-you-use-the-50-caliber-on-human-targets-1.134278 |url-status=live |access-date=12 April 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160418222912/http://www.stripes.com/blogs/the-rumor-doctor/the-rumor-doctor-1.104348/can-you-use-the-50-caliber-on-human-targets-1.134278 |archive-date=18 April 2016}}</ref> It is also possible that a restriction during the latter period limiting the use of the [[M40 recoilless rifle]]'s .50-caliber spotting gun to destroy enemy equipment only, since the M40 was meant to be used against armor and firing it at personnel would give away their position before it could be used as intended, was mistakenly applied to all .50 caliber weapons.<ref name="Killing a Myth" />