| Browning Model 1919 Machine Gun |
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Information AboutBrowning Model 1919 Machine Gun |
The Browning M1919 was a .30 Caliber Light Machine Gun family widely used during the 20th century. It was used as a Light Infantry , Coaxial , mounted, Aircraft , and Anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S. and many other countries, especially during World War II , the Korean War , and the Vietnam War . Although it began to be superseded by newer designs in the later half of the century (such as by the M60 Machine Gun ), it remained in use in many NATO countries and elsewhere for much longer. Many M1919s were rechambered for the new 7.62 × 51 Mm NATO round and served into the 1990s, as well as up to the present day in some countries. The United States Navy also converted many to 7.62 mm NATO, and designated them Mk 21 Mod 0; they were commonly used on river craft in the 1960s and 1970s in Vietnam. HISTORY ]] The M1919 was an air-cooled development of the standard U.S. machine gun of World War I , the Browning M1917 , as designed by John M. Browning . The weapon originally fired the .30-06 M1 or M2 rifle cartridge from woven cloth or metallic link Belts feeding from left to right. with a M1919A4 on Namur Island during WW2 ]] OPERATION Loading Loading was accomplished by opening the top cover, lifting the extractor, inserting the new belt of ammunition into the gun's feed tray, then lowering the extractor over the first round in the belt. As the cover closed, the operator's right thumb made sure the belt feed lever was to the left to ensure the lever fit into the belt feed lever stud cam groove, a machined groove on top of the bolt. After latching the cover, the cocking handle was pulled back palm-up, to avoid thumb dislocation from a 'hot-barrel-cooked-off' round, and released inserting the first round into the barrel's chamber. Firing When the rear of the trigger is pivoted upwards by the operator, the front of the trigger tips downwards engaging the sear, and the sear, in turn, releases the firing pin allowing it to strike the primer of the cartridge in the chamber. USE , a flame thrower version of the M48 Patton, fires in Vietnam in 1968, an M1919 is mounted on the right]] As an infantry weapon, it was usually and Ammunition ; and the assistant gunner, who carried the weapon, spare parts, and sometimes more ammunition and when in action, fed the ammunition belts into the gun to ensure smooth entry of each round in the belt, decreasing the chance of the weapon jamming. The original idea was to allow the gun to be more easily packed for transport, and featured a light barrel and bipod when first introduced as the M1919A1. Unfortunately, it quickly became clear that the gun was too heavy to be easily moved, while at the same time too light for sustained fire. This led to the M1919A2, which included a heavier barrel and tripod, and could be continuously fired for longer durations. sporting an M1919A4 in a ball mounting on the front Hull and an M1919A5 to the right of the main gun in the Turret .]] The M1919A4 weighed about 31 pounds (14 kg), and usually was mounted on a tripod (for s, Tank s, and Ship s. The A5 was an adaptation of the A4 with a forward mounting point to allow it to be mounted in tanks and Armored Car s. This, along with the M37 and the Browning M2 Machine Gun , was the most common secondary armament during WWII for the Allies . ]] Another version of the M1919A4, the M1919A6, was an attempt to make the weapon easier to carry by reducing its weight and to make use of a bipod, but it turned out to be heavier at 32 lbs (15 kg) and was considered "substitute standard". With its bipod and stock, it actually weighed more than the A4 by itself, but less than the A4 with its tripod. It was still used extensively, however, by allied troops during World War II and the Korean War. The main differences were a folding bipod mounted on the front of the gun, a sheet-metal buttstock that was attached to the pistol-grip firing handle, a carrying handle, and a tapered barrel weighing 4 lbs (1.8 kg) instead of 7 lbs (3.2 kg) returning the weapon to an A1-like state. The Model 1919 was heavily re-worked to become the .30 caliber M2 aircraft machine gun. Key to aircraft use was weight. Unnecessary metal was removed from its components and, with the cooling effect of air rushing past the barrel from the plane's speed, the designers made the barrel thinner and hence lighter. As a result, the M2 weighed 2/3 that of the 1919A4 and the lightened mechanism gave it a higher rate of fire — pertinent to use where the target might be in range and in the line of sight for barely a second. OTHER CALIBERS The same basic weapon was also chambered for the British .303 round, and was used as a basic fighter aircraft gun in fighters such as the Supermarine Spitfire until the widespread introduction of the larger caliber Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannon, and throughout the war in bombers. Similar versions for a variety of European calibers were delivered by the Belgian gun maker FN ( Fabrique Nationale ), notably German-standard 7.92 Mauser which was fairly widely used in Eastern Europe . PRODUCTION The M1919 was manufactured during WWII by many different companies in the U.S. including General Motors and Rock Island Arsenal . In the UK production was chiefly by BSA . M1919 VARIANTS US military variants M1919
M1919A1
M1919A2
M1919A3
M1919A4/A4E1
M1919A5
M1919A6
M2
M37
]] Mk 21 Mod 0/1
International variants and designations The M1919 pattern has been used in countries all over the world in a variety of forms and under a number of different designations. Browning Mk 1/2 An older-style Commonwealth designation for the .303 caliber Browning machine guns used on the vast majority of British aircraft of the Second World War at one point or another. The difference between the Mk 1 and Mk 2 versions is unknown, but the weapon visually is quite similar AN/M2 aircraft gun. FN-Browning mle 1938 French designation for the FN -built derivative converted to 7.5 Mm MAS ammunition. Manufactured in the late 1930s, and used on fixed mountings of U.S.-built aircraft in French service from 1939 to 1942. L3A1/A2 The Commonwealth designation used by both the United Kingdom and Australia to designate the fixed (A1) and flexible (A2) versions of the M1919A4 in .30-06 caliber. L3A3/A4 Sear hold-open conversion of previous L3A1s and L3A2s. The A3 is the modified version of the A1, and the A4 is the modified version of the A2. MG A4 Austrian designation for the M1919A4. MG4 South African licence-built version of the M1919A4 in current use with the South African National Defence Forces (SANDF). Manufactured by Lyttleton Engineering, Pretoria. C1/A1 and C5/A1 Canadian designation for 7.62x51 mm rechambered M1919A4s for fixed (C1) and flexible (C1A1) applications. The C5 and C5A1 were product improvements of the previous C1 and C1A1 respectively. Mg M/52-1 and Mg M/52-11 Danish designations for the M1919A4 and M1919A5 respectively. Ksp M/42 Swedish designation for license built M1919 chambered in 6.5 X 55 Mm or 8 X 63 Mm , and from 1975 circa, mostly fitted with barrels in 7.62 X 51 Mm . The Ksp m/42B was a lighter version with bipod and shoulder stock (used in a similar way as the M1919A6), chambered in 6.5 x 55 mm and later in 7.62 x 51 mm. Ckm Wz.32 Polish copy of the Browning M1919 chambered for 7.92 x 57mm Mauser, similar to the earlier Ckm Wz.30 Commercial variants Colt MG40
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