Browning M1919

Last Updated on Tuesday, 21 July 2009 12:23 Written by Administrator Thursday, 02 July 2009 03:21

The Browning M1919 is a air-cooled medium machine gun that has been used in a number of conflicts of the World War II, the Korean War and the Vietnam War. Several versions of the M1919 were produced of which model A4 was the most widely deployed.

The Browning M1919 is based on an earlier version—the Browning M1917. The gun was initially designed to fire the .30-06 M1 but later versions could also fire the M2 ball cartridge feed using woven cloth or metal link belts. Some versions of the gun could also fire other cartridge types such as the 7.62x51mm NATO, the .303 British and the 8 mm Mauser.

The Browning M1919 was a recoil-operated machine gun. It could fire at a rate of 400-600 rounds per minute and had an effective range of 1,500 yards. It had a muzzle velocity of 2,800 feet per second.

The M1919 was mainly employed as a company support weapon and needed four men to operate. The gun was initially designed with a light barrel and tripod with ease of transport as the main consideration. However, later revisions had a heavier barrel and tripod to enable sustained fire. The gun weighed 31 pounds.

The American Army employed the M1919 in large numbers in the Second World War. It was also mounted in tanks and armoured vehicles. Overall, it added to the firepower capabilities of the forces and played in pivotal role in many battles. During the war two additional variants were adopted by the American Army. These versions were the M37, which has a coaxial feed system and the M37F which featured special sighting equipment.

In the later years, the US Navy converted a large number of the earlier M1919s to use the 7.62 mm NATO cartridges. Designated as Mk21 Mod 0, these guns were used in the Vietnam War in river warfare patrols. In 1967, Israel used some of these converted guns in the Six Day War.

The Model 1919 was also used extensively as an aircraft mounted weapon. Machine guns mounted on aircraft have to be light weight and reliable with a high rate of firing. The Model 1919 was extensively modified and reengineered into the .30 calibre M2 AN aircraft machine gun by engineers from Fabrique Nationale de Herstal, Belgium. This modified version has thinner and thus lighter parts which makes its more effective as an aircraft mounted weapon.

The Browning M1919 was manufactured by a number of companies in the US during the Second World War. Some of these companies include General Motors, Buffalo Arms Corporation and the Rock Island Arsenal. The M1919 was also manufactured in the United Kingdom by the Birmingham Small Arms Company.

As newer weapons became more popular, the M1919 was gradually retired from service. Military scale production was stopped by 1945. However, it continued to be used until the 1970s after which it was completely phased out from use. Today, the M1919 and its variants are still used by many civilian enthusiasts.

---

Share this on