Browning Model 1917
Browning Model 1917A1 water cooled machine gun
Type	machine gun
Place of origin	US
Service history
Used by	US, Norway
Wars	WW1, WW2, Korean Conflict, Vietnam War
Production history
Variants	1917A1
Specifications
Weight	103 lb (47 kg) (gun, tripod, water, and ammunition)
Barrel length	24 in (609 mm)
Cartridge	.30-06
Action	Recoil operated automatic
Rate of fire	450 round/min, 600 round/min for M1917A1
Feed system	250 round fabric belt

The Browning Model 1917 Machine Gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I, World War II, Korea, and to a limited amount in Vietnam and by other nations. It was a belt-fed water-cooled machine gun that served alongside the much lighter air-cooled Browning M1919. It was used at the battalion level, and often mounted on vehicles (such as a jeep). There were two main iterations of it; the M1917, which was used in WWI, and the M1917A1 which was used after. The M1917 was used on the ground and some aircraft, and had firing rate of 450 round/min; the M1917A1 had a firing rate of 450 to 600 round/min. http://www. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... This article does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... .303 in. ... In firearms terminology, an action is the system of operation that the firearm employs to seal the breech (in a breech-loading firearm), and to load consecutive rounds. ... (for paintball markers also)Rate of fire is the frequency at which a specific weapon can fire or launch its projectiles. ... The M2 machine gun with a tripod weighs 58 kg (128 lb). ... The armed forces of the United States of America consist of the United States Army United States Navy United States Air Force United States Marine Corps United States Coast Guard Note: The United States Coast Guard has both military and law enforcement functions. ... “The Great War ” redirects here. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Korea (Korean: 한국 in South Korea or ì¡°ì„  in North Korea, see below) is a geographic area, civilization, and former state situated on the Korean Peninsula in East Asia. ... The Browning M1919 was a . ...

History

In 1901, John Moses Browning was issued U.S. Patent 678,937  for a recoil powered automatic gun. The design initially met with little interest in the US military. Browning’s Model 1917 was essentially an updated version of this weapon. The Browning is a water cooled heavy machine gun, though some versions that did not use a water jacket were experimented with; the M1919 was preferred. Unlike many other early automatic MG's the M1917 had nothing to do with Maxim's design. It was much lighter than Maxim types, while still being highly reliable. The only similarity, which its shares with any non-externally powered machine gun, is the use of gunpowder energy to reload. John Moses Browning (January 21[1] or January 23,[2] 1855 – November 26, 1926), born in Ogden, Utah, was an American firearms designer who developed myriad varieties of weapons, cartridges, and gun mechanics, many of which are still in use around the world. ...

The Army Ordnance Department initially showed little interest in Browning's design, but after war was declared in April 1917, Browning was able to arrange a test. The first test was a success, but the Army demanded a second test a short time later. In the second test, Browning fired the weapon in two lengthy bursts of 20,000 rounds each without a single mishap. The Ordnance Board was impressed but was unconvinced that the same level of performance could be achieved in a production model. Browning produced a second weapon which he fired in a third test continuously for 48 minutes. Finally convinced, the Army adopted the weapon as its principal heavy machine gun.

Polish resistance fighters firing the Ckm wz.30, a Polish-made clone of the Browning 1917

Until that time, the Army had used a variety of older machine guns like the Colt M1895 "Potato Digger" (which Browning had also designed) and weapons like the Maxim Gun, Benet-Mercies M1909, and the Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun. Although the Model 1917 was intended to be the principal US Army heavy machine gun in the war, in fact the Army was forced to purchase many foreign weapons and the French produced Hotchkiss 8 mm machine gun was actually the most numerous heavy machine gun used by the American Expeditionary Force. Image File history File links Jędrusie, an armed resistance unit formed by Władysław Jasiński in the area of Sandomierz File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Jędrusie, an armed resistance unit formed by Władysław Jasiński in the area of Sandomierz File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... ciężki karabin maszynowy wz. ... An early Maxim gun in operation with the Royal Navy 1895 . ... Soldiers with a M1909 The Benet-Mercie Machine Rifle, Caliber . ... The Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun became the standard machine gun of the French Army during World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company of Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. ... Officers of the American Expeditionary Forces and the Baker mission The American Expeditionary Forces or AEF was the United States military force sent to Europe in World War I.(In France, AEF is a news agency specialised in Education and Formation) The AEF fought alongside allied forces against imperial German...

Service

The M1917 saw limited service in the latter days of the First World War. Because of production delays, only about 1,200 Model 1917s saw combat in the conflict, and then only in the last two and a half months of the war. They equipped about a third of the divisions sent to France; the others were equipped equally with machine guns bought from the French or the British Vickers machine guns built by Colt in the US. Where the Model 1917 did see action, its rate of fire and reliability were highly effective. The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled . ...

A Browning Model 1917 in action during the Korean War

The Model 1917A1 was again used in the Second World War. Some were supplied to the UK in the .300 caliber for use by the Home Guard; all production of the Vickers .303 being needed to resupply the equipment abandoned during the Fall of France. The Model 1917 was called to service again in the Korean War. The Model 1917 was slowly phased out of military service in the late 1960s in favor of the much lighter, and more suitable for modern warfare, M60 machine gun. The attributes of the Model 1917 and similar weapons such as the Vickers machine gun - continuous fire from a static position had been rendered useless by the movement to highly mobile warfare. Many of the 1917's were given to South Vietnam. The gun did continue to see service in some Third World armies well into the later half of the 20th century. Download high resolution version (627x800, 80 KB)A Model 1917 heavy machine gun in action during the Korean War. ... Download high resolution version (627x800, 80 KB)A Model 1917 heavy machine gun in action during the Korean War. ... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... .303 cartridge The . ... Combatants United Nations:  Republic of Korea,  Australia,  Belgium,  Luxembourg,  Canada,  Colombia,  Ethiopia,  France,  Greece,  Luxembourg,  Netherlands,  New Zealand,  Philippines,  South Africa,  Thailand,  Turkey,  United Kingdom,  United States Medical staff:  Denmark,  Australia,  Italy,  Norway,  Sweden Communist states:  Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,  Peoples Republic of China,  Soviet Union Commanders... The M60 (formally the United States Machine Gun, Caliber 7. ... The Vickers machine gun or Vickers gun is a name primarily used to refer to the water-cooled . ... Anthem Thanh niên Hành Khúc (Call to the Citizens) Capital Saigon Language(s) Vietnamese Government Republic Last President¹ Duong Van Minh Last Prime minister Vu Van Mau Historical era Cold War  - Regime change June 14, 1955  - Dissolution April 30, 1975 Area  - 1973 173,809 km² 67,108... For the Jamaican reggae band, see Third World (band). ...

Variants

US military variants

M1917

• initial model

M1917A1

• M1917's "rearsenaled" at the US Arsenal at Rock Island in order to extend service life.

M1918

• Air-cooled aircraft version of the M1917. Developed during the First World War, the M1918 arrived too late, but became the dominant weapon of its type in US service until the development of the M1919.
• Features a heavier barrel, but lighter barrel jacket as compared to the M1917.
• A supposed sub-variant, the M1918M1, was developed a flexible version of the fixed M1918.

International Variants & Designations

The M1917 pattern has been used in countries the world over in a variety of forms. In certain cases a new designation was applied by the user nation.

Ksp m/36

• Swedish designation for M1917s in 6.5 x 55 mm for infantry support or 8 x 63 mm for AA-use. In the mid 1970s all guns were rebarreled in 7.62 x 51 mm NATO.

6. ... NATO 7. ...

Ckm wz.30

• Polish-built clone of the M1917 chambered in 8 mm (technically 7.92x57 mm) Mauser.

ciężki karabin maszynowy wz. ...

M/29

• Norwegian designation for the Colt M1917 (mentioned in the following section) in 7,92 mm, used as the standard HMG and anti-aircraft weapon for the Norwegian Army from 1929 to 1940. Replaced the Hotchkiss M1914 machine gun in Norwegian service.^[1] The M/29 saw sterling service in the Norwegian Campaign in 1940, often deployed as the only heavy weapon of Norwegian front line units.

Ranks Norwegian military ranks The Norwegian Army (Norwegian: Hæren) is Norways military land force. ... The Mle 1914 Hotchkiss machine gun became the standard machine gun of the French Army during World War I. It was manufactured by the French arms company of Hotchkiss et Cie, which had been established in the 1860s by American industrialist Benjamin B. Hotchkiss. ... German battle cruisers in a Norwegian port in June 1940 The Norwegian Campaign, lasting from 9 April to 10 June 1940, led to the first direct land confrontation between the military forces of the Allies — United Kingdom and France — against Nazi Germany in World War II. The primary reason for...

Commercial variants

Colt Model 1917 and Model 1928

• Colt commercially produced the M1917, and also under contract to the Argentine government a number of slightly modified guns as the Model 1928.
• The Model 1928 featured a thumb safety, Type A flash hider, and a mount for a panoramic sight unit.

Colt MG38, MG38B, and MG38BT

• Derivatives of the Colt M1928 for general commercial sale.
• The 38 and 38B were water-cooled with a barrel jacket threaded inside the trunnion, unlike the M1917 and Colt Model 1928.
• The 38BT was a short heavy barreled air-cooled weapon resembling the Browning M1919A2, designed for use in tanks.
• The 38 series also features spade grips, not found on the rest of the M1917 and the majority of the M1919 families.

Browning Model 1919 Type Machine Gun Nationality U.S. Era WWII - Korea Platform Individual Target personnel and materiel History Date of design 1919 Production period 1919 - 1945 Service duration 1919 - 1980s Operators U.S. and Allies War service WWII - Korea Specifications Type Calibre . ...

Derivatives

A simplified, air cooled version of the weapon, the Model 1919 was adopted after World War I and saw action in World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam conflict The Browning M1919 was a . ...

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Browning M1917

Image File history File links Commons-logo. ...

In Popular Culture

A Browning M1917 machine gun is the centrepiece of the climactic shootout in Sam Peckinpah's 1969 film The Wild Bunch, with the major protagonists all operating the machine gun during the course of the shootout. The Wild Bunch is a 1969 English language western film directed by Sam Peckinpah, in which an aging group of outlaws hope to have one final score while the West is turning into a modern society. ...

Footnotes

See also

• Kjellman machine gun
• M1919 Browning machine gun
• M240 machine gun
• MG 131
• M2 Browning machine gun

The Kjellman LMG was a fully automatic machine gun produced in Sweden. ... The Browning M1919 was a . ... The M240, formally United States Machine Gun, 7. ... The MG 131 was a 13 mm machine gun developed in 1938 by Rheinmetall-Borsig and produced from 1940 to 1945. ... It has been suggested that K6 HMG be merged into this article or section. ...

External links

• Gothia Association for Weapon History on the Ksp m/36