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About The Browning M1919 Machinegun

Once again the genius of John Moses Browning was manifested with the Browning Model 1919; it was developed as a heavy machine gun based upon the successful Browning BAR (Browning Automatic Rifle) design and was adopted as the model 1919-A1 in 1919. The model -A2 had a small tripod and a heavier barrel to allowed for sustained fire without overheating and malfunctioning. The -A4 model soon followed, which was designed as a general purpose light machinegun and could be mounted on tanks, armored cars as well as on aircraft and in an ground role. The 1919-A4 was substantially that of the Browning 1917 water-cooled Browning. It functions by using the recoil power of the barrel which, in a rearward thrust, unlocked the breech and sent it to the rear; thus extracting the spent case. Compression on the return spring then was used to strip a new round from the belt and chamber it. The belts were made of cloth and generally came in 150 round lengths with brass appendages on each end to make loading easier. This gun could keep up continuous rates of fire of approximately 60 rounds per minute for at least 30 minutes without risk of overheating.

The 1919A4 was used extensively during the second World War in a number of roles; it was modified during this war to the 1919A6 model which included modifications such as a rifle-type buttstock (with a pistol grip), a light adjustable bipod, a carrying handle and a flash hider. Although no longer in use by the U.S. Military, it is still very common in other parts of the world; including several still in use by the British Royal Armoured Corps.

1919A4.com Pages