M1919 Browning machine gun

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 releasing the sear, and the sear, in turn, releases the firing pin allowing it to strike the primer of the cartridge

Operational Use

Infantry

As a company or battalion support weapon, the M1919 required at least a two-man machine gun team, but in practice, four men were normally involved; the gunner (who fired the gun), the assistant gunner (who helped feed the gun and carried either the gun or the tripod), and two ammunition carriers.^[1] 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.

An M24 Chaffee armed with 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 lb (14 kg), and was ordinarily mounted on a lightweight, low-slung tripod (for infantry use). Fixed vehicle mounts were also employed. It saw wide use in World War II mounted on jeeps, armored personnel carriers, tanks, and amphibious vehicles. The M1919A4 played a key role in the firepower of the World War II US Army infantry company, which unlike other armies, normally had a weapons platoon in addition to its other organic units. The presence of M1919A4 weapons in the weapons platoon gave company commanders additional automatic fire support at the company level, whether in the assault or on defense.^[2]

The A5 was an adaptation of the A4 with a forward mounting point to allow it to be mounted in tanks and armored cars. This, along with the M37 and the Browning M2 machine gun, was the most common secondary armament during World War II for the Allies.

M1919A6 in use during the Korean War

Another version of the M1919A4, the M1919A6, was an attempt to make the weapon into a light machine gun by attaching a buttstock and lighter barrel – 4 lb (1.8 kg) instead of 7 lb (3.2 kg). The A6 version was in fact heavier than the A4 without its tripod, at 32 lb (15 kg), though its bipod made for faster deployment and enabled the machine gun team to dispense with one man (the tripod bearer).^[3] The A6 version saw increasing service in the latter days of World War II and was used extensively in Korea. The A6 variant had a folding bipod mounted on the front of the gun, a sheet-metal buttstock, carrying handle, and a tapered barrel. While the modifications were intended to make the weapon more useful as a squad light machine gun, it was a stopgap solution, as the M1919A6 was heavier than the old Lewis gun of World War I, let alone the contemporary light machine guns of other nations.

During the Second World War, two additional variants of the M1919 were adopted by the US military. One version is the coaxial M37 variant, with the ability to feed from either the left or the right of the weapon. The M37 also featured an extended charging handle similar to those on the M1919A4E1 and A5. A trial variant fitted with special sighting equipment was designated M37F.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M1919_Browning_machine_gun