American Rifleman – September 2019

56 SEPTEMBER 2019 AMERICAN RIFLEMAN

HISTORICAL

“HIGHLY

PRAISED”

Based on the M1917A1 water-cooled, belt-fed

machine gun, the lighter, air-cooled M1919A4

Browning was one of the standout arms used

by American troops during World War II.

BY BRUCE N. CANFIELD, Field Editor

uring World War I, the water-cooled, belt-fed, tripod-

mounted heavy machine gun proved to be one of the

most ubiquitous and effective arms of the conict.

Most of the belligerent nations adopted such guns, and they

were used with terrible effectiveness throughout the war.

While capable of impressive sustained repower, all shared

the drawbacks of being cumbersome and heavy, which limited

their use primarily to xed defensive positions.

The standard United States heavy machine gun at

the close of World War I was the .30-cal. Model of 1917,

invented by the legendary rearm designer John Moses

Browning. The Model 1917 performed as well as, or better

than, any of the other comparable machine guns of the

period; however, it also shared the same drawbacks. For

example, it weighed almost 100 lbs. with a tripod and lled

water jacket. As the war progressed, it soon became appar-

ent that a Browning .30-cal. machine gun without the

barrel water jacket, water can and heavy tripod could prove

of value for use in aircraft and tanks, and also as a more

The U.S. Model 1919A4 Machine Gun

The Browning .30-cal. M1919A4 light machine gun was used

to great effect in all theaters during World War II. A U.S. Army

soldier (above) crews an M1919A4 during operations

on Jan. 16, 1945, in northwest Europe.

U.S. Army Signal Corps photo