AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG SEPTEMBER (^201957)
exible offensive infantry arm. However, the war ended
before extensive development of an air-cooled variant of
the Browning machine gun could be accomplished.
In 1919, the “Model of 1919” air-cooled .30-cal.
Browning machine gun was adopted for use in tanks.
A great deal of developmental work continued between
1919 and the mid-1930s on air-cooled Browning machine
guns for use as infantry arms, including experimenta-
tion with various barrel lengths and different types of
tripods. Such modi ed guns were much lighter and more
portable than the M1917.
After evaluating all the various con gurations, the
U.S. Army Ordnance Committee recommended on Sept. 5,
1935, that a version of the standard M1919 air-cooled tank
machine gun tted with a 24" barrel with cooling slots,
designated as the “Browning Machine Gun, Caliber .30,
M1919A4,” be adopted as the standard light machine gun.
A tripod that was lighter and more portable than the
M1917 tripod was also adopted as the “Tripod, M2.” The
M1919A4 machine gun with M2 tripod weighed about
48 lbs. and red at a cyclical rate of about 450 rounds
per minute. It could feed from a 250-round fabric belt or,
later, metallic links.
Prior to World War II, the M1919A4s were simply con-
verted M1917A1s, having had the water jacket and related
parts removed and a new barrel tted (the M1917A1 was a
slightly modi ed M1917). Once America entered the war,
contracts were given to the Saginaw Steering Gear Division
of General Motors and Buffalo Arms Co. for manufacture of
the M1919A4. In addition to the M1919A4 tripod-mounted
machine gun, a number of “M1919A5” machine guns were
made for use in tanks. These were essentially the same as
the M1919A4 but lacked a pistol grip, and the backplate
was modi ed for mounting in armored vehicles. A bolt-
retraction slide was also added. Of course, the M1919A5
was not used with a tripod. The M1919A4 was designated
as a “ exible” machine gun, and the M1919A5 (along with
the aircraft machine guns) was designated as “ xed.”
The U.S. Model 1919A4 Machine Gun
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