American Rifleman – September 2019

AMERICANRIFLEMAN.ORG SEPTEMBER (^201959)
The air-cooled, belt-fed M1919A4
machine gun with its M2 tripod (r.)
weighed only about 48 lbs., compared
to more than 100 lbs. for the water-
cooled M1917A1 machine gun.
Photo courtesy of James D. Julia, Inc.
a medium machine gun if desired. In the latter reference, it
almost replaced the water-cooled ‘heavy’ .30 machine gun,
since it was a lot less bother and more dependable, even
though it did not have the ability to sustain long bursts or
stay in re as long.”
Army Lt. Col. John George echoed some of the same
sentiments as Dunlap and Krulak in his Shots Fired In Anger:
“The only standard light .30 caliber machine guns which we
used on Guadalcanal were those issued to the weapons pla-
toons of our rie companies. Our heavy weapons companies
were still using the water-cooled Browning heavies, marvel-
ous guns in the defense but very difcult to use in the
jungle attack. Lights—even for the machine gun platoons—
would have been better all-around guns for our purpose.
“Our Lights were used for many purposes all through
the show. They made excellent trail-block weapons or ne
main points upon which a rie company commander could
organize the rest of his re in a defensive setup. Being
handy and easy to carry, such guns could keep up with
their companies or even large patrols ... these guns were
the rst real repower which a commander could rely upon
during the early stages of a ght; the heavier guns and
mortars, because of their weights, could seldom be counted
on for sure until the second day or so.
“[I] believe this gun replaced the Heavy, to a large
degree, in almost every Infantry regiment which fought
the [Japanese]. It lacked the suitability of the Heavy for
long-range and support (including overhead) re because
its mount was none too stable, but the Light was por-
table and it got there on time. And the same old basic
Browning recoil-operated action gave it dependability
to go along with its lead-slinging power. The LMG was a
good gun with a very good record in the Pacic—half of
World War II.”
These virtues of the M1919A4 were also highlighted in
the combat report of the infantry arms used by the 3rd
Marine Division during the Bougainville campaign: “LMG,
cal. .30, M1919A4: The LMG is preferred to the heavier
water-cooled gun in attack because of its mobility, low
silhouette and the speed with which it can be placed in
action. It was used extensively to reinforce rie platoons
sent out as combat patrols.”
The Ordnance Dept. publication “The Ordnance
Department on Beachhead and Battlefront” cited the use
of the air-cooled light machine gun in lieu of the water-
cooled heavy during the Papua Campaign: “In heavy weap-
ons companies the light .30-caliber machine guns replaced
the more cumbersome heavies ... .”
While the M1919A4 did not totally replace the
M1917A1 in frontline service during World War II it did
render the latter, more or less, a niche arm. The U.S.
Marine Corps Tables of Organization & Equipment (TO&Es)
for World War II reveal that many more M1919A4s than
M1917A1s were authorized for a division as follows:
Due to its lighter weight and portability, the M1919A4
machine gun was extremely valuable to units such as the
Marine Raiders and Army paratroopers. Although the machine
guns were dropped in equipment bundles separate from the
paratroopers, it would have been difcult to use the M1917A1
and its weighty tripod and water can for airborne use. While
boarding his C-47 transport plane departing for Normandy
on the night before the D-Day invasion, paratrooper Chris
Kanaras of the 101st Airborne Division noted that the pilots
of the Troop Carrier Command were “getting upset about
the amount of M1919A4 .30-cal. machine guns, demolition
devices, boxes of ammunition, radios and rations.” If the
pilots were upset about the weight of the M1919A4, they
would have been apoplectic about transporting M1917A1s!
Once on the ground, the paratroopers made good use of
the portability and repower of the M1919A4. There was
an incident during the Normandy campaign where its light
weight was an invaluable asset. Paratrooper Ed Jeziorski
was a machine gunner with the 507th Parachute Regiment
of the 101st Airborne Division. As related in the book
Down To Earth, “[J]eziorski ... was running as fast as he
could carry his Browning M1919A4 machine gun on his left
shoulder and an ammunition can held in his right hand.
MODEL 1942
(D SERIES)
1943
(E SERIES)
1944
(F SERIES)
1945
(G SERIES)
M1917A1 544 108 162 162
M1919A4 656 682 302 356
MARINE DIVISION ISSUE NUMBERS