History:

The M1919 was an air-cooled development of the standard U.S. machine gun of World War I, the Browning M1917, as designed by John M. Browning. The weapon originally fired the .30-06 M1 or M2 rifle cartridge from woven cloth or metalic link belts feeding from from left to right.

Loading:

Loading is 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.

When the rear of the trigger is pivoted upwards by the operator, the front of the trigger tips downwards engaging the sear, and the sear, in turn, releases the firing pin allowing it to strike the primer of the cartridge in the chamber.

Field Use:

As an infantry weapon, it was usually crew operated by 2 soldiers: the gunner, who carried the tripod and ammunition; and the assistant gunner, who carried the weapon, spare parts, and sometimes more ammunition and when in action fed the ammunition belts into the gun to ensure smooth entry of each round in the belt, decreasing the chance of the weapon jamming.

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.

The M1919A4 weighed about 31 pounds (14 kg), and usually was mounted on a tripod (for infantry use), or from a fixed mount. It saw wide use in World War II mounted on such vehicles as: jeeps, tanks, and ships.

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 WWII for the Allies.

Another version of the M1919A4, the M1919A6, was an attempt to make the weapon easier to carry by reducing its weight and to make use of a bipod, but it turned out to be heavier at 32 lbs (15 kg) and was considered "substitute standard". With its bipod and stock, it actually weighed more than the A4 by itself, but less than the A4 with its tripod. It was still used extensively, however, by allied troops during World War II and the Korean War. The main differences were a folding bipod mounted on the front of the gun, a sheet-metal buttstock that was attached to the pistol-grip firing handle, a carrying handle, and a tapered barrel weighing 4 lbs (1.8 kg) instead of 7 lbs (3.2 kg) returning the weapon to an A1-like state.

The Model 1919 was heavily re-worked to become the .30 caliber M2 aircraft machine gun. Key to aircraft use was weight. Unnecessary metal was removed from its components and, with the cooling effect of air rushing past the barrel from the plane's speed, the designers made the barrel thinner and hence lighter. As a result, the M2 weighed 2/3 that of the 1919A4 and the lightened mechanism gave it a higher rate of fire — pertinent to use where the target might be in range and in the line of sight for barely a second.

US military variants

M1919 - Initial model

M1919A1 - Original light barrel and bipod

M1919A2 - "Cavalry" machine gun with short heavy barrel and special tripod, though it could also use the standard M2 tripod. Designed to allow increased mobility over the M1917 water-cooled machine gun

M1919A3 - An improved version of the M1919A2.

M1919A4/A4E1 - Dominant version, the M1919A4 was designed for both flexible and fixed use on vehicles and by infantry. A subvariant, the M1919A4E1 were refitted M1919A4s with A5 extended charging handles.

M1919A5 - A4 adapted for mounting on vehicles. The A5 featured an extended charging handle.

M1919A6 - Modified M1919A4 for infantry use as a "light machine gun". The A6 featured a buttstock and a bipod, and the kit could easily be used to retrofit earlier models to this standard.

M2 - Aircraft version of the Model 1919A4 manufactured by Browning with a thinner barrel and thinner receiver walls. Used on pre-WW2 US aircraft but replaced by the larger .50 caliber M2 machine gun and relegated to training duties. A derivative of this weapon was built by Colt as the MG40.

1. Not to be confused with the Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .50, M2, Aircraft. Full designation for this weapon was Browning Machine Gun, Cal. .30, M2, Aircraft.Sometimes referred to as AN/M2. The AN/ part of the nomenclature stood for "Army-Navy" and was used to describe joint systems until the end of the Second World War.
   
   
2. This weapon soldiered on for a short period during the 1960s as the main weapons for early AC-47 Gunships in Vietnam, until sufficient Miniguns could be acquired.
   
   
3. Like other members of the M1919 pattern, the M2 is popular with civilian enthusiasts, who have in some cases fitted their guns with buttstocks and bipods to allow for use without a tripod or other mount.

M37 - Coaxial M1919 variant, with the ability to feed from either the left or the right. Also featuring an extended charging handle similar to those on the M1919A4E1 and A5. A variant fitted with special sighting equipment was designated T153. Another variant, the M37C was designed for remote firing via a solenoid trigger for use in the XM1/E1 armament subsystem. A version of the M37, rechambered in 7.62x51 mm NATO is rumored to have been created, but even if it was it most likely would have been quickly supplanted by the M60 and M73 Machine guns.

International variants and designations

The M1919 pattern has been used in countries all over the world in a variety of forms and under a number of different designations.

Browning Mk 1/2 - An older-style Commonwealth designation for the .303 caliber Browning machine guns used on the vast majority of British aircraft of the Second World War at one point or another. The difference between the Mk 1 and Mk 2 versions is unknown, but the weapon visually is quite similar AN/M2 aircraft gun.

FN-Browning mle 1938 - French designation for the FN-built derivative converted to 7.5 mm MAS ammunition. Manufactured in the late 1930s, and used on fixed mountings of U.S.-built aircraft in French service from 1939 to 1942.

L3A1/A2 -The Commonwealth designation used by both the United Kingdom and Australia to designate the fixed (A1) and flexible (A2) versions of the M1919A4 in .30-06 caliber.

L3A3/A4 - Sear hold-open conversion of previous L3A1s and L3A2s. The A3 is the modified version of the A1, and the A4 is the modified version of the A2.

MG A4 - Austrian designation for the M1919A4.

MG4 - South African licence-built version of the M1919A4 in current use with the South African National Defence Forces (SANDF). Manufactured by Lyttleton Engineering, Pretoria.

C1/A1 & C5/A1 - Canadian designation for 7.62x51 mm rechambered M1919A4s for fixed (C1) and flexible (C1A1) applications. The C5 and C5A1 were product improvements of the previous C1 and C1A1 respectively.

Mg M/52-1 & Mg M/52-11 - Danish designations for the M1919A4 and M1919A5 respectively.

SP m/42 - Swedish designation for license built M1919 chambered in 6.5 x 55 mm or 8 x 63 mm, and from 1975 circa, mostly fitted with barrels in 7.62 x 51 mm. The Ksp m/42B was a lighter version with bipod and shoulder stock (used in a similar way as the M1919A6), chambered in 6.5 x 55 mm and later in 7.62 x 51 mm.

Commerical variants

Colt MG40:

• Colt produced derivative of the M2 aircraft machine gun
• Shipped in a variety of calibers including the basic .30-06 Springfield and 7mm Mauser