M-1917 .30 cal. Machine GunThe M-1917 water-cooled .30 cal. machine gun was developed by John Browning. M-1917 water-cooled machine guns saw service with the last U.S. troops to enter France near the end of World War I and was the Army's standard battalion level machine gun until the mid-1950s when the M-1917A1 .30 cal. machine gun was replaced by the M-60 7.62mm machine gun. The M-1917 was tripod or post mounted, and was also used as an aircraft gun. The M-1917 had a rate of fire of 450 cpm using the Army's standard .30-06 round in fabric or metal belts.
More photos of the M-1917 .30 cal. Machine Gun are available at the linked page. At the Olive-Drab.com YouTube Channel, the video Automatic Weapons: American vs. German (1943) compares the M-1917 .30 cal. Machine Gun to the German MG34 & MG42 Machine Guns and to the M-1919 .30 cal. Machine Gun.
M-1917A1 Water Cooled Machine GunFollowing World War I the M-1917 was modified and remanufactured at the Rock Island Arsenal, IL. The modified weapon was designated M-1917A1. Additional modifications were made to new production machine guns. The M-1971A1 was the Army's standard battalion level machine gun in World War II and Korea. The M-1917 had a rate of fire of 450-600 cpm.
The M1917 machine guns fired the .30-06 cartridge, originally developed for the M-1903 Springfield rifle and later used for many other rifles and light machine guns. The original World War I ammunition boxes for this weapon were made of wood. The boxes were replaced by metal during World War II.
Specifications of the M-1917 Browning Machine Gun
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