M-1919 .30 cal. Machine Gun

M1919A4 on packboard
M-1919A4 on packboard. Click for larger image.
Photo courtesy of BMG Parts.

More photos and videos of the M-1919 .30 cal. Machine Gun are available at the linked page and in the Olive-Drab.com Gallery.

At the Olive-Drab.com YouTube Channel, the video Automatic Weapons: American vs. German (1943) compares the M-1919 .30 cal. Machine Gun to the German MG34 & MG42 Machine Guns and to the M-1917 .30 cal. Machine Gun.

Today in WW II: 11 Jul 1940 US Quartermaster Corps asked 135 companies to bid on seventy light reconnaissance and command cars, the origin of the military jeep.  More ↓
11 Jul 1941 Establishing the first US foreign intelligence organization, Wm. J. Donovan becomes Coordinator of Information, head of the organization renamed OSS in 1942, the predecessor of the post-war CIA.
Visit the Olive-Drab.com World War II Timeline for day-by-day events 1939-1945! See also WW2 Books.

Machine Gun, Cal. .30, M1919A4/M1919A6

Official name: Machine Gun, Cal. .30, M1919A4/M1919A6. The M-1919A2, the predecessor to the M-1919A4 and M-1919A6, evolved from the Browning model M-1917 water-cooled machine gun. The M-1919 series .30 cal. machine gun was replaced by the M-60 7.62mm machine gun in the mid-1950s, but continued to be used into the Vietnam War. M-1919A4 was used as both a company level flexible light machine gun on the M-2 tripod mount and as a fixed machine gun on armored vehicles. The M-1919A4 had a heavier barrel with a ventilated barrel jacket, but developed a slower rate of fire (400-550 cpm) than the water-cooled gun. The M-1919 series fired the Army's standard .30-06 round in fabric or metal link belts.

Browning machinegun, cal. .30, M-1919A6 (M2 mount)
Browning machinegun, cal. .30, M-1919A6 (M2 mount).

The M-1919A5 was a modification to the M1919A4 for use as a tank machine gun. M-1919A6 was a war time modification to add tactical flexibility by substitution of a bipod in place of the tripod and addition of a shoulder stock and carrying handle. The M-1919A6 had a lighter barrel than the M-1919A4 and had a rate of 400-500 cpm. A total of 43,479 M-1919A6 were built. The M-1919 series, still in use around the world, has been one of the most reliable and efficient machine guns ever produced.

M-1919 Series Machine Gun Specifications

Caliber .30
Effective range (on tripod) 900-1500 yards
Maximum usable range About 4000 yards
Method of Feed Disintegrating link belt
Length of gun 40.9 inches
Length of barrel 24 inches
Weight of gun 31 lbs.
Rate of fire 400-500 rounds per minute
Manufacturer General Motors and others

M-1919A6 machine gun, 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, October 1950
M-1919A6 machine gun, 2nd Infantry Division in Korea, October 1950.

Find More Information on the Internet

There are many fine websites that have additional information on this topic, too many to list here and too many to keep up with as they come and go. Use this Google web search form to get an up to date report of what's out there.

For good results, try entering this: m1919 browning. Then click the Search button.