For American armaments, the weapon designs of John Moses Browning represented a revolution in small arms design. During World War II, his guns served on land, sea, and in the air of every major theater and battlefield.
Born in 1855 to a gunsmith in the Utah Territory, John Moses Browning is among the United States’ most prolific inventors. He held 128 unique patents and designed over 100 different guns. Many modern firearms still use mechanisms he designed.
1911A1: Adopted by the US Armed Forces on March 29, 1911, the Browning Model 1911 served as the primary sidearm for the US Military until 1985. After ditching his B-17 in the Pacific Ocean in January 1943, General Nathan Twining used this M1911A1 to shoot an albatross to feed his crew while stranded in life rafts.
Technical Notes:
Caliber: .45 Automatic Colt Pistol (ACP)
Bullet Weight: 230 grains
Capacity: 7+1 bullets
Bullet Velocity: ~830 ft/s
The United States Army Air Forces designated machine guns as “M2” variants of their model and they configured the guns for either fixed or flexible use on aircraft. Fixed meant that the gun was the aircraft’s primary weapon and individual gunners used flexibly-mounted guns to protect the aircraft while in flight.
Browning Model 1919 in Flexible Configuration: The US Military adopted a modernized version of Browning’s World War I Era machine gun in 1935. The M1919 served throughout World War II and in the Korean War until it was replaced in 1957.
Technical Notes:
Caliber: 30-06 Springfield
Bullet Weight:150 grains
Bullet Velocity: ~2,700 ft/s
Rate of Fire: ~1,200-1,400 rds/min
Browning AN/M2 “Ma Deuce” in Fixed Configuration: By the end of World War I, .30-cal machines guns were becoming less effective against better-armored tanks and airplanes. The US Army turned to Browning to design a machine gun capable of firing a new .50-cal cartridge that offered the greater firepower needed for the modern battlefield. John Browning developed a working prototype before he died in 1926. The weapon is still in service today and has been used extensively in every US conflict since World War II.
Technical Notes:
Caliber: .50 Browning Machine Gun (BMG)
Bullet Weight: 700 grains
Bullet Velocity: ~2,700 ft/s
Rate of Fire: ~800 rds/min
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