Browning Automatic Rifle

From Free net encyclopedia

Template:Weapon-firearm

The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR, properly pronounced "bee ay are") is a family of automatic rifles (or machine rifles) and light machine guns used by the United States and other countries during the 20th century.

It was designed in 1917 by the weapons designer John Browning, primarily as a replacement for, and improvement on, the French-made Chauchat and Hotchkiss M1909. The BAR was originally intended as a light automatic rifle, but spent much of its career in various guises used as a light machine gun with a bipod. The original version was and remains the lightest service machine gun to fire the .30-06 Springfield cartridge, but its 20-round magazine tended to hamper its use as a light machine gun.

Contents 1 Design 2 Variants 2.1 United States 2.1.1 M1918 2.1.2 M1918A1 2.1.3 M1918A2 2.1.4 M1922 2.2 International 2.2.1 Browning wz.1928 2.2.2 FN M1930 2.3 Commercial 2.3.1 Colt Automatic Machine Rifle 2.3.2 Ohio Ordnance Works 1918A3 SLR 3 See also

Design

The BAR is a gas-operated, air-cooled, magazine-fed weapon. As built for the U.S. military, the BAR was chambered for the standard service round of that period, the .30-06 Springfield. It weighed from 16 to 19 pounds (7.3 to 8.6 kg) empty, depending upon the model. The magazine was detachable box-type with a capacity of 20 rounds.

The BAR M1918 was a selective fire weapon allowing the user to choose either semi or fully-automatic fire. First issued in February 1918, it was hoped the BAR might help break the stalemate of the trenches by the concept of "marching fire"; an automatic weapon accompanying advancing squads of riflemen rushing from trench to trench. BAR gunners were issued a belt that held magazine pouches along with a "cup" to support the stock of the rifle when held at the hip. This allowed the soldier to lay suppressive fire while walking forward, keeping the enemy's head down until it was too late. Eighty-five thousand of these were built by the war's end, though the gun saw little action due to the war's early end, its first action being in September of 1918.

In June 1937, a small number of the M1918s were modified to include a spiked bipod attached to the gas cylinder and a hinged buttplate. These weapons were designated M1918A1.

In 1940, the final BAR model — the M1918A2 — was introduced. This model did away with the semi-automatic option in favor of fully-automatic fire only. The rate of fire was adjustable, with a choice between "fast-auto" (500–650 round/min) and "slow-auto" (300–450 round/min). The (unspiked) bipod was now attached to the barrel and, being easily removable, was often discarded by troops when on the offensive to save weight. In 1942, a plastic buttstock replaced the walnut, and, in late World War II, a carrying handle that mounted to the barrel was issued.

While not without its design flaws (a fixed barrel that did not allow for quick replacement, limited magazine capacity and many small internal parts), the BAR proved itself to be rugged and reliable. It served as a frontline standard weapon from the latter days of World War I through World War II, and the Korean War as well. It soldiered on into the Vietnam War when the U.S. passed a quantity to the South Vietnamese. Many nations in NATO and recipients of U.S. foreign aid adopted the BAR and used it into the 1990s. Poland (Browning wz.1928), Belgium (FN M1930) and Sweden developed and issued BAR variants during the 1930s which had pistol-type rear grips and quick-change barrels.

The BAR also has its place in civilian history. Clyde Barrow of Bonnie and Clyde fame was known to prefer the use of a shortened BAR (stolen from National Guard armories) during his spree in the 1930s, rather than the stereotypical Thompson submachine gun.

A modern manufacturer of firearms has produced a semi-automatic version of the Browning Automatic Rifle known as the 1918A3 SLR (self-loading rifle). See http://www.ohioordnanceworks.com/slr/slr.htm for more info.

The BAR hunting rifle currently offered by Browning is unrelated in design to the earlier M1918 series.

Variants

United States

Image:BarM1918VWM.jpg

M1918

• Initial model fielded during World War I

M1918A1

• Produced in 1937 by modifying existing M1918
• Attached bipod

M1918A2

• Produced from 1940 onwards
• Detachable bipod
• Fully-automatic, with "slow" (300–450 round/min) and "fast" (500–650 round/min) rates of fire
• Late-war models switched to plastic stock

M1922

• Bipod and stock-mounted rear monopod
• Heavier barrel with small cooling fins
• Light machine gun version

International

Browning wz.1928

• A variant of the M1918 BAR produced by FN in Belgium to Polish requirements prior to WWII. License produced in Poland.

• The most notable difference is that the Polish wz.1928 was rechambered for the 7.92 x 57 mm (8 mm Mauser) cartridge.

FN M1930

Commercial

Colt Automatic Machine Rifle

• Commercial variant made by Colt in several versions between the 1920s and the beginning of WWII, for civilian and law enforcement markets.
• One variant, the R80 Monitor featured an 18-inch barrel, a lightweight receiver, and an ejection port cover along with a Cutts compensator.

Ohio Ordnance Works 1918A3 SLR

• Modern semi-automatic, commercial version of the BAR.

See also

• Automatic rifle
• Light machine gun
• John Browning
• List of individual weapons of the U.S. Armed Forces
• Bren — another automatic rifle used in the light machine gun role during WWII

Template:WWIIUSInfWeaponsNavde:Browning Automatic Rifle es:BAR fr:Browning BAR M1918 it:Browning Automatic Rifle ja:ブローニング自動小銃BAR pl:Karabin maszynowy Browning M1918 pt:Browning Automatic Rifle fi:Browning Automatic Rifle zh:勃朗宁自动步枪