M1917 Browning machine gun

Browning model 1917
Marines operating a M1917A1 Browning during the Korean War
Type	Heavy machine gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1917–1970s[1]: 5
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War I Mexican Revolution Banana Wars Chaco War World War II Chinese Civil War Korean War First Indochina War Congo Crisis Vietnam War Cambodian Civil War
Production history
Designer	John M. Browning
Designed	1917
Produced	1917–45
No. built	128,369[2]
Variants	M1917, M1917A1, Colt models
Specifications
Mass	103 lb (47 kg) (gun, tripod, water, and ammunition)
Length	980 mm
Barrel length	24 in (609 mm)
Cartridge	.30-06 Springfield Other cartridges 6.5×54mm Greek 6.5×55mm Swedish 7.5×54mm French 7×57mm Mauser 7.62×51mm NATO 7.65×53mm Mauser 7.92×57mm Mauser 7.92×61 mm [no] 8×52mmR Siam 8×63mm
Action	Recoil-operated automatic
Rate of fire	450 round/min, 600 round/min for M1917A1
Muzzle velocity	2,800 ft/s (853.6 m/s)
Feed system	250 round fabric belt

The M1917 Browning machine gun is a heavy machine gun used by the United States armed forces in World War I, World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War; it has also been used by other nations. It was a crew-served, belt-fed, water-cooled machine gun that served alongside the much lighter air-cooled Browning M1919. It was used at the battalion level, and often mounted on vehicles (such as a jeep). There were two main iterations: the M1917, which was used in World War I and the M1917A1, which was used thereafter. The M1917, which was used on some aircraft as well as in a ground role, had a cyclic rate of 450 rounds per minute. The M1917A1 had a cyclic rate of 450 to 600 rounds per minute.