M1919 Browning machine gun

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "M1919 Browning machine gun" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (March 2021) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

Machine Gun, Caliber .30, Browning, M1919
M1919A4 on tripod
Type	Medium machine gun
Place of origin	United States
Service history
In service	1919–present
Used by	See Users
Wars	World War II Chinese Civil War Korean War First Indochina War Indonesian National Revolution 1958 Lebanon crisis Cuban Revolution Algerian War Second Taiwan Strait Crisis Greek Civil War Vietnam War Laotian Civil War Bay of Pigs Invasion[1] Cambodian Civil War Portuguese Colonial War Lebanese Civil War Rhodesian Bush War 1982 Lebanon War South African Border War Iran–Iraq War Iraq War[2] Mexican Drug War Militias–Comando Vermelho conflict (2010–present)[3]
Production history
Designer	John M. Browning
Designed	1919
Manufacturer	Buffalo Arms Corporation Rock Island Arsenal Saginaw Steering Gear division of General Motors
Produced	1919–1945
No. built	438,971[4]
Variants	A1; A2; A3; A4; A5; A6; M37; AN/M2
Specifications
Mass	31 lb (14 kg) (M1919A4)
Length	37.94 in (964 mm) (M1919A4) 53 in (1,346 mm) (M1919A6)
Barrel length	24 in (610 mm)
Cartridge	.30-06 Springfield 7.62×51mm NATO .303 British 7.92×57mm Mauser 6.5×55mm 7.62×54mmR 8×63mm patron m/32 7.65×53mm Argentine 7.5×54mm French
Action	Recoil-operated/short-recoil operation, closed bolt
Rate of fire	400–600 rounds/min (1200–1500 rounds/min for AN/M2 variant)
Muzzle velocity	2,800 ft/s (853 m/s)
Effective firing range	1,500 yd (1,400 m)
Maximum firing range	1,500 m (1,600 yd)
Feed system	250-round cloth or disintegrating belt

The M1919 Browning is a .30 caliber medium machine gun that was widely used during the 20th century, especially during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War. The M1919 saw service as a light infantry, coaxial, mounted, aircraft, and anti-aircraft machine gun by the U.S and many other countries.

The M1919 was an air-cooled development of the standard U.S. machine gun of World War I, the John M. Browning-designed water-cooled M1917. The emergence of general-purpose machine guns in the 1950s pushed the M1919 into secondary roles in many cases, especially after the arrival of the M60 in US Army service. The United States Navy also converted many to 7.62 mm NATO and designated them Mk 21 Mod 0; they were commonly used on riverine craft in the 1960s and 1970s in Vietnam. Many NATO countries also converted their examples to 7.62 mm caliber, and these remained in service well into the 1990s, as well as up to the present day in some countries.