Feat of the Week: Browning 1919
The Gunsmithing Story
This week’s gunsmithing feat is repairing a full auto Browning 1919. Before we get any questions: this legally transferable, fully automatic Browning M1919A4. We can’t wait to tell you more about our repair and test fire process. So let’s get started!
When the customer bought this gun, it didn’t work. He had brought it to a few people but no one had been able to get it to function properly. By the time we got our hands on it, we discovered several issues. After our first round of repair, we test fired it. While it was capable of firing a single round, it wouldn’t feed another round.
First test fire: Could only get one shot because the belt wouldn’t feed
Back to the shop. To get this full-auto functioning, we had to completely tune the entire gun. We gave it a clean and oil and polished the entire action so it could cycle with ease. We also corrected the headspace and fixed the bent trigger. In addition to the barrel in .30-06, the customer also had a .308 barrel for this 1919. So, to complete the conversion, we installed the rest of the .308 parts.
Knowing it wasn’t completely fixed, we returned to the range with the full auto 1919 and a mobile version of our shop. We brought many of our tools and a portable vice. We tried something and then attempted a test fire. Then we tried something else and give it another shot. Eventually, after almost three hours at the range, we got this full auto 1919 working and we were able to belt feed 100 rounds through it without any issues. Even though it took us a while to find and fix every single problem, we finally got it working through a long process of trial and error.
Asher test firing the Browning 1919
Browning 1919 & PBY Catalina
This machine gun is yet another Browning ingenuity. As the most prolific gun maker of all time, it is no surprise, then, that his name comes up on a regular basis. And it is also no surprise that he invented the most important American machine gun of World War II.
The 1919 is an improvement on World War I’s M1917 Browning machine gun. Unlike the water-cooled M1917, the 1919 is air-cooled making it lighter, safer, and more effective. Still, the original 1919 was heavy and difficult to move and unable to sustain continuous fire. It necessitated five people: the gunner, the assistant gunner who helped with feeding, two people to carry the ammo, and finally the unit leader.
At the time of the invention of the 1919, machine guns were relatively new. Maxim had invented the first automatic fire gun in the 1890s, and his design dominated the early 20th century. While Browning wasn’t the first to introduce an automatic fire weapon, he surely created the most reliable version. His innovative sliding block (instead of toggle-lock) design yielded incredible results.
U.S. soldier aims the .30-caliber M1919A4 on tripod.
By Unknown author - Army Heritage and Education Center: http://ahecwebdds.carlisle.army.mil, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=13588675
Even though Browning had finished the development of the 1919 during World War I, the gun didn’t make it to the front lines before the signing of the armistice.
In 1936, the military began issuing a lighter variant, known as the M1919A4. Because this version could be used without a tripod and was capable of more continuous fire, it became the most widely produced iteration of the 1919.
With a relatively simple design and robust parts, this machine gun was known for its reliability—even shooting 400 - 600 rounds per minute. The simplicity of the design also allowed non-firearm companies to manufacture the 1919. For example, a branch of General Motors produced these guns during World War II.
Jesse Rhodes Waller, a World War II Aviation Ordnanceman stationed at the Naval Air Station in Corpus Christi, Texas, installing a M1919 Browning machine gun in a United States Navy PBY plane.
By Howard R. Hollem - This image is available from the United States Library of Congress Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID fsac.1a34894. Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6839490
In addition to infantry and vehicle use, a .50 caliber version of the 1919 was mounted on aircraft. The PBY Catalina was the military’s patrol bomber as well as a search and rescue flying boat. This amphibious plane was one of the most widely used aircraft during World War II in both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. Most notably, PBYs destroyed forty German U-boats and executed the only successful torpedo attack in the Battle of Midway against the Japanese.
Our customer, being a PBY enthusiast, was excited to add the newly working 1919 to his Catalina. His famous World War II plane finally had functioning firepower.
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