BAR








The M1918 is the primary variant of the Browning Automatic Rifle. It actually evolved from a heavy machine gun (requires a crew to transport and serve it) to a light machine gun (others are needed to carry ammunition, spare parts, and replace the primary shooter) with the M1918 A2 version, theorically able to deliver "walking fire" during assaults. Though, the BAR never entirely lived up to the original hopes, being neither a rifle nor a machine gun.

The BAR was issued as the sole automatic fire support for a twelve-man squad. The one-man bar only appeared in 1944 and two/three-bar squad could be deployed as a way to overcome the BAR's limited continuous-fire capability

They were two modes of automatic fire available: slow rate at 300-450 rounds per minutes obtained by the use of a rate reducer, and fast rate at 550-600 rounds per minute. A bipod for prone fire and a carrying handle were added both removableg.

M1918 A2 is a long-stroke gas piston-operated selective fire light machine gun. It fired the same .30-06 cartridge as the M1 Garand. Designed by John Browning, the patent actually belonged to Colt. Manufacturing was eventually passed on to Winchester.

The gas cylinder frequently rusted solid in a humid environment and the rate reducer used to cause malfunctions due to frequent clogging. The poor 20 round uneasy to replace clip couldn't help getting the necessary fire power.





BAR technical specification sheet

Creation: USA
Denomination:M1918 A2 Browning Automatic Rifle
Production: 168,000 A2 built units, 100,000 M1918
Firing mode:Gas-operated, rising bolt lock
Calibre:7. 62 mm
Ammunition:.30-06 Springfield
Rate of fire300-450 or 500-650 rounds/min
Clip size: 20 cartridges
Muzzle velocity: 860 m/s
Barrel length: 610 mm
Utilisation range: 100 - 1,300 m
Weight: 8.8 kg
Length: 1,215 mm