Browning Automatic Rifle
Browning Automatic Rifle. Responding to the need to counter massed German machine guns in World War I, renowned American arms inventor John M. Browning developed his Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) in 1918. This was a 16‐pound, gas‐operated weapon that fired .30‐caliber bullets from a twenty‐round detachable box magazine. The BAR had a selector switch that allowed the user to fire individual shots or in a fully automatic mode that would empty the magazine in about two seconds. The muzzle tended to rise during automatic fire, making it difficult to stay on target. Sustained automatic fire also tended to overheat the barrel.
Various firms produced some 85,000 BARs during World War I. By World War II, modifications had increased its weight to almost 20 pounds, but it remained in use as the principal squad automatic weapon of the U.S. Army during World War II and Korea. Some indigenous forces on both sides during the Vietnam War also used these weapons.
Various firms produced some 85,000 BARs during World War I. By World War II, modifications had increased its weight to almost 20 pounds, but it remained in use as the principal squad automatic weapon of the U.S. Army during World War II and Korea. Some indigenous forces on both sides during the Vietnam War also used these weapons.
Bibliography
Joseph E. Smith and and W. H. B. Smith , Small Arms of the World, 9th rev. ed., 1969.
Ian V. Hogg and and John Weeks , Military Small Arms of the 20th Century, 4th rev. ed., 1981.
James M. McCaffrey
More From encyclopedia.com
Small Arms , small arms,firearms designed primarily to be carried and fired by one person and, generally, held in the hands, as distinguished from heavy arms, or… Mortar (weapon) , Mortars. The mortar is a very simple piece of artillery, essentially a firing tube, that fires a high arc and imparts its main recoil force directly… Ordnance , ORDNANCE originally referred to military firearms: gun tubes, ammunition, and auxiliary equipment supporting the immediate firing process. Since abou… Military Tank , military tank, armored vehicle having caterpillar traction and armed with machine guns, cannon, rockets, or flame throwers. The tank, together with t… Rifle , Rifle
RIFLE. The history of the rifle is a combination of technology, ideology, and the changing nature of war and military tactics. The first rifle… Booby Traps , BOOBY TRAPS
BOOBY TRAPS, devices that explode when a hidden or apparently harmless object is disturbed and detonate before the victim can recognize a…
You Might Also Like
NEARBY TERMS
Browning Automatic Rifle