M1918 BAR
John M. Browning's .30-06 automatic rifle, designed to give the individual infantryman automatic firepower in World War I.
M1918 BAR
Community
Data trust
- Reliability
- Unverified
- Sources
- Sources pending review
Identity
- Designation
- M1918 BAR
- Alias
- Browning Automatic Rifle
- Manufacturer
- Colt / Winchester / Marlin-Rockwell
- Country
- United States
- Year
- 1918
- Category
- Light machine gun
- Status
- Historic
Ballistics
- Caliber
- .30-06 Springfield
- Muzzle velocity
- 860 m/s
- Rate of fire
- ~550 rpm
- Effective range
- 550 m
- Maximum range
- 1370 m
Dimensions
- Barrel length
- 610 mm
- Overall length
- 1214 mm
- Empty weight
- 7.25 kg
Mechanics
- Operating system
- Gas-operated, long-stroke piston
- Bolt / action
- Tilting bolt
Feed
- System
- 20-round single-stack magazine
- Standard capacity
- 20 rounds
Fire modes
Historical profile
Development
The Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR) M1918 was designed by John Moses Browning in 1917 to provide American troops in France with a portable automatic weapon for 'walking fire' advances.
It entered service in September 1918, too late to significantly impact World War I, but was produced in over 700,000 units across its various versions.
Design
It operates on long-stroke gas piston with a tilting bolt, chambered in .30-06 Springfield, fed by 20-round magazines.
The 1938 M1918A2 variant introduced a folding bipod under the flash hider, a reinforced stock and a two-rate automatic selector (450 and 650 rpm), eliminating semi-automatic fire.
Operational service
It was the standard squad automatic weapon of U.S. forces in World War II and the Korean War, present in every rifle squad.
It also served in Vietnam and was produced under license in Belgium (FN Mle 1930), Sweden (Kg m/21) and Poland (wz. 1928), remaining in service in many armies until the 1970s.
Variants
Main users
United States · Belgium · Poland · China · over 30 countries
Key components
- ●Stock — Wood stock with metal buttplate.
- ●Receiver — Machined steel housing.
- ●Grip — Wooden pistol grip.
- ●Magazine — 20-round single-stack .30-06 magazine.
- ●Barrel — Barrel with compensator and integral bipod.
Community
Recent reviews
Similar systems
Lewis Gun
1914
DP-28
1928
Lewis
1914
Chauchat M1915
1915
Huot Automatic Rifle
1916