By Dr. Jerry Sanson, Staff Member of the Louisiana Maneuvers & Military Museum at Training Center Pineville
The Browning M1917 machine gun is an example of weapon technology that U. S military forces used from the trenches of World War I to the jungles of Vietnam. The original M1917 and its variant the M1917A1 such as the one in the collection of the Louisiana Maneuvers and Military Museum are distinguished by a large tank to contain a gallon of water surrounding the barrel to help cool it during use so it would not melt or warp from heat produced by firing the weapon.
John Moses Browning developed technology for such a weapon by 1910 based on his preference for recoil operation, but U. S. Army planners showed little interest in it until 1917 when the country became involved in World War I. The Browning machine gun was ready for delivery shortly before the end of the war, replacing machine guns the Army bought from other Allied countries. It was classified as a heavy machine gun during World War I but was re-classified as a medium machine gun later.
The advantage of water-cooled machine guns over their air-cooled counterparts was that water is more efficient at dissipating heat and providing better protection for the barrel. The great disadvantage was that water to refill the tank was heavy and cumbersome to provide in offensive operations meaning that the weapon had limited mobility.
Use in World War I proved that the M1917 was a formidable weapon if used defensively, capable of firing 450 rounds per minute in its original version and over 600 rounds per minute from the improved M1917A1. The effective maximum range was more than 6,500 feet. Tests showed that it could fire more than 20,000 rounds without repair. The gun, tripod, water canister, and ammunition weighed 103 pounds, not including water for the canister, and each weapon normally required a crew of four to transport and operate.
The Browning M1917 was used as a base to develop additional weapons for airplanes, tanks, and improved machine guns during and after World War II. Increasing need for mobility in the modern Army led to its replacement by the NATO M60 General Purpose Machine Gun which entered service in 1957. Even then, some U. S. Navy and South Vietnamese units used it during the Vietnam Conflict.
John Moses Browning