Browning Automatic Rifle (BAR)
Developed by John Browning in 1917, the BAR was intended to replace the French machine guns FM Chauchat Modèle 1915 and Benet-Mercie M.1909 (Hotchkiss) that had been used by the U.S. Expeditionary Force in Europe. Production of the first 25,000 Browning Automatic Rifles began in February 1918 at the Winchester Repeating Arms Company. The first 4,000 units were delivered in June, and from July 1918 a further 9,000 units per month followed. The BAR M.1918 used the .30-06 (7.62 × 63 mm) cartridge of the Springfield M.1903 standard infantry rifle, which made ammunition replenishment much easier.
The BAR gunner was supposed to carry the weapon like an assault rifle, suspended from its shoulder strap, and fire it from the hip as he advanced. This “walking fire” tactic was considered practicable during the trench warfare of the First World War, but it turned out to be quite ineffective in practice. The troops preferred to use the BAR like a light machine gun, even if the weapon‘s 20-round magazine was far too small for this purpose. Having proven itself to be a reliable infantry support weapon until the end of the war, the BAR was exported in large numbers to friendly nations. The French army ordered 15,000 BAR to replace the obsolete FM Chauchat and Hotchkiss M.1909 light machine guns, but after intensive testing in 1923 decided on the Châtellerault FM Modèle 1924 light machine gun. The Belgian arms manufacturer Fabrique Nationale (FN) won the licensing rights for Europe in 1920 and subsequently developed the “Kg m/21” machine gun for the Swedish army and the “wz. 1928” LMG for the Polish army. Captured Polish weapons continued to serve in the Soviet army and in the German Wehrmacht as the l.MG 28(p).
In 1937, the M1918A1 with bipod was introduced into the US Army as a squad light machine gun, followed in 1940 by the M1918A2 with improved bipod and a small separate stock rest. The US Army paratroopers removed the bipod to save weight and returned the BAR to its original role as an assault rifle. To provide better fire support for the infantry, the US Marines used two BARs per squad during World War II.
Miniatures with BARs
- WW1 US Infantry, 1:72 HäT 8112
- US Infantry, 1:72 ESCI P-202
- US Infantry, 1:72 Italeri 6120
- US Infantry, 1:72 Revell 02503
- US Infantry BAR Teams (4 figures), 20 mm Reiver U 4
- Tutorial: Browning Automatic Rifle for US Infanterie, 1:76 Matchbox 5002
- US Paratroops, 1:32 ESCI
- 101st Airborne – Bastogne 1944, 1:48 Master Fighter MF48002
- US Paratroopers, 1942–1944, 1:72 ESCI P-209
- US Paratroopers, 1944–1945, 1:72 Revell 02517
- US Paratroopers, Easy Company, 1:72 IMEX 527
Technical Data
- Designation: Browning Automatic Rifle – B.A.R. or BAR
- Type: Light Machine Gun (LMG)
- Developer: John Moses Browning
- Manufacturer: Browning Arms Company
- Action: rising bolt lock, gas-operated
- Length: 1214 mm
- Barrel Length: 610 mm
- Weight: 8.8 kg (with empty Magazine)
- Calibre: 7.62 mm
- Cartridge: 30-06 Springfield (7,62 × 63 mm)
- Ammunition Feed: detachable Box Magazine for 20 Cartridges
- Effective Range: 550 m
- Operation: semi or full automatic
- Rate of Fire: 450 or 650 rounds per minute
- Muzzle Velocity: 855 m/s
- Production: 350,000 unit (1918–1953)