Browning Automatic Rifle

Lore & Background

The BAR was designed to be carried by infantrymen during an assault advance while supported by the sling over the shoulder, or to be fired from the hip. This is a concept called 'walking fire'—thought to be necessary for the individual soldier during trench warfare. The BAR never entirely lived up to the original hopes of the War Department as either a rifle or a machine gun. The U.S. Army, in practice, used the BAR as a light machine gun, often fired from a bipod (introduced on models after 1938). A variant of the original M1918 BAR, the Colt Monitor machine rifle, remains the lightest production automatic firearm chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge, though the limited capacity of its standard 20-round magazine tended to hamper its utility in that role. The BAR saw action in late 1918 during World War I and was already in limited standard issue during that war and the interwar period—it did not suddenly become standard issue in 1938, though later models with bipods were adopted around that time. The BAR saw extensive service in both World War II and the Korean War and saw limited service in the Vietnam War. The U.S. Army began phasing out the BAR in the 1950s, but it was not fully phased out until the 1960s; the M14 SAW variant was not adopted until the early 1960s, and the BAR remained in service alongside the M60 machine gun (introduced in 1957), so the Army was never without a portable light machine gun during that period.

In Their Own Story

The M14 was developed to replace four different weapons: the M1 Garand, the M3 submachine gun, the M1 carbine, and the M1918 Browning automatic rifle (BAR). The intention was to simplify the logistical requirements of the troops by limiting the types of ammunition and parts needed to be supplied. Replacing all these weapons with a single weapon system proved to be an impossible task. The M14 was deemed "completely inferior" to even the World War II M1 Garand in a September 1962 report by the comptroller for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Reader's Guide

The M1918 is a selective-fire, air-cooled automatic rifle using a gas-operated, long-stroke piston rod actuated by propellant gases bled through a vent in the barrel. The bolt is locked by a rising bolt lock. The weapon fires from an open bolt. The spring-powered cartridge case extractor is contained in the bolt and a fixed ejector is installed in the trigger group. The BAR is striker-fired (the bolt carrier serves as the striker) and uses a trigger mechanism with a fire selector lever that enables operating in either semi-automatic or fully automatic firing modes. The selector lever is located on the left side of the receiver and is simultaneously the manual safety (selector lever in the 'S' position – weapon is safe, 'A' – automatic fire, 'F' – semi-automatic fire). The 'safe' setting blocks the trigger from operating. The A2 variant changed the function of the fire selector, leaving 'A' for automatic fire at the normal (full) cyclic rate, and changing 'F' to automatic fire at a reduced (and more controllable) cyclic rate. The weapon's barrel is screwed into the receiver and is not quickly detachable. The M1918 feeds using double-column 20-round box magazines, although 40-round magazines were also used in an anti-aircraft role; these were withdrawn from use in 1927.

Did You Know?

• The BAR was designed by John Browning in 1917.
• The BAR was first used in action on 13 September 1918 by the U.S. Army's 79th Infantry Division.
• The Colt Monitor machine rifle is the lightest production automatic firearm chambered for the .30-06 Springfield cartridge.
• The U.S. Army began phasing out the BAR in the 1950s, but it remained in service alongside the M60 until the 1960s.