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| − | [[File:M1918_BAR.jpg|thumb|268px|An M1918 BAR]]The M1918 BAR is a gas operated, magazine fed, air-cooled automatic rifle that was utilized by the [[United States]] during WWII.<ref><u>http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/infantry/rifle/M1918.html</u></ref> The BAR was |
+ | [[File:M1918_BAR.jpg|thumb|268px|An M1918 BAR]]The M1918 BAR is a gas operated, magazine fed, air-cooled automatic rifle that was utilized by the [[United States]] during WWII.<ref><u>http://www.inetres.com/gp/military/infantry/rifle/M1918.html</u></ref> The BAR was attempted to give all the power of a machine gun to one soldier. The BAR did have its share of drawbacks such as the 20 round magazine which made reloading a problem. |
Another problem was that the BAR's internal mechanisms were very complicated to produce.<ref><u>http://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.asp?smallarms_id=58</u></ref> The M1918 BAR weighed about 19 pounds and was 1214 mm long.<ref><u>http://world.guns.ru/machine/usa/browning-m191-bar-e.html</u></ref> It also fired the .30-06 Springfield round and was a selective fire weapon, but it could also be switched to fully automatic. The M1918 BAR was designed by the famous weapon designer [[John Browning]] and it had a rate of fire of about 350 rounds per minute. It also had an effective range of about 1,000 ft. |
Another problem was that the BAR's internal mechanisms were very complicated to produce.<ref><u>http://www.militaryfactory.com/smallarms/detail.asp?smallarms_id=58</u></ref> The M1918 BAR weighed about 19 pounds and was 1214 mm long.<ref><u>http://world.guns.ru/machine/usa/browning-m191-bar-e.html</u></ref> It also fired the .30-06 Springfield round and was a selective fire weapon, but it could also be switched to fully automatic. The M1918 BAR was designed by the famous weapon designer [[John Browning]] and it had a rate of fire of about 350 rounds per minute. It also had an effective range of about 1,000 ft. |
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Revision as of 10:35, 11 April 2012
An M1918 BAR
The M1918 BAR is a gas operated, magazine fed, air-cooled automatic rifle that was utilized by the United States during WWII.[1] The BAR was attempted to give all the power of a machine gun to one soldier. The BAR did have its share of drawbacks such as the 20 round magazine which made reloading a problem.
Another problem was that the BAR's internal mechanisms were very complicated to produce.[2] The M1918 BAR weighed about 19 pounds and was 1214 mm long.[3] It also fired the .30-06 Springfield round and was a selective fire weapon, but it could also be switched to fully automatic. The M1918 BAR was designed by the famous weapon designer John Browning and it had a rate of fire of about 350 rounds per minute. It also had an effective range of about 1,000 ft.
Variants
The M1922 BAR was a a version of the M1918 BAR that was adopted by the US calvary in 1922. It was designated the M1922 Light Machine Gun and it included a collapsable bipod.
M1918A1-M1918A2
The M1918A1 BAR was adopted in 1937 and it was selective fire weapon but it could be switched to fully automatic. It also had a leaf-type of iron sight and it had a hinged buttstock. The M1918A1 also had spiked-type of bipod. The M1918A2 was adopted in 1940 and it had a rate of fire of about 500 rounds per minute. It was also fully automatic and it was fitted with a carrying handle. Although it was fully automatic, the M1918A2 BAR still had 2 settings. These were semi-automatic and fully automatic.
History
The M1918 BAR was designed during WWI and was adopted by the United States military in 1917. The BARM1918A2 was a success among infantry for its firepower and it was the version of the BAR that was more widely used.[4]Since the BAR M1918A2 was fairly heavy and it was difficult to manage at times, the BAR usually used by the biggest member in the group. Despite all the drawbacks and malfunctions such as the barrel overheating, the BAR became a very successful weapon during WWII.[5]It was used on many different fronts including the Pacific Theater and the European Theater. It was even used by Polish partisans fighting against German forces and it was also captured and used by German forces. The BAR was used after WWII and up to the Vietnam war as well.