Osprey - Weapon 15 - The Browning Automatic Rifle.pdf

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THE BROWNING
AUTOMATIC RIFLE
R O B E RT R . H O D G E S J r.
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
THE BROWNING
AUTOMATIC RIFLE
ROBERT R. HODGES Jr.
Series Editor Martin Pegler
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
DEVELOPMENT
America’s automatic rifle
4
7
28
64
76
78
80
USE
Four decades of the BAR-man
IMPACT
The heart of squad firepower
CONCLUSION
BIBLIOGRAPHY
INDEX
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
INTRODUCTION
The Browning Automatic Rifle was one of the most important infantry
weapons in the US arsenal during the waning days of World War I through
World War II and the Korean War. Named for its iconic and highly
influential inventor, John Moses Browning, this automatic rifle was and is
commonly known as the BAR, pronounced B-A-R. The BAR was a powerful
and reliable automatic weapon well loved by the men who used it.
An automatic rifle is a relatively lightweight, shoulder-fired weapon
utilizing a standard infantry rifle cartridge, but unlike a rifle-caliber
machine gun, the automatic rifle is not optimized for sustained fire.
The concept grew out of the necessity to combat the deadly effects of
the machine gun on the battlefield, especially during the early days of
World War I – the first major machine-gun war – when traditional infantry
riflemen were decimated long before they could get close enough to silence
an enemy machine gun. Automatic-rifle tactics were developed to allow
the riflemen or grenadiers to advance under the protective fire laid down
by the automatic rifleman until the teams could get close enough to
eliminate a hostile machine gun. The machine guns of the day were quite
deadly but they were also heavy and difficult to move quickly across the
battlefield. Many were water-cooled, and their water jacket and water
can added significant weight to the weapon. The tripod and ammunition
boxes added even more weight, and the guns sometimes required a cart to
transport them.
The automatic rifle, at least theoretically, combines the blistering
automatic fire of a machine gun with the accuracy and portability of an
infantry rifle. To offset the murderous effects of the ubiquitous German
Maxim machine guns of World War I, the French, under the direction of
Col Louis Chauchat, developed the 8mm
fusil mitrailleur
or machine rifle.
Thus equipped, the rifle platoon could advance on a German gun
emplacement while providing its own automatic fire.
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OPPOSITE
In the right circumstances,
the Browning Automatic Rifle’s
combination of portability and
heavy automatic firepower
was devastating. This BAR man
of the 2nd Infantry Division,
photographed in France, 1944,
killed 27 Germans single-handed
with his. (Armor Plate Press)
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com
5
© Osprey Publishing • www.ospreypublishing.com

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