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The first machine gun in U.S. Army service was the mechanical, multi-barreled Gatling Gun which was issued in 1-inch, .50-caliber and .45-70 calibers. Never purchased in large numbers, these weapons served in the latter part of the Indian wars and during the Spanish-American War.

The first true machine gun to see service was the M-1895 Colt machine gun, more commonly known as the “Potato Digger” due to the unusual action of its gas return lever. These first saw service in the Boxer Rebellion and later the Spanish-American War. Originally, these were chambered for the 6mm, then the
.30-40 Krag round and, later, the .30-06 round. The M1895 was never officially adopted by the Army, instead being used as “test” weapons.

In 1904, the Army adopted the Maxim machine gun as the M-1904. In the pre-World War One years, some 300 were delivered, followed by another 12,000 during World War One. But in World War One, the need for machine guns so far outpaced production, that the U.S. Army had to purchase several thousand machine guns from the French for use by the AEF.

Enter John M. Browning.

Browning recognized in 1901, that there was a need for a truly modern, American machine gun. He did initial work on a recoil operated weapon, but his design was never fully developed. The Ordnance Department tested his design in 1917 and found it to be an outstanding design. It was adopted as the M-1917 machine gun. The firms of Remington, Colt and New England Westinghouse built some 68,389 during World War One, with some 30,582 serving in France.

The M-1917, like most of Browning’s designs was noted for its simplicity and reliability. Compared to its contemporaries, the Browning was very easy to disassemble with only a simple combination tool. This feature impressed the ordnance officers at the weapons test. There is a little known story that goes;

“One of the guns at the trails was accompanied by a formidable kit of tools in a box. An officer asked Mr. Browning where the tools for the Browning gun were and where did he want them put. Mr. Browning smiled a sad sort of smile and reached into his vest pocket and pulled out a device the size of a fountain pen. With this device and an empty shell, he dismounted the Browning gun and put them back together again.”

With the end of World War One, the Army evaluated the M-1917 and suggested some improvements to correct weaknesses in the design.. The M-1917A1 was adopted in 1920. Nearly all of the 68,000 WWI M-1917s were modified to the M-1917A1 standard. Many of these modified weapons saw service with the British in the early days of World War Two.

The M-1917A1 .30-caliber water-cooled machine gun was designated as a heavy machine gun. The gun (with water) weighed in at 41 pounds, while its tripod added another 52.15 pounds, all told it weighed a hefty 93 pounds in its firing position, NOT including water cans, ammunition boxes and other accessories. The typical method of feed was by a 250-round fabric belt, this was latter replaced after WWII by a disintegrating link belt. Rate of fire was between 450-600 rounds per minute.

In spite of its weight and bulk, the M-1917A1 was widely used in all theaters. Its performance was outstanding and it proved to be one of the most reliable weapons of its type ever fielded.

Its sustained fire capability was impressive due to its water-cooled system. On numerous occasions, the
M-1917A1 delivered sustained fire lasting for hours. It was the workhorse of the Army’s and Marines through out WWII and into the Korea War.

However, the M-1917A1 was not with its faults. The heavy weight of the weapon restricted it to fixed, defensive positions. It could not be rapidly deployed forward to support fast-moving infantry assaults, this restricted its use in the miserable terrain of the Pacific Theater. Although it saw much more service in the European Theater due to the scale of vehicular mobility.

During World War II, some 53,859 M-1917A1s were built.