M1917A1 .30 Caliber Water-Cooled Machine Gun
34th Infantry, At the Ansong
Comparison of Browning MG Series
Browning MG Maintenance Manual
| Operation | Fully automatic, recoil operated, water-cooled |
| Caliber | .30 (7.62mm) |
| Ammunition | Ball M1; 174 gr bullet, 50 gr charge |
| Muzzle velocity | 853.4 mps (2800 fps) |
| Capacity | 250-round belt |
| Weight | 93 lbs, approx, with tripod and water |
| Overall length | 38.5 in |
| Rate of fire | 400 to 600 rounds per minute |
| Effective range | 1000m (1100 yds) |
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The M1917A1 was designated as a Heavy Machine Gun for a very good reason: it was heavy! It was not a weapon easily used in fluid combat or assault. However, the weight of this water-cooled weapon also gave it great stability which, with its capability of sustained volume of fire, made it an excellent defensive weapon. The heavy was also very reliable. The anti-freeze in its coolant made it dependable even in the intense cold, as in the Chosin Reservoir battles. For stopping massed, or wide-spread infantry assault, the .30 heavy was one of the most effective weapons the infantry had during the Korean war. The Chinese also used water cooled heavy MGs with effect. Firing their eerie green tracers at night to mark targets for their infantry, and soften up the targets themselves, the old-fashioned, wheeled Chinese MGs, with their metal shield for the gunners, was an ideal support. Doubtless also using anti-freeze, the Chinese water-cooled MGs were probably their most effective weapon during the first year of the Korean war. I won't qualify this with the term 'infantry weapon', because the Chinese army was all infantry, at least during the first few months of their crushing entry into the Korean war. American forces used the light and heavy machine guns mostly at a few hundred yards or less, contrary to their design concepts. This was the nature of the battles our company and platoon sized forces faced. The Chinese used them at greater distances but, at least in the early phases of the Korean war, used them sparingly at these distances. Probably because of the difficulty of transporting ammunition over long distances on foot, which was often their only available method. The North Korean armies, on the other hand, were well supplied with the Maxim heavy machine guns by the USSR, and used them in large quantities in the Pusan Perimeter battles. The NK, well trained and largely veterans of China's civil war, would site these weapons at long distances to place grazing fire on slopes we were attacking. Beyond hearing range, using smokeless powder, sighted in with great professional accuracy, the first inkling our troops would have that they were under aimed fire would be when their comrades' bodies and faces were suddenly torn and shattered. | |
| Parameter | M1917A1 | M1919A4 | M1919A6 |
| Mount | Tripod, 53.2lb | Tripod, 14.3lb | Bibod, attached |
| Weight of gun with water | 41.00 Ib | ||
| Weight of gun w/o water | 32.6 Ib | 30.5 lb | 32.5 lb |
| Length (over-all) | 38.64 in. | 37.94 in. | 53 in. |
| Weight of recoiling parts | 7.35 Ib | 11.7 lb | (approx) 7.5 lb |
| Weight of barrel | 3 lb | 7.35 lb | 4.65 lb |
| Length of barrel | 23.9 in. | 24 in. | 24 in. |
| Length of rifling | 21.38 in. (71 cal.) | ||
| Bore Cross-sectional area | 0.0740 sq in. | ||
| Type of mechanism | Short recoil | ||
| Feeding device | Fabric belt | Link and belt | |
| Capacity of feeding device | 100-250 rounds | ||
| Rate of fire rounds/min | 450-600 | 400-550 | 400-500 |
| Cooling system | Water (8pt) | Air | Air |
| Sight radius | ??? | 13.9 in. | 13.9 in. |
| Sear release | 9 lb | ||
| Trigger pull | 7 lh (min); 12 Ib (max) | 8.5 lb | |
| Ammunition types | Ball; AP; tracer | ||
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You mentioned anti freeze at the reservoir. We didn't have any to my knowledge. So the evap can and jacket had to be drained if it didn't look like you were going to get a target for awhile. The crews at times had to line up and urinate in the jacket in order to get liquid to keep the gun cool. (Packing the jacket with snow wouldn't work since snow yields one part water to 10 of snow). One more point about the HMG. Each rifle company machine gun platoon was equipped with 6 HMG and 6 LMG. When we possibly could do it the HMGs would be brought forward when you went into your night defensive positions, and supported the attack by fire the following morning prior to being packed up to move forward again. The LMGs went with the assault. So on a battalion front you'd have 18 heavys and 18 lights. A formidable force indeed. In front of Seoul 2/5 from the 104 fights without a single heavy gun in action. We'd run into a swarm of 45mm AT guns, and they had sniped our heavy guns out of existence. Those 45mm AT guns fired a round that you could see leave the barrel and proceeded along like a red hot baseball. You could see them coming if they weren't aimed straight at you. Chilling. 
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