Book Review: Diving Deeper into the Browing Machine Gun

Recently I reviewed the first two volumes of a series covering the legendary Browning Machine Gun family of weapons (See SAR, V25N4, April 2021). Now we will look at Vol. III and IV of this brilliant reference set.

To recap, these four books are published by Collector Grade Publications, a company known for producing well researched firearms books. These four volumes are written by Dolf L. Goldsmith, one of the true greats in the full-auto collecting community (Vol. IV “Semper Fi FIFTY” is co-written with Frank Iannamico). Volume I explores the early development phase of John M. Browning’s machine guns, their use in the latter days of WWI, further refinement between the wars, and their huge influence in WWII in U.S. service. Vol. II covers the use of rifle caliber Brownings in foreign use prior to, and during WWII.

This month’s topics are Vol. III, which examines the accessories that go with the guns, and Vol. IV that covers the mighty .50 BMG, as the titles suggest.

There is actually a fifth volume, “Dolf’s Notebook”, containing hints and tips for working on Browning machine guns. That book, Vol. V, is published by Chipotle Publishing.

Volume III

Vol. III, Chapter one, Description & Principles of Operation starts out with a lesson on the function of the Browning machine gun. By using drawings borrowed from both U.S. and Dutch technical manuals, Dolf explains the complex function of the .30 cal Browning. This is broken down into seven separate phases of operation. These are: firing, recoiling, counter-recoiling, cocking, automatic firing, feeding, and extracting & ejecting.

Following this function lesson, the book delves into the most obvious accessory, the mount, usually a tripod. There are an amazing variety of mounts shown here; so many that they are divided into three chapters. Chapter two, Heavy Ground Mounts, shows many experimental tripods and mounts including a few on bicycle wheel type carts. Chapter three, Later Lighter Mounts, looks at lighter weight tripods. This eventually led to the iconic WW II era M2 tripod for the M1919A4 air-cooled Browning .30 cal.  And chapter four, Vehicle & Aircraft Mounts displays the wide variety of mounts available for vehicles and aircraft. Dolf divides these into five classes: pedestal, as found in jeeps and ¾ ton Dodge trucks, etc., bracket, as mounted to a vehicle dashboard or wall, ball mount, as used on tanks or armored fighting vehicles, rail, generally found on open-top vehicles like half-tracks, and ring mounts, as used on a tank cupola or on the passenger-side roof of a 2.5 ton 6×6 truck. The ring type mount allowed for a full 360°. The ring type was also called a Scarff mount (after its inventor) when used in early aircraft. Also shown is a pair of M37 (an upgraded version of the M1919) guns in a helicopter mount.

Chapter five deals with sights and sighting equipment, including several surprisingly complex rear iron-sights for the M1917/M1917A1. These were first issued calibrated in yards, then reissued in meters to work with European maps, then recalibrated back to yards upon return to the U.S. Then recalibrated to match the ballistics of the newly adopted M1 30-06 ammo (with a 174-grain bullet), and finally recalibrated yet again for the M2 cartridge (152-grain bullet). Also covered are clinometers, panoramic sights for indirect fire, telescopic, and anti-aircraft sights. An early night vision set-up on a Canadian C1 (M1919A4) in 7.62×51 NATO is also shown.

Separate chapters are given to: ammunition, ammo boxes, fabric belts, linked belts, belt-filling machines, link loaders, cooling equipment (for the water-cooled M1917), transport equipment, canvas accessories, blank firing attachments, training devices, the .22 Caliber M1 training machine gun, sub-caliber conversion kit, tools and gauges (This is my favourite chapter), caliber conversions, and manuals & handbooks. Most of the photos of various manuals are from former SAR Senior Editor Robert Segel, while Frank Iannamico and Frank Hackley wrote the chapter about ammunition.

Volume IV

This volume differs from the other books in this set by being co-authored by Frank Iannamico. Iannamico did contribute one chapter on ammunition to Volume III, as noted above, but was not given equal billing then.

The .50 caliber gun was roughly based on the M1917 .30 caliber system. No point in reinventing the wheel. The first version, the M1918 .50 BMG, was too late to see service in WWI. Further refinements such as the M1921 and M1921A1 grew into the famous .50 caliber M2. Yes, there was an M1 but it wasn’t produced in significant numbers.  

High firing speed aircraft machine guns for dog-fighting use are also discussed. This would eventually become the AN-M3 type gun. On a related note, there is a detailed look at the training of air gunners on B-17 and B-24 bombers. It is a surprisingly complex subject.

All total, about 2 million .50 BMG guns were made during WWII. Most common was the aircraft type. With so many war movies showing infantry battles, it is easy to think of the Browning .50 as primarily tank, truck, and tripod based. Not so!

Part II: The Browning .50 at War is a large part of the book. It deals mainly with the setting up of the factories and the making of huge quantities of Browning guns. Once the various factories got set up, they really cranked them out! As the factories got more efficient, the prices dropped dramatically. Of course, the value of a dollar has changed since WWII, but there are some astonishing prices quoted. For instance, the Frigidaire division of GM got the price of an M2HB down to $310 per gun. And High Standard got an M2 Aircraft type gun down to $245 in May 1944, then down to $191.42 per gun in Feb 1945.

Part III: Accessories and Ancillaries is of value to collectors. Chapter 13 covers various mounts, while Chapter 14 looks at the numerous accessories that collectors love to collect. Chapter 15 deals with ammunition, belts, and links.

Part IV: Chapter 16 examines modern day 50s. The M85 tank gun was intended to replace the M2, but it was later dropped from service, while the M2 still thunders on. The Quick-Change Barrel (QCB) system is also discussed. Modern builders such as ERMCO/RAMO, FN Herstal, Saco Defense, and General Dynamics are briefly profiled, too.

Collector Grade now closed

As I write this review in early January 2022, I see that the Collector Grade website now displays this message:

After 42 years in business, Collector Grade Publications has now officially closed its doors. We’d like to take this opportunity to thank our many regular/loyal customers who have contributed to the success of our company over the years.

Anyone interested in purchasing Collector Grade titles, should get in touch at info@collectorgrade.com and we will forward a list of dealers in the USA who still have many of our titles available

The SAR Bookstore still shows Volume II of this set as available.