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Browning Automatic Rifle

From Internet Movie Firearms Database - Guns in Movies, TV and Video Games
Revision as of 21:31, 9 May 2015 by Evil Tim (talk | contribs)
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The Browning Automatic Rifle or BAR (sometimes incorrectly known as the "Browning BAR," which is actually the name of a later semi-automatic rifle which shares no parts with the original BAR) traces its origins back to a First World War French concept of a "walking fire" gun that could be used from the hip by soldiers crossing No Man's Land to suppress the enemy trench line. Ultimately the 16-pound weapon was not suited to this role, but was adopted as a light machine gun by the United States military and was used extensively during the Second World War (as the improved M1918A2) and Korean War, ultimately seeing its last action in US service in Vietnam where it was replaced by the M60 machine gun. BARs remained in National Guard armories until the mid-70s, and was still in use by other countries as late as the 90s.

While heavy, it had a relatively low capacity for a support weapon (most period LMGs using a 30-round magazine compared to the BAR's 20) and a fixed barrel which could not be easily changed out, making it unsuited for protracted fire. It was often employed in a capacity more similar to a modern Designated Marksman Rifle, with the BAR gunner being tasked with extending the squad's range of fire and suppressing enemy snipers.

The BAR was also sold to civilians in the interwar years, and proved a popular weapon among gangsters; the civilian variant, the Colt Monitor, was acquired by US law enforcement to combat the threat. Clyde Barrow and his girlfriend Bonnie Parker were particularly notorious for their use of a cut-down M1918 BAR.

The highly successful FN MAG uses the same locking mechanism as the BAR, though since it is belt-fed the MAG's is upside-down compared to the BAR's.

The Browning Automatic Rifle and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle - .30-06
M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle - .30-06. The A2 was a broad package of improvements including a magazine guide, new sights, a bipod, and redesigned handguard and stock. This is a late-war version with an added carry handle. The A1 version with a spiked bipod and hinged steel buttplate is almost never seen as very few examples were made; the M1922, the US Cavalry version with a ribbed barrel and spiked bipod, is similarly rare.
M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle without carry handle - .30-06
Colt R80 Monitor with Cutts Compensator - .30-06
Clyde Barrow's cut down Browning Automatic Rifle with magazine removed - .30-06
FN Model D - 7.92x57mm Belgian Mauser / .30.06 / 7.62x51mm NATO. This European BAR is an improved version of the FN Model 1930, a licensed clone of the 1925 version of the Colt Monitor. Note the folding carry handle, quick-change barrel, and a smaller forend than the American version. Also note separate pistol grip and stock.
Polish Browning wz. 1928 - 7.92 x 57mm Mauser. Another European clone of the Colt Monitor.

Specifications

(1917 - 1950s)

  • Type: Light Machine Gun
  • Caliber: .30-06 Springfield
  • Barrel Lengths 24" (610mm) & 18" (457mm)
  • Cyclic Rate 500-650rpm (M1918 / M1922 / M1918A1) 500rpm (Colt Monitor) selectable 300-450rpm & 500-650rpm (M1918A2)
  • Weight Unloaded 16lb 0oz (7.28kg) (M1918) 24lb (11kg) (M1922) 13.2lb (6kg) (Colt Monitor) 19lb (8.8kg) (M1918A2)
  • Feed System: 20 round box magazine
  • Fire Modes: "Slow" Full-Auto and Fast Full-Auto (1918A2)

Film

Title Actor Character Note Date
For Whom the Bell Tolls Gary Cooper Robert Jordan 1943
Gung Ho! Marine Raider 1943
A Walk In The Sun US Army soldiers 1945
They Were Expendable US Navy sailor Without bipod 1945
Battleground US Army Airborne Soldiers 1949
Go for Broke! George Miki Chick 1951
The Steel Helmet U.S. Army soldiers 1951
Halls of Montezuma Skip Homeier "Pretty Boy" Riley 1951
Halls of Montezuma Martin Milner Whitney 1951
Halls of Montezuma US Marines 1951
Battle Circus U.S. Army soldier 1953
Between Heaven and Hell US National Guards 1956
The Deadly Mantis US Military personnel 1957
The Young Lions Lee Van Cleef U S Army soldier 1958
Pork Chop Hill US Army soldiers 1959
The FBI Story William Phipps Lester "Baby Face" Nelson 1959
Hell Is for Heroes Mike Kellin Pvt Kolinsky 1962
The Longest Day US Army soldiers 1962
Merrill's Marauders US Army soldiers 1962
Battle of the Bulge US Army soldiers 1965
The 317th Platoon French soldiers M1918A2 version 1965
The Sand Pebbles Steve McQueen Jake Holman Early model with anachronistic muzzle brake 1966
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold Mike Henry Tarzan Without bipod 1966
Is Paris Burning? Free French Forces soldiers 1966
The Sand Pebbles Richard Crenna Capt. Collins Early model with anachronistic A2 muzzle brake 1966
Beach Red US Marines 1967
Westerplatte Polish soldiers Polish wz. 28, late version 1967
The Devil's Brigade Luke Askew Pvt. Hubert Hixon 1968
The Bridge at Remagen George Segal Lt. Hartman Early model 1969
The Bridge at Remagen US Army soldiers Early model 1969
Kelly's Heroes Perry Lopez Pvt. Petuko FN BAR Type D 1970
Kelly's Heroes Fred Pearlman Pvt. Mitchell FN BAR Type D 1970
Kelly's Heroes Michael Clark Pvt. Grace FN BAR Type D 1970
The Omega Man Charlton Heston Neville With bipod removed and M3 infrared night scope 1971
Dillinger Warren Oates John Dillinger Early model 1973
Dillinger Harry Dean Stanton Homer Van Meter Early model 1973
Dillinger Richard Dreyfuss Lester "Baby Face" Nelson Early model 1973
Dillinger Geoffrey Lewis Harry Pierpont Early model 1973
Dillinger Michelle Phillips Billie Frechette Early model 1973
Go Tell the Spartans South Vietnamese troops 1978
Apocalypse Now French Colonists 1979
The Year of Living Dangerously Indonesian soldiers 1982
Uncommon Valor Patrick Swayze Kevin Scott 1983
Rookies Run Amok 2 (Le retour des bidasses en folie) German and French soldiers 1983
Jungle Warriors Paul L. Smith Cesar Santiago 1984
Jungle Warriors Paramilitary guard 1984
Exterminator 2 Mounted on Eastland's truck 1984
Laser Mission soldiers 1989
Michael Collins IRA member 1996
Last Man Standing Mexican police officer Dressed as a Colt Monitor 1996
The Thin Red Line David Harrod Cpl. Queen 1998
The Thin Red Line Robert Roy Hofmo Pvt. Sico 1998
Pearl Harbor Matthew Davis Joe 2001
Pearl Harbor US Military personnel 2001
Saving Private Ryan Edward Burns PFC Richard Reiben With bipod removed 2001
City Of God Charles Paraventi Charlie "Uncle Sam" 2002
The Rundown Henchmen Without bipod 2003
The Rundown Dwayne Johnson Beck Without bipod 2003
The Devil's Rejects Tyler Mane Rufus Without bipod 2005
King Kong US Army soldier With bipod removed 2005
Flags of Our Fathers US Marines With & without bipod 2006
Assembly (Ji jie hao) Chinese Nationalist soldiers FN BAR Type D 2007
Public Enemies Stephen Dorff Homer Van Meter Customized with cut-down barrel 2009
The Artist Guard M1918A2 2011
The Front Line (2011) South Korean Army 2011
Memorial Day 82nd Airborne Division paratrooper With bipod removed 2011
My Way US Army soldiers With bipod removed 2011
Machine Gun Preacher LRA troops 2011
Red Tails American troops 2012
Gangster Squad Holt McCallany Karl Lennox 2013
City 44 Polish insurgent Browning wz. 1928 2014
Fury (2014) U.S. Army soldiers 2014

Television

Show Title Actor Character Note / Episode Air Date
Combat! Jack Hogan Pvt. William G. Kirby . 1962 - 1967
The A-Team Sergio Calderón Malavida Valdez "Mexican Slayride" (S01E01) 1983
Crime Story Bill Smitrovich Sgt. Danny Krychek . 1986-1988
Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman Joey "That Old Gang of Mine" (S02E07) 1994
Band of Brothers American soldiers 2001
Deadliest Warrior French Foreign Legion . 2009-2011
The Pacific US Marines 2010
Bonnie and Clyde (2013) William Hurt Frank Hamer Colt Monitor 2013
Bonnie and Clyde (2013) Holliday Grainger Bonnie Parker 2013
Bonnie and Clyde (2013) Emile Hirsch Clyde Barrow 2013
Parer's War US Marines 2014

Video Games

Game Title Appears as Mods Notation Release Date
WWII G.I. . . . 1999
L.A. Noire . . . 2011
Medal of Honor . . . 1999
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault . . . 2002
Medal of Honor: Frontline . . . 2002
Medal of Honor: Heroes . . . 2006
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun . . . 2003
Medal of Honor: Infiltrator . . . 2003
Forgotten Hope . . M1918A2 w/ bipod and wz.1928 2003
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault . . . 2004
Medal of Honor: Airborne . . With various upgrades available 2007
Medal of Honor: Vanguard . . . 2007
Day of Defeat: Source . . With semi and full auto fire modes 2005
Call of Duty . . With ability to fast/slow fire and bipod removed 2003
World War II Online: Battleground Europe . . Released with 1.34 update, M1918A2 2011
Call of Duty: United Offensive . . With bipod removed 2004
Call of Duty 2 . . . 2005
Forgotten Hope 2 . . With deployable bipod. Includes "Reiben BAR" from Saving Private Ryan with ability to fire at 450/600rpm and with bipod removed 2005
Call of Duty 3 . . . 2006
Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45 . . With deployable bipod 2006
Call of Duty: World at War . . . 2008
Commandos: Strike Force 2006
Battlefield: 1942 . . . 2002
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood . . . 2005
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway . . . 2008
UberSoldier 2006
Jurassic: The Hunted As the ".30-06 Assault Rifle" . Incorrectly shown with optional 30-round magazine 2009
Fallout Tactics "Browning Auto Rifle" 2001
Fallout: New Vegas "Automatic Rifle" pistol grip M1918A2, rechambered for .308 Win/7.62x51mm NATO(Dead Money expansion) 2010
7554 "M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle" bipod but you can not use it 2011
vietcong 2 2005
Hidden & Dangerous 2 2003
Karma Online 2011
Project Reality: Normandy Can switch between 360 RPM and 650 RPM settings 2013
Enemy Front WZ.28 Browning wz. 1928 2014

Anime

Film Title Character Note Date
Black Lagoon Gretal 2006
Strike Witches Charlotte E. Yeager Without bipod 2008


See Also


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