Browning Automatic Rifle

Browning Automatic Rifle

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 BAR action was also used in the French Chatellerault Light Machine Gun, descendants of which included the ZB26 Machine Gun and through that the Type 96 Light Machine Gun and Bren gun.

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.

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

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: Semiautomatic/Full Automatic (M1918, M1918A1), "Slow" Full-Auto/"Fast" Full-Auto (M1918A2)

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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
Back to Bataan		Philippine guerrilla fighters		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	M1918	1966
Tarzan and the Valley of Gold		Vinero's soldiers	M1918	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
Castle Keep	Tony Bill	Lt. Amberjack		1969
Castle Keep	Scott Wilson	Cpl. Clearboy		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
Cuba		Cuban soldier	Browning wz. 1928	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
Order No. 027 (Myung ryoung-027 ho)		ROK Armed Forces soldiers		1986
Laser Mission		soldiers		1989
Michael Collins		IRA member and a Black & Tan		1996
Last Man Standing		Mexican police officer	Dressed as a Colt Monitor	1996
Saving Private Ryan	Edward Burns	PFC Richard Reiben	With bipod removed	1998
When Trumpets Fade	Dylan Bruno	Sgt. Talbot		1998
When Trumpets Fade	Zak Orth	Pvt. Sanderson		1998
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
City Of God	Charles Paraventi	Charlie "Uncle Sam"		2002
The Quiet American		Gen. The's soldiers		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 Lockwood		2013
City 44		Polish insurgent	Browning wz. 1928	2014
Fury (2014)		U.S. Army soldiers		2014
Hacksaw Ridge	Luke Bracey	Smitty Ryker	with bipod removed	2016
Hacksaw Ridge		US Army soldiers	with bipod removed	2016

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
Medal of Honor (1999)				1999
Medal of Honor: Underground			Used in "Panzerknacker Unleashed!" bonus mission	2000
Fallout Tactics	"Browning Auto Rifle"			2001
Medal of Honor: Allied Assault				2002
Medal of Honor: Frontline				2002
Battlefield: 1942				2002
Medal of Honor: Rising Sun				2003
Medal of Honor: Infiltrator				2003
Call of Duty			With ability to fast/slow fire and bipod removed	2003
Forgotten Hope			M1918A2 w/ bipod and wz.1928	2003
Hidden & Dangerous 2				2003
Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault				2004
Call of Duty: United Offensive			With bipod removed	2004
Day of Defeat: Source			With semi and full auto fire modes	2005
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
Brothers in Arms: Earned in Blood				2005
Vietcong 2				2005
Medal of Honor: Heroes				2006
Call of Duty 3				2006
Commandos: Strike Force				2006
Darkest Hour: Europe '44-'45			With deployable bipod	2006
UberSoldier				2006
Medal of Honor: Airborne			With various upgrades available	2007
Medal of Honor: Vanguard	BAR		M1918A2	2007
Call of Duty: World at War				2008
Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway				2008
Jurassic: The Hunted	As the ".30-06 Assault Rifle"	.	Incorrectly shown with optional 30-round magazine	2009
Fallout: New Vegas	"Automatic Rifle"	pistol grip	M1918A2, rechambered for .308 Win/7.62x51mm NATO(Dead Money expansion)	2010
World War II Online: Battleground Europe			Released with 1.34 update, M1918A2	2011
7554	"M1918 Browning Automatic Rifle"	W/bipod; unusable		2011
Karma Online				2011
L.A. Noire				2011
Project Reality: Normandy			Can switch between 360 RPM and 650 RPM settings	2013
Counter-Strike Online	"M1918 BAR"	.	M1918A2	2014
Enemy Front	WZ.28		Browning wz. 1928	2014
Battle of Empires : 1914-1918	BAR		M1918	2014
Verdun	"Browning Automatic Rifle M1918 BAR"		M1918	2015
Battlefield 1			M1918	2016
Heroes & Generals			M1918A2	2016
Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades			M1918A2	2016

Anime

Film Title	Character	Note	Date
Black Lagoon: The Second Barrage	Gretel		2006
Strike Witches	Charlotte E. Yeager	Without bipod	2008

Ohio Ordnance HCAR

Ohio Ordnance HCAR - .30-06 Springfield

The Ohio Ordnance Heavy Counter Assault Rifle (HCAR) is a modernized version of the BAR.

Specifications

(2013 - Present)

• Type: Battle Rifle
• Caliber: .30-06 Springfield
• Barrel Lengths: 16 in (40.6 cm), 20 in (50.8 cm)
• Capacity: 30-round box magazine
• Fire Modes: Semi-Auto

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The Ohio Ordnance HCAR and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:

Video Games

Game Title	Appears As	Mods	Notes	Release Date
Battlefield Hardline	HCAR	w/ various attachments	Incorrectly has a full-auto option	2015

See Also

• Browning Arms Company - A list of all firearms manufactured by Browning.