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M1941 Johnson machine gun
- Not to be confused with the M1941 Johnson rifle.
The M1941 Johnson machine gun is an American light machine gun designed by lawyer and US Marine Corps reservist Melvin Johnson. It uses similar design principles and many of the same parts from one of Johnson's other designs, his semi-auto rifle that unsuccessfully competed with the M1 Garand for selection as a service rifle by the US military. It was adopted by the US Marine Corps and used in the Pacific Theater of World War II. A number were also sent to the Philippines, where they were used by Filipino forces during the Second World War and post-war, such as by the Filipino expedition during the Korean War. Cuban revolutionary and popular public figure Che Guevara carried one throughout the Cuban Revolution. Approximately 9,500 were produced between 1940 and 1945. Two versions were produced- the original M1941, which uses a wooden stock and bipod, and the M1944, which has a steel stock and swapped the bipod for a monopod. Following the Second World War, Israel developed a close copy of the gun chambered in .303 British and 7.92×57mm Mauser as the Dror.
Like the M1941 rifle, the machine gun utilizes short-recoil operation with a rotating bolt. One of its more distinctive features is the long, thin, single-column magazine that seats on the left side of the weapon, which could also be loaded via stripper clips through the ejection port. The unusually long magazine led the weapon to be rather awkward to carry and unbalanced. The design of the M1941 machine gun can find many parallels with one of its contemporaries, the FG 42 machine gun, as both guns feed from side-mounted 20-round magazines, fire in open bolt in fully-automatic and closed bolt in semi-automatic, and were designed as lighter, more portable machine guns for mobile forces.
Specifications
- Weight: 13 lbs (5.9 kgs)
- Length: 42 in (106.7 cm)
- Barrel length: 22 in (55.9 cm)
- Cartridge .30-06 Springfield
- Action: Short-recoil, rotating bolt
- Fire Rate: 300 - 900 rounds per minute
- Feed system: 20 round box magazine
- Sights: Adjustable Iron Sights
The M1941 Johnson machine gun and variants can be seen in the following films, television series, video games, and anime used by the following actors:
Video Games
| Title | Appears as | Mods | Notation | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forgotten Hope | M1941 | 2003 | ||
| Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault | "Johnson LMG" | M1941 | 2004 | |
| Heroes & Generals | M1941 | 2016 | ||
| Call of Duty: WWII | "M1941" | M1941, incorrectly classed as a rifle | 2017 | |
| Enlisted | "M1941 Johnson LMG" | M1941 | 2021 |