
About this image
The M1919A6, introduced in late 1943, was an attempt to create a light machine gun capable of being carried and operated by one man, comparable to German machine guns like the MG42. The M1919A6 featured a shoulder stock, bipod, carry handle, conical muzzle booster (on later models) and a lighter, changable barrel. the barrel weight on the M1919A4 was already marginal in terms of heat dissipation, and lightening the barrel in the M1919A6 made for a weapon that was prone to overheating and was large, heavy and awkward compared to the majority of contemporary machine guns. The original M1919A6 lacked a muzzle booster due to the need to have an exposed hex on the muzzle to allow the barrel to be changed. This led to problems cycling the action so a removable muzzle booster was added to increase the chamber pressure. At the end of WWII a conical flash hider was introduced as part of the muzzle booster, but contrary to the majority of depictions in media this was never actually issued before the end of the war (although it was extensively used in Korea).
1 comment